Bradford Era's Top 10 Weird Stories of 2007
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction! Nice job on the article Marty.
Era’s top 10 weird stories
By MARTY ROBACKER WILDER
Era Managing Editor
Not many newspaper reporters can brag
about going into the Allegheny National Forest on a cold November night, taking
notes as people bang sticks together in the hopes of drawing a Bigfoot out of
the woods. With a straight face.
Ahh, but such was the life of one Bradford Era reporter in 2007.
Our Bigfoot story, which garnered worldwide media and Internet attention this
past fall, has been ranked by me as the Top Weird Story for the year. And,
perhaps in a “tribute” to the caliber of news which occurred last year, the
Bigfoot saga also made the list of the Top 10 Local News Stories for 2007.
All year long, the Era newsroom compiles a folder of anecdotes, clippings, and
letters. Reporters take notes on interesting phone calls and save unusual
e-mails, all fodder for this column which is testament to the joy of being a
journalist.
Bigfoot put Bradford in a spotlight the likes of which we haven’t witnessed
since a period about 10 years ago when hundreds of people showed up at a local
church to view the image of the Virgin Mary on a piece of old wall paneling.
(And you think lightning can’t strike twice!)
Here’s a sampling of other newsroom notables for the year:
• The “Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed?” story. A young Elk County man was staying
with a friend at Pitt-Bradford. But, alas, members of a fraternity “kidnapped”
him, took him four miles into the woods, and made him drink alcohol. But when
they abandoned him, he somehow made his way to a residence on West Washington
Street and crawled into a bed on the second floor of an occupied home. The
resident thought the noise was his son returning from work — until his son
returned from work. When asked to leave, Sleepy Head protested, saying it was
his house and that they should leave! Three times he tried to return, and
finally residents called the cops. Not surprisingly, the man appeared to be
“heavily intoxicated” and even threatened to sue police. At the end of our
story, the man at least wound up with a place to sleep — McKean County Jail.
• Several entries in our “criminal” category: A Port Allegany man was charged
with drunk driving after he fell asleep at the drive-through at McDonald’s in
Bradford and his vehicle went forward and struck the one in front of it. And,
honest, it happened April 1. We also had a 19-year-old Kane woman show up at the
State Police barracks to report her vehicle missing from New York State.
Unfortunately for her, she reeked of alcohol and was arrested for underage
drinking.
Potter County always gets honors in the animal category. A thief went into a
backyard in Genesee and stole a 17-inch long bearded dragon lizard valued at
$200. In Hebron Township, a cow was shot but, fortunately, police said, “The
heifer is expected to make a full recovery.”
More:
• Our personal favorite story of the year was about a lineman in Elk County who
was able to scale a tree and put a baby eagle back into its nest — some 80 feet
above the ground and with Mom and Dad looking for a new place to sharpen their
claws.
• On March 16, we reported the county’s annual weather exercise had to be
canceled due to “actual bad weather.”
• On April 11, someone dropped off a large jar of used rubber bands in our
business office. Obviously, word of the Era’s thrifty supply clerk has gotten
around town and, so, much thanks to our generous benefactor.
• On April 11, someone dropped off a large jar of used rubber bands in our
business office. Obviously, word of the Era’s thrifty supply clerk has gotten
around town and, so, much thanks to our generous benefactor.
• On Sept. 19, in response to a story we printed about an ATV trail being moved
to protect snakes denning nearby, a reader called to suggest we write a story
from “the rattlesnakes’ point of view.” Just try to get them to sit still for an
interview!
And more — There’s nothing like a deaf complainer. Our court reporter was trying
to explain why the caller’s point of view was, well, inappropriate for print. “I
can’t put in the paper that she’s a bar-hopping slut!” And, for the rest of the
town who didn’t hear her, “Yes, I’ll try to speak up.”
One of our favorites — You can’t make this stuff up, we always say — occurred in
a late phone call on June 22. A resident of Kiwanis Court called to complain
about a “gay witchcraft wedding.”
His description: There were flowers all in a circle with people in red hooded
capes. One man was in a wheelchair, and there was another man with real long,
real white hair. At first, he thought this was a woman but then realized the
“lady” had a beard. He/she gave a wedding ring to the guy in the wheelchair, and
they reportedly kissed.
The group read from a piece of paper, and practiced some sort of ritual with
cups and a wand. The man got out of the wheelchair holding onto some sort of
hand railing or cane. Then they walked over some broomstick-looking thing.
You think it’s easy being a reporter? What would you do with this story?
No problem. Leave it for an editor. She might be able to figure out it was just
a routine Wiccan summer solstice ceremony making a small blip on Bradford’s
wacky scale. Here’s to more weird news in 2008!
©2007 The Bradford Era
©2008 MBPS
