Many travel thru this Stowe Twp Tunnel daily but few know about its most Tragic Dark Day

 Thousands of vehicles and pedestrians use the Stowe Tunnel every year including myself 

Its a handy short cut from Broadway Ave   to Island Ave. in Stowe Twp and saves having to drive all the way around. or climbing over the hill it passes thru. which at one time had an Incline   its so steep.

Opened in 1909 

Its  a rather plain tunnel without all the ornamentation like others in area .approx. 495 Feet long its the Oldest Penn Dot owned tunnel in the region..

Thou its plain its a work horse Commuters use daily .

But like all tunnels they do require maintenance  and after many years in service by early 30s the tunnel fell into such disrepair it had to be closed and after much complaining by towns folk . Crews where sent to clear all the spalling concrete and debris so it could be reopened and that's when the Accident happened while trying to clear all of the spalled concrete lining  when it all let loose

Which killed 5 and left 1 individual William Peay who was trapped up to his waist in Debris  on  November 30 1940

It was a horrifying scene as townsfolk responded and emergency workers worked together  to help dig him and his deceased coworkers out  .

 

https://www.unionprogress.com/2023/03/30/the-tragic-and-troubled-history-of-stowes-tunnel/

 

A police Car would be sent to Pittsburgh's Hill District where all 6 men boarded to give them the dreaded news. 

A new set of workers would eventually set about fixing the tunnel and its been worked on several times over the years . But thankfully without a tragedy occurring.

Another upcoming Paranormal Event

 

2 new Fantastic Events from Fayette County BF Research Group

I will be speaking at this event .

 

Did Big Foot Rip an electric meter off of a home ? The strange case of the exploding meter

 I do Forensic Electrical Inspections where I go out and evaluate electrical damages for insurance company's.

One of the strangest cases I recently came across  happened in North Suburbs of Pittsburgh.

A lady was sitting at her computer  doing here work from home  when she heard a loud  pop outside here home and power went off .

  Few minutes later she sees flashlights and its the power company and Firefighters in her yard.

She goes outside and here she finds her Electric Power Meter has been pulled or blown off its base which is feed from underground  and sitting 15 feet from the house.

But the crazy thing is no surge damage in the home which I typically see when a power surge ops meters off like I saw in Ross Twp Pa. after a major power surge and to make matters  no real damage to meter base other than front metal is bent out.

It looked like a powerful individual  walked up and pulled it out of the meter base.  because all the metal on front was pulled outward.

Power Company said it was popped off when underground wiring shorted but if that's the case where is smoke or other damage to the meter base.

But the strange part homes around here did not loose power and fuse on transformer did not pop which typically happens when the wiring underground short crcuits.

So they ran a new overhead line to make repairs  .

Now there have been cases of these smart meters exploding but that's also not the case. 

When that happens it is clearly evident.

Now I have suggested maybe Natural gas or Methane from nearby abandoned Wildwood Coal mine 

got into underground pipe and whe wiring shorted it sent a force up pipe and blew meter off. 

But its been questioned as well. while others say it was Big foot who did it as there has supposedly been big Foot activity around the old mine but no current reports.  

So there obviously has to be a real explanation but for now it is unsolved I will update if there are further findings 

The Mysterious Annual Easter Event that was a main stay for many years in Pittsburgh

 The Passion Play the mysterious looking purple posters where seen all around the Pittsburgh area every Easter  for many decades 

 Performed at St Micheal's  Roman Catholic  Social Hall  in the South Side of Pittsburgh It was a live actor play that showed the persecution and rising of Jesus Christ put on by local Parishioners and other volunteers including a couple of my neighbors from Carrick  That Included Tom Hayes from St Basils .

as a little kid the posters where most unusual and mysterious to us till we where old enough to go see the play. When i was in 5th grade .

https://abandonedonline.net/location/st-michael-school/

https://archive.triblive.com/news/veronicas-veil-is-spiritual-tradition/

Which drew crowds from across 3 states 

Unfortunately St Micheal's was caught up and closed by the diocese and the buildings now sit in decay and church turned into apartments 

Why Couldn't Lansberry Get Mail? Just one of the Colorful Characters who roamed Downtown Pittsburgh Streets Was it Mind Control?

 When I was a young man and attending Connely Skill Center as I was waiting for a bus or trolley home  you often ran across some colorful characters . The Tall Thin white  guy with signs he carried saying he was Black Balled by US Steel and could not get work.  The guy with no legs who sold pencils  ,the pretzel guy and others all of whom have passed on over the years,.

But one of the most memorable guys was Robert R. Lansberry  who carried signs that said "  why cant Lansberry get mail "

He claimed the CIA was trying to control his mind and where censoring his mail and why he was not getting any. and he picked on congressman Coyne about it often with profane language signs

Now he was not your ordinary mentally ill kook.

He was at one time a highly educated man owned a grocery store and worked for IBM and Westinghouse and  who fell into mental illness.

But with a twist yes some one was monitoring his mail  and possibly trying to control his mind read his fascinating story in the link below 

http://old.post-gazette.com/regionstate/19990611lansberry9.asp

Was there some one trying to control him? you decide 

Henry Meyer The Donut Guy. The original Night Crawler who you looked forward to meeting on Dark Cloudy Pittsburgh Nights

 I first meet Henry Meyer when I was going to Connely Skill Center  for Refrigeration School in 78-79 

He would come by most mornings as he finished up his 6 nights a week routine of traversing the city of Pittsburgh to sell donuts from his  unmarked beige colored Chevy Van 

He would go on to become a Icon of Pittsburgh's nights no matter the weather Henry was there with his donuts .

even on darkest wettest snowy nights.

Since I worked as a security guard at night while starting my business he was always a welcome sight

and he delivered donuts well into the 1980's when he was well past retirement age.

You could always find him around the strip district at night and some times other areas and he always remembered you even f it had been a couple years since he last saw you.
 

Thank You Henry and I miss you and your donuts RIP.

Those Strange Railroad Underpass Tunnels in W. Pa where you have to stop Blow your vehicles Horn then carefully proceed

 There are at least 3 very strange Railroad under Pass Tunnels in W. Pa  where you must come to a complete Stop . Blow Your Horn  then carefully proceed But Why?

If you have ever Driven Little Deer Creek or Horning Road in Allegheny County or Been to Bolivar in Westmoreland County  Then you have encountered them. 

Strange  low under passes at hard angles going under railroad tracks.

Like here at Little Deer Creek Road in Russelton .

The answer comes down to the Chicken and the Egg and who came first.

In this case the road was there first but it was just a dirt path and the railroad took priority so it did 

not have to have a hard curve in its tracks . Railroads where much more important than roads in late 1800's

Little Deer Creek road was never expected to become the busy paved  road it has become over the years 

So you have this bottle neck and if your a truck driver you know just what a pain it is having to detour around these bottle necks .

Especially in Bolivar since it is an official state route  Pa 259 which goes from US22 to US 30  and a short cut taken by many .

As you can see the road is tight against the river and not much room to make a proper underpass. and the cost to fix this is too high to justify the costs

Now as some railroads have disappeared and turned into rails to trails bike ways the old underpasses have been ripped out and traffic able to flow properly like when the Montour Railroad went out of business .

But there are still plenty of bottle necks out there in rural Pa. to explore 

City of New Kensington where you could Gamble all night and a lady could walk the streets at night with out worry . When Mob Ran the town

 Yes when the Pittsburgh Mob ran New Kensington Pa. They picked the right man to manage it his name was

Kelly Mannarino Hand Picked by Mob Boss John S Larocca  when Kelly ran New Kensington a lady could walk the streets of New Kensington  day or night and never be bothered .

 

At the time New Ken was thriving with Alcoa Aluminum having a large factory and research facility in town .

I have never heard a bad word ever said against The Mannarino's ever. they where good for the town which sits on the Banks of the Allegheny River in Westmoreland County

But what New Ken was most famous for was its open all night gambling .

The Triangle Billiards Casino  which was located at  938 Barnes Street  was open every evening 

 

from 10 PM  to 6 AM and was never bothered by Law Enforcement first off because Kelly ran a clean game no not paying off or funny business   and 2nd he paid his dues to law enforcement Judges and local officials so he would not be bothered by them.

But unfortunately the good times would not last. Alcoa pulled out of town and keely and his family members passed and no one was there to takeover. new Kensignton fell into a ghetto which is now slowly rebuilding itself.

I was born after the  Gambling was already gone but many old timers speak fondly of the old days and the Mannirino's.

The Gorrilla Train Wreck is it responsible for so many Bigfoot Sightings in WV . But did the Circus Train Wreck even happen?

 There is a story told about a Barnum & Bailey   Circus Train Wreck which happened on February 5th 1952

in which 35 Gorillas out of 50  supposedly escaped the wreck near Lynchburg Va. and where never seen again .

All the way up to the 80s people claim to have seen or heard the gorillas swinging away deep in the woods.

Supposedly these interlopers are what are now the Big Foots you see running around WV .

There is also this supposed train engine still sitting in the woods left over from the wreck. 

https://bucklesw.blogspot.com/2008/02/from-wayne-jackson.html

 

I think this whole tale is nothing more than an urban legend made up by those who saw this old abandoned train.

I can not find the wreck listed in any of the various railroad sites .

Plus 35 Gorillas loose  and never captured this would have made national headlines.

No Way this would have been allowed to happen.

 

 

 

upcoming event

 

The Squonk a most unusual creature that said to live in the Hemlock Forrest's of NW Pa.

 OK so I have heard of Squonk Opera  but have you heard of the Squonk Creature that roams Pa northern forests ?

They even have a festival for it.

https://cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/Squonk

So what the hell is it. 

Described as a 4 legged creature with ill fitted warted skin and first reported by early Loggers working

the northern Hemlock forests

Its said to be able to dissolve and disappear  when cornered .

What it is and why it would hang out in such Forrest is unknown but the legend like that of the Jack a Lope which run around in Pa Forrest goes back a hundred years and more .

So is there any truth to it who knows but its just one of the many legendary cryptids which call Pa home