In 1957, Susquehanna Road was a narrow country lane in the sparsely settled Fox Chase section of northeast Philadelphia. A driveway providing access to the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, a religious order which operated a school for “wayward girls,” adjoined Susquehanna Road on the north near Verree Road. Directly across the street from the …
Jeffrey Dampier Jr. won a $20-million Illinois Lotto jackpot in 1996. He bought houses and cars for his siblings and parents. In 2001, he bought a half-million dollar home near Tampa, Florida. He also purchased a townhouse for his parents close by. Several family members followed Jeffrey to the Florida Gulf Coast because he liked …
Oliver Sipple stood in the crowd. He was no different from the other 3,000 people gathered outside San Francisco’s St. Francis Hotel hoping to catch a glimpse of President Ford. As the President emerged from the building, Oliver looked and saw the woman next to him pull out a .38-caliber pistol and aim it at …
In his thirteen season career, Donnie Moore posted a 43-40 record and a 3.67 ERA. He was even selected to the All-Star team in 1985. Donnie’s downfall came on October 12, 1986. He was pitching for the Angels in Game 5 of the 1986 American League Championship Series in Anaheim. The Angels held a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven …
In 1919, eighteen year-old Ub Iwerks was working for the Pesman Art Studio in Kansas City, Missouri. It was here he met another eighteen year-old, a fellow artist named Walt Disney, who would become his oldest and best friend. Disney and Iwerks moved on to work as illustrators for The Kansas City Film Ad Company. …
Ronald McDonald died for your sins. And a side of fries.
In 2006, Jaco Pastorius was voted “The Greatest Bass Player Who Has Ever Lived” by reader submissions in Bass Guitar magazine. His short, but extremely influential career ended abruptly, but not unexpectedly. From unlikely beginnings in Norristown Pennsylvania, Jaco Pastorius moved with his family to Fort Lauderdale, Florida at a young age. He started his …
When I was five or six, my favorite singer was Allan Sherman. I listened to my parents’ Allan Sherman records. They had his first five releases. I knew every lyric to every song. I knew the order of every song on every album. My Mom and Dad roared with laughter at Sherman’s songs and laughed …
Doug Kenney was one of the founders of National Lampoon magazine. He served as writer and editor from its inception in 1972 until 1977, when he left to pursue his dream of screenwriting. Along with Chris Miller and Harold Ramis, he co-wrote the screenplay for National Lampoon’s Animal House. Kenney even had the small role …
Karl Wallenda was born in Germany in 1905 to a circus performing family. He himself began performing at age 6. In 1922 he put together his own act with his brother Herman, a family friend, and a teenage girl, Helen Kreis, who eventually became his wife. The act toured Europe for several years, performing some …
