Article Archives: Bumps in the Night

They Stole Charlie Chaplin’s Body!

February 29, 2024 | by Al Hunter

Two score and six years ago, a pair of hapless unemployed European auto mechanics crept silently into a small country graveyard in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland under cover of darkness. On the night of Wednesday, March 1, 1978 (and into the early morning of March 2), a 24-year old Polish refugee named … Read More

The Breathalyzer

February 22, 2024 | by Al Hunter

Recently, I found myself at an antique show rummaging through a small box of paper, not unfamiliar territory for me. Then my fingers danced past a small greenish-colored slip of paper with a frozen gauge chart numbered .00 to .40 and a pair of machine-cut holes in the corners. Titled … Read More

The Gun That Killed Vincent Van Gogh?

February 15, 2024 | by Al Hunter

I have spent the past 12 years on a quest. A quest to discover a little-known Lincoln collector turned museum curator named Osborn H. Oldroyd. I have written about Oldroyd many times and, sometimes, the mere mention of his name elicits groans from family and friends whom I’ve forced to … Read More

Help Me Rhonda — The Real Story

February 8, 2024 | by Al Hunter

On February 24, 1965, the Beach Boys recorded “Help Me, Rhonda.” The song, written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, peaked at #1 on May 29, 1965, knocking the Beatles “Ticket to Ride” from the top spot before being displaced by the Supremes “Back In My Arms Again” two weeks … Read More

William H. Johnson, Citizen

February 1, 2024 | by Al Hunter

This column first appeared in January 2014. This past November, I shared with you a series of articles commemorating the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The speech is well known to most Americans and the words Mr. Lincoln spoke that day were once required memorization for every student … Read More