Muck Monsters of Massachusetts... maybe?

Hi everyone!  It seems like most of us have survived a crazy year.  I am looking forward to some serious Strange Maine research in 2018, and I hope you can all look forward to seeing the fruits of that labor by the end of the year.

As a personal update, late in the summer of 2017 I finally found my way free from the other job I was working alongside running my shop.  I've spent the last few months getting settled back into running the Green Hand Bookshop full-time.  It's been challenging, but a much-appreciated change of pace!

January brings with it my reduced winter hours at the shop (closed Mon-Weds).  My plan for January through April is to spend my time well, diving deep into one big project that is long overdue for finishing, and getting some more traction on a couple of new ones!

I've already started chipping away at some of my files this month, and blearing my eyes with hours of microfilm searches.  This, of course, means I stumble across some fun stuff that I can't help but take note of.

While I'm still gathering material in preparation for bigger releases ahead, I did want to share this fun almost-a-monster story with those of you who love this kind of stuff the way I do!

While this story is not specifically from Maine, it did appear in the Portland Press Herald, hailing from our old nearby alma mater, Massachusetts.  In 1971, there was a brief scare (dig those headlines in the clipping shown!) about "swamp creatures" on a local golf course.

As you can tell from the headlines, the threat was not taken quite seriously by the press.  Read on to find out more!  Enjoy....

------------

Swamp Creatures Panic Guards

Golf Course Adds Night Hazards

Boston UPI -- A security guard told today how he, two other guards and two police officers had a hair-raising run-in with "three, big slimy creatures" who emerged from a golf course swamp.

The guard told his story over an all-night talk show on radio station WBZ in Boston, but declined to identify himself or tell where or when the incident occurred because of possible embarrassment to the participants.

As it happened, he said, he and the two other guards were patrolling a golf course during the night when they stopped their golf cards atop a small hill.  Hearing a splash from a nearby swamp, they went to investigate.

"This big, black slimy thing came out of the swamp, all covered with weeds," Guard No. 1 said.  "Then a second creature emerged.  By this time we were a bit upset."

He said that when a third "creature" walked out of the swamp, "We decided to beat a hasty retreat."

Because it was dark and difficult to see, he said, one of the other guards ran into a guy wire and was knocked down, he ran into a water hazard, and the third guard managed to get away on a golf cart.

Guard No. 1, after getting out of the water hazard, went to the aid of his companion who was on the ground.  Meanwhile, the three creatures were "sort of hopping away."

While this was taking place, the third guard had contacted two police officers and brought them to the scene.  They immediately gave chase to the creatures.

When one officer fired a warning shot, the creatures turned and waddled back toward them.  The officers, understandably, also became upset.

Guards No. 1 and No. 2, hurrying to see what was going on, ran through the darkness and bumped into the officers, knocking one down.  The other officer dropped his revolver to the ground and put his hands up in the air.

"Hey, pick up your gun," the excited guard said as the creatures approached.

All turned out well, however, when it was determined the creatures really were three college students dressed in black scuba diving outfits, complete with feet flippers -- that's why they waddled.

What were they doing in the swamp?  Looking for misdirected golf balls so they could sell them.

File it under EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES and stamp it "NOT RECOMMENDED!!!"  Jeepers, guys, you almost got shot!

This is a great example of how under certain circumstances our initial reaction to "mysterious things" can turn into a regular Three Stooges episode, even in such a mundane environment as a well-groomed suburban golf course.

I have to say that the narrator's turns of phrase are particularly entertaining -- but I still would dearly love to read the police report that resulted from this!

Bangor PD's Facebook feed is your friend

Let it not be said that some of Maine's police officers do not possess a sense of humor or humanity. If it's not Detective Napijalo finding stolen mascot plushies and most recently writing a comic book for all ages, then it's the anonymous and quirky officer who is currently running the Facebook feed for Bangor Police Department.

If you have been missing the sidelong wit of Maine's old Police Blotter columns in local newspapers (gone the way of the birds, mostly), you will be delighted. If you have yet to check out their feed, then YOU ARE MISSING OUT!
https://www.facebook.com/Bangor-Maine-Police-Department-227432866078/

For instance:
1) One police officer was able to save a tiny chihuahua from a fire last week in spite of a biting from the nervous young lady pup. He tells the story better than I do:

In a celebration of National Puppy day we share the following information.

A structure fire on Hammond Street was discovered by Officer Jordan Bragan while on routine patrol. Bragan alerted folks to get out of the adjacent apartments by pounding on doors and waking those in danger.

Bragan also was able to enter an apartment in order to grab a 6 pound Chihuahua named either Bella or Stella. The pooch refused to come out. Nice save, Bragan. "Don't drop the Chalupa." It is unclear if he will add that slogan to his new tattoo. The dog is fine. He would have done it even if it was not National Puppy Day.

Bragan was bitten by Stella/Bella while carrying her from the building. He was wearing his gloves and was not seriously injured. We could hear him verbalize "doooohhhh" from his cruiser camera audio recording. We are putting it on Sgt. Bushey's mix-tape.

Bangor Fire arrived at the scene and put out the fire. Nice work ladies and gents.

Otherwise, several arrests for various illegal activity and someone dropped off donuts. They are all gone.

Have an awesome Thursday. We will be here!

Or how about
2) The way they handle reminding us all (duh) to lock our doors:

Please folks, if I gave you advice on financial decisions, food selection, roofing materials or what kind of flatware you should buy, ignore it. I know very little about those things.

My idea of a good investment is one which returns just fifty percent of my initial outlay. Flatware pulled from the McDonald's bag has been used on many a night in my little world and I think discarded street signs look pretty cool as a stopgap measure on the camp roof. I am not promoting taking street signs. I said discarded. Read all the words before contacting my supervisor.

I rethought my first paragraph and have decided that my food selection skills are superb. Add a half a cap of apple cider vinegar to your drawn butter when using it dip your steamed clams or lobster. You will be thanking me soon after the meal, possibly naming your next child after me. This child will be well behaved, a heck of a pool player and will move out of your house after his or her 36th birthday. I was a late bloomer as well. Trust me. I work for the government. Get it right. Capital T. Capital C. Sounds like "easy", and rearing him/her will be just that. Their middle name should be, Tangy-Goodness.

What does all that rambling have to do with police work. Nothing. You expect too much from me.

I need you to lock your stinking car doors. All over Bangor, we are dealing with a roaming dipstick or dipsticks that are ransacking your belongings, dropping your registration paperwork on the floor of the Civic and taking things of value. How hard is this for us? Obviously, it is tougher than I think.

Lock your doors. Just use the little button on the remote, hold down the mushroom looking thingie on the door, push forward or backward on that tab near the handle. They even make it easy by marking it with orange. Lock it. Lock it. Lock it.

Some of us might even remember next time as a result of this.

I would be remiss if I neglected to mention Westbrook Police Department's feed, which is regularly updated with useful and helpful info, including major traffic updates when roads are closed due to crashes, links to confidential victim support services, historic photos from the force archives, pics of new and outstanding personnel, photos of suspects they are trying to identify, etc.
https://www.facebook.com/WestbrookPD/

Portland Police Department is online on Facebook as well, and they seem to be trying to up their game in recent weeks in an effort at matching Bangor's outreach. Let's hope they continue! We need it here, guys. I'm serious!:
https://www.facebook.com/Portland-Maine-Police-Department-121900037821056/

NOTE: For those wanting to know more details, Portland Police Department Detective Andjelko Napijalo's comic book, Nightmare Warriors, is being launched by a Kickstarter campaign (47 hours left and it's just over its goal). If you want to check it out, here it is:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/34629306/nightmare-warriors

Here's to all of Maine's women and men in blue, and especially to those who handle such a difficult and frustrating job by finding a way through all the stress to help us with a smile on their face or by offering a helping hand in the worst times of need and distress. Thanks for doing a job that would drive me into a straightjacket. Thanks for being on the other end when we call. Thanks for having a sense of humor when you hear things like, "Oh, nope -- he just dropped the bullhorn out the window." We're glad to have you here beside us in the light AND the darkness before the dawn.

If you love your Maine PD's Facebook feed or have a favorite weekly Maine police blotter that's still running, please feel free to recommend it in the comments, and I will post it! :)

Bizarre art stunt met with oblivion

"White Heart Bar" (acrylic on receipt folder; 2008)
by Christopher Michael Sullivan

The Bollard is one of the most interesting independent Maine publications around, but every now and then they have a story that is even more wildly-improbably-but-true than their usual fare.

For instance, their June 2011 issue features a short but jaw-dropping piece by Christopher Michael Sullivan, titled "Customer Copy," wherein he recounts his attempts to dazzle Portland waitstaff with his artistic feats of illusion, only to find them so focused on their jobs that no trick of skill was perceived:

Customer Copy: An artistic gift that failed
By Christopher Michael Sullivan

I imagined myself as David Blaine skillfully performing street magic. Not so much the flashy Blaine frozen in Times Square, or the ripped, glowering Blaine who held his breath for 17 minutes on Oprah. I would be the benevolent, unfettered Blaine, the one who wields a simple deck of cards, and who then might suddenly, quietly levitate for an audience of one or two zaftig tourists on a boardwalk. The Blaine who doles out intimate acts like the transformation of a playing card’s color; a delicate trick that brightens the day of the few people fortunate enough to witness it.

As an artist, my deck of cards would be a paintbrush, and my trick would be the transformation of restaurant receipts into paintings. My magic would brighten the night of all the servers who stumbled upon it. It would be my gift to the service industry.

The trick was supposed to work like this. When dining out, after finishing my meal, I would ask for the check and hand the server my credit card. The server would return with a black receipt folder containing my card and the receipt. The server would see me take my card, sign the receipt, and leave. When the server came back to collect the receipt, she would discover that – magically! – the folder now contained two identical receipts: alongside the paper original was an exact replica, meticulously hand-painted onto the inside of the folder.
[...]
I have spent the past two years performing this trick and can assure you that no one has mistaken me for Banksy. In fact, eight “receipts” have been dropped at establishments all around Portland and not one has conjured any excitement whatsoever. They have, without exception, been completely overlooked. After a cursory glance, the painting is mistakenly thought to be another receipt. The work of art, and the magic, are wasted.

My tragic magician’s tale began (as so many tragic tales once did) at the now-defunct White Heart Bar and Cocktail Lounge on Congress Street. [...] Over the course of several weeks and half-price bottles, I studied the rhythms of the White Heart, noting prices, the servers’ work schedules — even the time it took to pour and deliver a drink. I gathered all the information I would need in order to create a convincing facsimile of the receipt I would be given. Then I went to work in the studio, meticulously painting a receipt onto the inside of a folder just like those used at the bar.

After a week of painting, I was ready. With the folder concealed beneath my coat, I returned to the White Heart, ordered and drank wine, executed the switch, and left. A secret magician’s assistant, planted elsewhere in the bar, stayed behind to observe the server’s reaction. He picked up the folder. He entered the totals into the register. Then he put the folder on a stack of others behind the bar and went to take another order.

Maybe the White Heart was the wrong venue, I thought. Two more bars, two similar reactions. Two restaurants, two similar reactions.

Maybe it was a lack of complexity – perhaps the painting wasn’t dazzling enough. I made double receipts, folded and creased receipts, wine-stained receipts, stapled receipts. Nothing. The most notable response was, “Wow! It is really stuck down.” Each time, the work was tossed aside. The hours of preparation, the sleight of hand, and the artifact were all lost on their intended recipients. The work wasn’t received as art. It continued to be perceived as a receipt, and thus failed to manifest magic.
[...]

Click here to read the full article and see more of the paintings! http://www.thebollard.com/bollard/?p=8652

While you're there, don't forget to take a peek at this month's cover story, NPR's Other Enemy," about John Crosby, interviewed while in jail for sending threatening messages to NPR via email, including a death threat directed at the host of the popular show, "All Things Considered." Or, if you prefer lighter fare, a regular favorite Bollard feature is "That's My Dump," a column which investigates the history (and possible futures) of abandoned or ill-treated properties around the Greater Portland area, here: http://www.thebollard.com/bollard/?cat=46

Denture Rescue in 1908

The Daily Kennebec Journal reported on an interesting and almost unbelievable tale of denture rescue from the Victorian era.

The Washington County railroad has gone all the other railroads in the country one better in the matter of accommodating its patrons. A passenger one day last week lost a set of false teeth out of the window. The loss was reported to the obliging conductor, who stopped the train, backed to the scene of catastrophe, where the missing molars were found and returned to their owner.

[Source: Daily Kennebec Journal, April 10, 1908, page 6]

This is not the first denture-related Strange Maine story, as those of you who remember the denture-stealing mouse of 2007 will have noticed.

Watch out for falling moose!

Photo by Vilseskogen, used under the terms of Creative Commons.

A very intriguing report from the Kennebec Journal. ONLY IN MAINE!

Thanks to Jean K. for spotting this gem!

'A moose fell from the sky'
Submitted By Larry Grard,
Staff Writer
on Tuesday, May. 12 at 1:15 pm

CLINTON -- The moose that “fell from the sky,” in an observer’s words, landed on its head and quickly died.

The yearling bull nearly took a man with him after it fell from the Interstate 95 overpass onto Hinckley Road.

Shirley Bailey, assistant town clerk, got the frantic call shortly after 8 a.m. today.

The caller was driving along the road when he saw the moose fall.

Bailey recalled his comments: “I was driving under the bridge on Hinckley Road and a moose fell from the sky.”

The man was “a little shook up,” Bailey said. “It was quite frightening, I guess.”

Minutes later, the Waldo County Sheriff’s Department took a call of a young bull moose on I-95, not far away in Burnham.

[Source]

More here at the Lewiston Sun Journal.

A boy and his robe

The Bangor Daily News reported on this odd tidbit:

Boy in robe walking on I-295 reunited with parent
By The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine — Police in Freeport say a young boy who was found walking along Interstate 295 in a bathrobe, windpants and sneakers has been reunited with a parent.

Police did not release the boy’s name and age but said he was from another community in Maine. Officers were continuing to investigate how he came to be walking along the highway Monday.

The Portland Press Herald said officers quoted the boy as saying that his name was Nick and he was 13 and in seventh grade. He said he couldn’t remember his last name or the name of his school, but that he was up from Boston.

Police Chief Gerry Schofield said callers reported spotting the boy in Falmouth and Yarmouth. Police said the boy appeared to be uninjured.

[Source]

More details about the original finding are here.

Dead cow poses puzzler

Thanks to Cranky Yankee of the New England Anomaly for bringing this stinker to our attention! The photo, by Terry Karkos of the Lewiston Sun Journal, states, "The bloated body of what looks like a Hereford cow, bottom center, lies atop a pile of rocks and driftwood along the Androscoggin River on Monday morning opposite Rumford paper mill NewPage Corp."

River washes dead cow ashore
By Terry Karkos , Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 05:00 am

RUMFORD - High water along the Androscoggin River in early April apparently washed a dead Hereford cow over Pennacook Falls and left its bloated body atop rocks 100 feet below the Rumford Avenue snow dump, police said.

Police were notified on Sunday about the reddish-brown beast with white markings, but don't know who to call to try and get rid of it before the stench increases to affect nearby Cumberland Street residents.

Due to the seemingly unreachable location, Sgt. David Bean said Monday that Rumford's Public Works crew probably can't retrieve it and dispose of it properly.

But if the cow was higher up, where they could access it, Bean said a crew could probably dump a load of gravel on it.

"It's a decaying body, so maybe they could put something on it if they could reach it. Police aren't equipped to do anything like that, but it needs to be covered until it rots away. It's right in the middle of a big pile of rocks under a 100-foot drop. Nature has to take its course, I guess," Bean said.

Police first learned of the bovine on April 4 when an Information Booth worker called about seeing the dead animal floating in the Reflection Pool below Pennacook Falls.

Bean and Officer Lawrence Winson responded, only to watch high water sweep the animal over the falls and downriver opposite Morse Bridge.

He said police are unsure how the cow ended up in the river or where it came from.

"There are no dairy farms along the river that have that breed. The only ones that I'm aware of have black Holsteins. This one looks like a Hereford," Bean said.

He said he doesn't know if someone put the dead cow on the ice this winter to be swept away come spring or if the animal wandered onto the ice somewhere upriver, fell through and drowned. No cattle farmers have reported a missing Hereford to Bean's knowledge.

Disoriented moose occasionally wander through this Western Maine town, but bovines in the Androscoggin are an oddity.

Although, last spring, Bean said a dead cow was seen floating in high water at about the same time as the current one, "but it disappeared before we got a chance to see it."

[Source]

How do you recycle a snake?

Hint: Not like this!!!

Portland's brand new newspaper, The Portland Daily Sun (which is doing a great job so far), printed this great story yesterday, much to my delight.

Goodness snakes!
Portland Daily Sun, page 1
Saturday, April 4, 2009

People try to recycle the darndest things.

“Evidently someone thought a dead 7-foot python could be recycled, because we got one a couple of weeks ago," said ecomaine General Manager Kevin Roche. "I guess I could understand if it had been thrown out with the trash, but in recycling? No.”

The single-sort recycling facility operates with state-of-the-art technology and equipment that rapidly sorts all combined materials into separate categories. Roche explained that “Newspapers, cardboard, No. 1 plastics, aluminum cans, steel cans, glass bottles and other types of material are each identified automatically, pulled out from the rest, and, then, baled.” There was no identification equipment for snakes.

Recycling Manager John Morin said, “The snake was found as the pre-sort conveyor belt was moving it along to the newspaper separator. Luckily it was grabbed just before it would have wrapped around the spinning shafts of the separator.”

Morin said another recycling blunder this year was a 125-pound anchor with a ten-foot chain. “The anchor was metal, but nothing bigger than a breadbox is going to fit through this equipment,” said Morin. He clarified that people with larger recyclable items may bring them to ecomaine to place items in a designated holding area, at no charge, or take to their local transfer station. “It’s also important,” he added, “that people not put trash or food in with recyclable items.” Or snakes.

[Source]

More confused Maine criminals

Thanks to Julia for pointing this doozy out! Wow. I wish I had footage of this, especially the parade of people following the culprit's footprint trail through the snowstorm! Glad he didn't smack his rescuer with more than a shovel. Jeepers.

Machias man indicted on charges of stealing trucks, assaulting rescuer
By Diana Graettinger
BDN Staff
3/13/09

MACHIAS, Maine — A 27-year-old Machias man, whom police called a one-man crime spree, was indicted Wednesday on charges involving the theft of three trucks and a blow with a shovel to the head of a good Samaritan trying to keep him from burning up in a truck fire.
[...]
The incident began during the cold, snowy, early morning hours of Jan. 31.

“It was near-whiteout conditions,” Deputy Richard Rolfe of the Washington County Sheriff’s Department said Thursday.

[Franklin] Perry left a party in Lubec, but did not have a ride back to Machias so he began walking along Route 189, a distance of about 30 miles.

“He underestimated the distance from Lubec to Machias,” Rolfe said.

While snow pounded the area, Perry stopped at a local trash dealer’s house and found keys inside the man’s 2001 GMC pickup truck. Rolfe said Perry drove the truck about six miles when he ran the vehicle off the road and into the woods.

The Machias man abandoned the truck and walked about a mile when he spotted another truck parked at a residence. The 1989 GMC truck also had the keys inside. He got halfway onto the road when the truck got stuck, and, desperate to get moving, he revved the engine several times and the truck caught fire, Rolfe said.

A neighbor, hearing the commotion and seeing the fire, grabbed a shovel, a flashlight and a fire extinguisher and went to help.

“Frank Perry was lying down in the seat at that point,” Rolfe said. “[The neighbor] dropped his shovel and other stuff on the ground and pulled [Perry] from the [burning] vehicle.”

Perry then picked up the shovel and allegedly whacked the good Samaritan on the head, Rolfe said. The man suffered minor injuries to the right side of his head.

“[The injured man] had an orange stocking cap on which was rolled and that took some of the blow,” Rolfe said.

Lubec firefighters were called to the burning truck. They put out the fire and then saw footprints in the snow and followed them.

Perry continued up the road and came upon a parked car at another residence, Rolfe said. This time the keys were gone, but he found a plastic bag full of change that the owner kept to do her laundry and took that, the deputy said.

From there, Perry walked to a nearby residence where he found a 1999 Dodge pickup truck also with its keys inside.

When firefighters arrived, the pickup’s owner was standing in his driveway. He told them his truck had just been stolen.

“Frank didn’t make it one-half mile before he went off the road with that one,” Rolfe said. “He took out one of those post and cable guardrails. He rolled over one of those and that basically slowed him down enough so he didn’t roll down over the bank.”

At that point a parade of people were following the footprints in the snow that ended in Whiting where firefighters and some of the victims came upon Perry. They held him until police arrived.

Perry was taken to the Washington County Jail where his blood alcohol level registered at 0.15, nearly twice the state’s legal limit of 0.08.

Rolfe said that when he talked to Perry, he confessed to taking the three trucks but denied he hit anyone with a shovel.
[...]

Read full article here: [Source]

This article has generated a lively discussion on Bangor Daily News' website (a whopping 29 comments as of this morning).

Twist ending from judge

2009 has already seen a number of snowmobile related fatalities in Maine.

This judge landed on an interesting way of getting a point across, in the wake of one alcohol-related accident from late December 2008...

Maine judge orders defendant to witness autopsy of a victim of alcohol-related crash
A sentence imposed on a snowmobiler who pleaded guilty to misdemeanors linked to a crash that severely injured a pedestrian includes a requirement that he witness an autopsy of a victim of an alcohol-related accident.

ALFRED, Maine — A sentence imposed on a snowmobiler who pleaded guilty to misdemeanors linked to a crash that severely injured a pedestrian includes a requirement that he witness an autopsy of a victim of an alcohol-related accident.

If that can't be arranged, 19-year-old Patrick Rosa of Limerick will be required to watch a video of an autopsy or a car crash investigation.

Prosecutor Justina McGettigan said the family of victim Darrin Smith made the unusual request of York County Superior Court Justice Paul Fritzsche.

Fritzche also sentenced Rosa to 120 days in jail last week. Rosa pleaded guilty to reckless conduct and criminal trespass in the Dec. 28, 2007, crash.

[Source]

According to the Lewiston Sun Journal, "Rosa was racing in an area that was off-limits to snowmobiling at Limerick Air Field on Dec. 28, 2007, when he hit 42-year-old Darrin Smith. Smith suffered two broken legs, a broken arm and other injuries and was later found in the snow by his 7-year-old daughter." [Source]

For another take on the effect the verdict will have, please read Renee Ordway's editorial piece at Maineville.com.

Amuck with March Mouse Madness!

We'd like to reassure the blog Mainiac Musings that certainly no offense is taken to the titling of the story about a Maine rodent-gone-wild with our name. If you haven't heard the story yet, here it is. This is great stuff!!!

Mouse Absconds With Maine Man's Dentures

WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) -- Never underestimate a mouse's determination. There's a mouse in Bill Exner's house that he says he has captured three times. Each time, the mouse escaped, and the last time the rodent made off with his lower dentures.

Exner, 68, said he and his wife Shirley scoured his bedroom after the dentures disappeared from his night stand.

"We moved the bed, moved the dressers and the night stand and tore the closet apart," he said. "I said, 'I knew that little stinker stole my teeth' - I just knew it."

They found a small opening in a wall where they suspected the mouse was coming and going, and their daughter's fiance, Eric Holt, stepped in to help.

"He brought a crowbar and hammer and he sawed off a section of wood and pulled up the molding and everything," Exner said. "It was quite a job."

They retrieved the dentures, and Holt suggested his future father-in-law boil them in peroxide and whatever else he could find for to disinfect it.

The mouse apparently isn't done. It frequently comes out and stares at Exner, his wife said.

"He's taunting him - I swear he's taunting him," Shirley Exner said.
[Source]