I just recently learned about the one time absolutely bizarre displays which adorned GO GO Lake in Indiana County Pa the 70s put there by the Frye ? Family from what I can find out who lived in a white trailer across from the lake off Stadtmiller Rd.in Ernst
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The lake still exists but all the bizarre stuff has been removed over the years
Exploring old abandoned building and workings has always been an interesting hobby and for most part can be done so safely . But a newer fad of going into old abandoned Bituminous and Anthracite Coal Mines is a downright Dangerous Game .
But there is a group of young people who show off their exploits on Face Book and You Tube
who-are not taking anywhere near the precautions an experienced Mine Rescue Crew would use to enter old dangerous mine openings.
Black Damp , Gray Damp , Collapses and deadly Explosive Methane Gas is always a possible danger when entering old mine workings .
That's why Rescue crews carry a multi gas meter which warns them if their is lack of oxygen or gas building up.
But not these explorers who wander about mines in very dangerous risk of collapse at any time with no apparent protective equipment
Just one breath of Black Damp and your dead. Many times no one knows they have gone in and many times it is a single person doing the exploring .
The State of Pa. has been sealing off mines every chance they can but there are still hundreds out there open for exploring . Recently 3 mine entry's near a popular bike Trail in Kiski Twp Armstrong County where sealed by the DEP .
Yes all the pictures are neat to see but at what cost? If some one gets trapped a Mine Rescue Team must risk their lives to rescue or recover a body of some one who screwed up being in an old mine they have no business being in.
In some case explorers have gone in and never came out and crews could not locate them
Remember Stay out Stay Safe and report to Pa. DEP mine openings you find.
If you drive along Allegheny River Blvd in Pittsburgh Larimer section there is a now deteriorating memorial to a gentleman who suffered a heart attack and died a horrific death when he slammed into a tree and car caught fire
I remember it well it was a hot summer day when I passed by workers recovering the the burnt up car.
Afterwards for several years the family members built and maintained a good sized memorial to him and passed them several times when they where working on it.
Then for Christmas one year they hung a wreath of pine branches and I as well as others came by and it had twinkle lights that where lite which was kind of weird see them lighted and now power any where
Battery powered we figured but then upon closer examination we saw no wiring no battery pack or lights in the wreath.
Kind of strange one evening on and then gone where they removed ? or stolen ?
Since the wreath was put up I have not seen anyone around it for a couple years now and as you can see its about to fall.
Wanted to talk to one of them and get whole story but they seem to no longer be maintaining it.
So for now a mystery as to how that wreath was lighted .
A very large all black bird with wingspan up to 20 feet has been rumored to be seen all over the mountainous areas of Fayette and Somerset county's but lately its been spotted closer to Pittsburgh
I was on Neville Island when a extremely large bird came down to pole level height at the Waste Management Recycle plant on Grand Ave scaring workers waiting for a bus home
a Native American Mythological bird
At first i thought it was some ones kite or drone but no this was a real gigantic bird but what is it?
is it off its migration track from a rash of storms this summer ? Maybe There are many large birds in South America so maybe its from there .
But what ever it is it has been scaring and amazing people all over . Hopefully some one will be able to get a good picture and we can positively identify it. Hopefully no one takes a trophy shot at it in the mean time .
UPDATE this past Thursday 8-27 while driving on US 6 from Bradford to Sugar Grove I spotted another one of these large unknown birds
Gambling ,Prostitution, Loan Sharking at one time you could find it all in Pittsburgh's South side up into the 80s There was a notorious After Hours club known as the Lotus Club. along the 2300 block of Sydney Street
Little did people know when it first opened just what would go on there once the clubs charter was taken over by the mob
27rooms to do what ever floated your boat when it came to gambling and other vices
Run by Chester Stupak considered the king of Dice Games the club operated with impunity from law enforcement .
I spent a lot of time in South side as a teenager attending South Vocational High School in 76
where i went for Electrical wiring Courses and never knew about it.
If you would like to learn more about it a walking tour of mob activities in the south side is run occasionally
info is available at
https://steelcityvice.com/south-side-by-the-numbers
also check out the whole Steel city vice.com website for some fantastic storys
When you think of the Mob in Pittsburgh and Gambling you think about the Bug or Numbers game
Its made millions from the mob over the years but at one point the mob dabbled into the dog racing business at a track in Ohara Twp known as Guyasuta Kennel Club after the famous Indian chief.
that was near the river between Aspinwall and Ohara Twp.
Unfortunately things did not go well with the track and it was short lived and forced closed
Between construction delays and The contractor being arrested and Opening day on independence day
1930 . Things got out of control from the mechanical rabbit the dogs chase failing and causing injury's and deaths of several dogs to you name it and open gambling and bets being placed it attracted law enforcement attention and was permanently closed in late august
There is nothing left of it or the amusement park which the track was leasing property from
The below article link gives the full fascinating story
https://blog.historian4hire.net/2020/04/22/guyasuta-gangstersich
I enjoy visiting old Cemetery and Grave Yards you can learn so much history let alone the paranormal experience some claim to have .
I don't go ghost hunting I visit to learn history and make sure veterans flags are taken care of.
But this past 2 years while visiting my uncle Buzz grave to make sure he got a flag I noticed over a dozen tombstones around his which had toppled over since last year. Even fairly new stones
Very sad this happens but it does due to badly laid stone foundation for top heavy markers to unstable soils under the cemetery and all the rain this past 2 springs has caused cemetery which never had problems to start sliding away which recently happened in Wheeling WV.
Just recently a young man was injured when a local cemetery he was visiting had a tombstone topple and trap his leg when he lost his balance and grabbed for it and an older gentle man was killed earlier this year
https://www.wtae.com/article/400-pound-tombstone-falls-on-man-he-avoids-serious-injury/30020919
When visiting a grave yard or cemetery consider every stone unstable till proven otherwise beware of noises around you especially pops and cracking noises because plenty of trees have been toppling over as well .
If you come across a precarious situation where something is getting ready to topple over report it to the cemetery office.
Visit in pairs or if going alone let some one know where your at and check in regularly
Cemetery can be fun to explore but do so safely.
