Amazing Tales from Off the Beaten Path

The Tiny Worm Behind an Enormous Industry

The Cheney brothers invented a process for mastering nature’s magical creation of silk, driving their business to the #1 position globally. They made the parachutes used on D-Day. They also introduced corporate paternalism, providing employees with housing, schools, and more.

John Hancock: The Giant Signature that Fanned the Flames of Revolution

Three families, from the same town. Did they start the American Revolution? John Hancock and his friends (the Adams and Quincy’s) fanned the flames. Hancock, meanwhile, married childhood sweetheart Dolly Quincy, after a love triangle involving Aaron Burr

This Hero Stayed on a Sinking Sub to Save a Man

He could have abandoned ship, just like everyone else. After all, the sub sank in just one minute. Everyone was scrambling. But he didn’t. A fellow submariner was still onboard.

What's Hiding Behind That White Cross on the Hill?

Many people see the large white cross as they drive by, shining atop a hill overlooking the downtown. But not everyone has checked out what's hiding behind it. It's an unusual and unique complex that once drew tens of thousands a year to see it.

Tracking Down the First Christmas Tree

Where was the first Christmas tree? Proof is hard to come by. It seems that Windsor Locks, CT is among the very first – at least in legend; a stone monument lays claim to the first decorated tree in 1777. Researching this case turned up other very interesting side stories: German prisoners-of-war, Native American attacks, and even the Wizard of Oz.

The Illegal Pirate Radio Station at the Largest Rock Concert, Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen; world’s largest concert. 600,000 attendees. Six teenagers broadcast with an illegal pirate radio station they brought to the site, interviewing the Grateful Dead, broadcasting traffic and weather reports, and playing records. Attendees loved it. One of the broadcasters tells the crazy story.

You Used to Have to Pay to Use a Library

Access to knowledge for the masses. For many years in the United States, you had to pay a membership fee to a subscription library if you wanted access to books and information. That all changed in the early 1800s when the first publicly funded library opened in CT.

A Religious Group Pinpoints the End of the World

The end of the world was supposed to be on a Wednesday in November of 1873. One hundred religious believers gathered on an island in a New England river to ascend into heaven, even climbing trees to be among the first to rise up.

TV Cameraman Inside Ground Zero

Ground zero. 9-11. World Trade Center. John Maher was one of the first TV cameramen inside the buildings, while they were still burning. He shares his surreal memories and experience.

An Ancient Hiking Rite Still Practiced

It's an ancient European tradition. Hiking a town’s boundaries still occurs in three CT towns (Madison, Guilford, and Durham). They carve a ceremonial stone and place it where the towns meet.