WEBVTT 00:00:14.119 --> 00:00:16.899 Hey everyone, welcome to Seneca Lake Mysteries, 00:00:16.899 --> 00:00:19.940 the podcast where we explore the unusual, strange, 00:00:20.280 --> 00:00:23.339 and unexplained on New York's largest finger 00:00:23.339 --> 00:00:27.179 lake. So after two episodes in a row with a guest 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:30.059 who was Soraya Azkath of the Where Did the Road 00:00:30.059 --> 00:00:33.420 Go podcast, it's just me again. And I've got 00:00:33.420 --> 00:00:38.240 some old, timey, really cool stories as well 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:41.840 as some more recent stories. So thanks so much 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:46.359 for joining me. First off, I want to thank everyone 00:00:46.359 --> 00:00:50.920 for all the support, for listening, for subscribing, 00:00:51.219 --> 00:00:55.640 for all the comments, the messages, the emails. 00:00:56.079 --> 00:00:58.920 And, you know, the thing is, I listen to a bunch 00:00:58.920 --> 00:01:02.259 of podcasts and you always hear the hosts thanking 00:01:02.259 --> 00:01:04.739 everyone for listening and thanking people for 00:01:04.739 --> 00:01:08.319 their support or asking for support. But I really 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:11.909 wanted to slow it down a little bit. just speak 00:01:11.909 --> 00:01:14.489 from the heart and let you guys know just how 00:01:14.489 --> 00:01:17.569 much I really do appreciate it. When I started 00:01:17.569 --> 00:01:20.349 this podcast, like I've said before, this was 00:01:20.349 --> 00:01:23.670 just a hobby of mine, collecting these stories. 00:01:23.730 --> 00:01:26.030 I would tell them to people once in a while, 00:01:26.129 --> 00:01:29.849 and people would tell me their stories. But that 00:01:29.849 --> 00:01:32.849 was about it. It was a hobby of mine, and I didn't 00:01:32.849 --> 00:01:35.730 know if it was the kind of thing that there would 00:01:35.730 --> 00:01:38.989 really be an audience for. I suspected there 00:01:38.989 --> 00:01:41.189 would be. I had an intuition there would be, 00:01:41.250 --> 00:01:45.090 but I wasn't really certain to my bones. But 00:01:45.090 --> 00:01:48.109 now I'm learning very quickly that there are 00:01:48.109 --> 00:01:50.489 a lot of you out there who enjoy these stories 00:01:50.489 --> 00:01:53.069 just as much as I do. And you're willing to take 00:01:53.069 --> 00:01:55.890 the time and listen to me tell these stories 00:01:55.890 --> 00:01:59.109 and to take the time to tell other people, to 00:01:59.109 --> 00:02:02.390 listen to the podcast, to send me these emails 00:02:02.390 --> 00:02:05.609 and messages and comments and phone calls. I 00:02:05.609 --> 00:02:09.099 really appreciate all of them. Every time I get 00:02:09.099 --> 00:02:11.800 a message from someone with a question or a tip, 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:13.919 you know, are you going to talk about this in 00:02:13.919 --> 00:02:16.439 a later show? Or I liked when you talked about 00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:19.860 this, or here's a story I heard. I'm just over 00:02:19.860 --> 00:02:21.900 the moon every time I get one of these messages. 00:02:22.340 --> 00:02:24.620 And I know that as time goes on, the show is 00:02:24.620 --> 00:02:27.259 going to evolve. I'm going to cover a lot of 00:02:27.259 --> 00:02:30.919 different topics, everything from old timey stories 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:35.439 to some of the more arcane and esoteric takes 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:39.460 on. the area, and what all these stories mean. 00:02:39.819 --> 00:02:43.080 And so far, so good. I'm really enjoying the 00:02:43.080 --> 00:02:45.680 heck out of this. I'm so glad you're all here 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:49.039 to go along for the ride. But actually, maybe 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:51.560 I should rephrase that because you're not only 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:54.759 along for the ride, so many of you are helping 00:02:54.759 --> 00:02:58.039 me to steer this as well, letting me know what 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:00.539 you want to hear more about, giving me ideas 00:03:00.539 --> 00:03:04.199 for future episodes. So, yeah, this is everything 00:03:04.199 --> 00:03:07.639 I dreamed it would be and more. The more feedback 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:10.599 I get from you guys, the more I really, really 00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:14.199 want to give you a good show each time out. So 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:17.020 stay tuned in the future. I know I've said this 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:20.300 in the past that I've got some great guests coming 00:03:20.300 --> 00:03:23.539 up. One of the things I'm learning early on here 00:03:23.539 --> 00:03:27.039 doing this podcast is how it can be kind of tricky 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:30.800 to schedule people for the podcast, especially 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:34.460 people who. aren't used to doing podcasts maybe 00:03:34.460 --> 00:03:38.120 they have a story or an experience that's unusual 00:03:38.120 --> 00:03:41.120 and it might be the first time that they're talking 00:03:41.120 --> 00:03:44.919 about it also these are people from all different 00:03:44.919 --> 00:03:47.520 walks of life with all kinds of things going 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:50.960 on in their lives and all kinds of you know challenges 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:55.819 busy schedules just like a lot of us so a few 00:03:55.819 --> 00:03:58.620 of the people I had expected to have on by now 00:03:58.620 --> 00:04:02.069 aren't on by now But I'm hopeful for the future. 00:04:02.389 --> 00:04:05.030 I'm still putting the call out and I'm still 00:04:05.030 --> 00:04:07.770 reaching out to a lot of folks asking them to 00:04:07.770 --> 00:04:10.750 come on here and share their experiences or their 00:04:10.750 --> 00:04:14.169 knowledge or their wisdom or their reflections 00:04:14.169 --> 00:04:17.850 on the mysteries of Seneca Lake. And hey, if 00:04:17.850 --> 00:04:19.870 you're listening to this right now and you feel 00:04:19.870 --> 00:04:21.649 like you have something to offer the podcast, 00:04:21.990 --> 00:04:25.509 reach out to me. Let me know. Podcast at SenecaLakeMysteries 00:04:25.509 --> 00:04:29.819 .com or you can call, leave a voicemail. or send 00:04:29.819 --> 00:04:36.639 a text to 607 -307 -1167. I'd love to hear from 00:04:36.639 --> 00:04:39.899 you. If you have any suggestions of someone you 00:04:39.899 --> 00:04:43.180 know or know of that you feel would be a good 00:04:43.180 --> 00:04:45.360 fit for the podcast, reach out and let me know 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:48.779 about them as well. And if you send me a message, 00:04:49.019 --> 00:04:54.480 I will get back to you. So again, thank you so 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:58.519 much. Whether you're listening locally from... 00:04:59.269 --> 00:05:05.050 Geneva or Watkins Glen or Burdette or Benton 00:05:05.050 --> 00:05:11.750 or Lodi or Romulus or Dresden or Dundee or Valois 00:05:11.750 --> 00:05:16.670 or Willard or Hemrod or Montour Falls or anywhere 00:05:16.670 --> 00:05:19.629 close to the lake. Or if you're listening from 00:05:19.629 --> 00:05:24.430 further away, Rochester, Syracuse, Sweden, Ireland, 00:05:24.529 --> 00:05:27.870 around the world, I see you all and I appreciate 00:05:27.870 --> 00:05:31.480 you all. Thank you. I know it's getting a little 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:34.000 redundant here, but thank you. Thank you so much 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:36.819 for being a part of this. Now, the other thing 00:05:36.819 --> 00:05:40.800 you hear on every podcast is requests to continue 00:05:40.800 --> 00:05:43.379 giving your support. So I'm going to ask you 00:05:43.379 --> 00:05:48.259 all again to please subscribe, follow me on social 00:05:48.259 --> 00:05:52.240 media, keep sharing the show. It would be really 00:05:52.240 --> 00:05:54.959 helpful if you're listening to the podcast, but 00:05:54.959 --> 00:05:58.060 you haven't subscribed. on your podcast platform 00:05:58.060 --> 00:06:02.000 to subscribe there, leave reviews. That really 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:04.920 helps with the algorithm and helps more people 00:06:04.920 --> 00:06:08.399 know about the show. And it helps put me in a 00:06:08.399 --> 00:06:11.699 position, ideally in the future, where I can 00:06:11.699 --> 00:06:15.079 start doing some advertising and generating a 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:18.839 bit of revenue and help me take care of hosting 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:21.420 fees and the other costs that go into the podcast 00:06:21.420 --> 00:06:24.319 and to just make it easier for me to bring you. 00:06:24.810 --> 00:06:30.129 more and better shows on the 7th, 17th, and 27th 00:06:30.129 --> 00:06:32.829 of every month. Now, if you're a local business 00:06:32.829 --> 00:06:34.930 who's interested in advertising on the show, 00:06:35.089 --> 00:06:37.290 please reach out to me. I can share with you 00:06:37.290 --> 00:06:40.329 some of the numbers, the listenership that the 00:06:40.329 --> 00:06:43.029 podcast has. And of course, you'd be advertising 00:06:43.029 --> 00:06:47.589 to people who really love Seneca Lake and either 00:06:47.589 --> 00:06:52.089 spend time here or live near here or have spent 00:06:52.089 --> 00:06:55.480 time around the lake. So yeah, give me a shout. 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:59.740 Let me know. And also, if you would like to donate 00:06:59.740 --> 00:07:02.699 to the show, I would greatly appreciate that. 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:05.339 And right now, you could donate through Venmo. 00:07:05.740 --> 00:07:10.500 My Venmo is at Seneca Lake. And I would be so 00:07:10.500 --> 00:07:16.360 grateful for any kind of donation at all. But 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:19.540 it's not required. Obviously, you can still listen 00:07:19.540 --> 00:07:22.660 to the show. And I'm still deeply grateful that 00:07:22.660 --> 00:07:26.699 you're here. And also, as the show continues 00:07:26.699 --> 00:07:30.980 to grow, I plan to set up a Patreon where you 00:07:30.980 --> 00:07:33.680 can subscribe and pay a little bit each month 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:36.879 for extra content that you won't hear on the 00:07:36.879 --> 00:07:39.639 podcast. So stay tuned for that. It's not set 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:42.959 up yet, but stay tuned for that. And let's see. 00:07:43.519 --> 00:07:45.620 Before we get to our main stories this week, 00:07:45.720 --> 00:07:50.439 I wanted to talk a little bit about a topic or 00:07:50.439 --> 00:07:53.689 a place. that I plan to do some future episodes 00:07:53.689 --> 00:07:58.310 on. Now, I wasn't planning to do any episodes 00:07:58.310 --> 00:08:01.290 on this particular location when I started the 00:08:01.290 --> 00:08:05.329 podcast because I wanted to focus on locations 00:08:05.329 --> 00:08:11.089 that are within roughly four miles of the shores 00:08:11.089 --> 00:08:15.629 of Seneca Lake. However, there's a place a little 00:08:15.629 --> 00:08:18.790 bit further away, maybe seven or eight miles 00:08:18.790 --> 00:08:21.819 to the south of Seneca Lake. not far from the 00:08:21.819 --> 00:08:26.040 hamlet of alpine and that place is known as the 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:29.600 connecticut hill wildlife management area now 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:33.460 connecticut hill is pretty widely known as a 00:08:33.460 --> 00:08:37.919 place where a lot of very strange things occur 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:41.299 there's an old cemetery there people call the 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:45.840 witch's cemetery there have been numerous paranormal 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:48.940 investigators, and even Bigfoot investigators 00:08:48.940 --> 00:08:51.759 up there on Connecticut Hill because over the 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:55.659 years there have been a wide variety of high 00:08:55.659 --> 00:09:02.799 strangeness reports from Bigfoot to UFOs to strange 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:08.139 lights in the woods to the Oz effect, lost time, 00:09:08.340 --> 00:09:12.440 strange sounds, strange voices. The list goes 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:16.840 on and on. And unsurprisingly, I've gotten a 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:19.419 whole lot of messages from people and a whole 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:22.620 lot of suggestions to do an episode about Connecticut 00:09:22.620 --> 00:09:26.620 Hill. And something else that I realize is that 00:09:26.620 --> 00:09:29.879 Connecticut Hill is at the southernmost part 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:33.539 of the Seneca Lake watershed. So you know what? 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:36.659 I'm going to say that it's part of the Seneca 00:09:36.659 --> 00:09:41.120 Lake Mysteries area. And I'm going to let you 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:44.230 know that I'm not sure when, but... In the coming 00:09:44.230 --> 00:09:48.190 weeks, I will be doing an episode about Connecticut 00:09:48.190 --> 00:09:52.269 Hill. I also plan to go up there and look around, 00:09:52.429 --> 00:09:56.509 see what I can find. So for those of you who 00:09:56.509 --> 00:09:59.289 asked for it, you're going to get it. I'll have 00:09:59.289 --> 00:10:01.629 a show on Connecticut Hill coming at you very 00:10:01.629 --> 00:10:05.950 soon. So that's about it for now. Let's get on 00:10:05.950 --> 00:10:09.570 to the stories for this week. I'll be talking 00:10:09.570 --> 00:10:13.480 about some crazy orb sightings. In the last few 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:18.679 years in Geneva, in a particular area along North 00:10:18.679 --> 00:10:21.700 Street. Then I'm going to move into some old 00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:27.059 time stories about cursed or hexed steamboats 00:10:27.059 --> 00:10:30.679 from the steamboat era on Seneca Lake. And also 00:10:30.679 --> 00:10:34.419 another story from just after the steamboat era. 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:38.139 Kind of a crazy story about a boat called the 00:10:38.139 --> 00:10:41.600 Portadora, which began its life. as a luxury 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:46.279 vessel on seneca lake before it turned to a life 00:10:46.279 --> 00:10:49.919 of crime so again thanks so much for being here 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:54.919 i really do genuinely appreciate it and yeah 00:10:54.919 --> 00:11:05.799 let's get into it so back in the fall of 2022 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:09.220 i learned about an incident that had taken place 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:14.120 earlier that year from someone i knew personally 00:11:14.120 --> 00:11:17.799 they were aware of my interest and my seneca 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:21.259 lake mysteries project so they didn't reach out 00:11:21.259 --> 00:11:24.460 to me specifically to tell me the story rather 00:11:24.460 --> 00:11:27.240 we had met up in person and they said hey this 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:30.919 is something you might be interested in and relayed 00:11:30.919 --> 00:11:35.559 the story to me the incident took place on north 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:40.200 street in geneva in the vicinity of Geneva High 00:11:40.200 --> 00:11:43.360 School. Now, I want to be careful about how much 00:11:43.360 --> 00:11:48.980 detail I give about this event due to the witnesses 00:11:48.980 --> 00:11:53.559 wanting confidentiality. So I'm not going to 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:57.539 be very detailed in describing where it took 00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:01.179 place. But here's the story as it was told to 00:12:01.179 --> 00:12:07.240 me. One morning in the spring of 2022, a resident 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:10.960 in this neighborhood had discovered the driver's 00:12:10.960 --> 00:12:14.759 side window of their car had been shattered during 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:18.759 the night. So immediately they assumed that it 00:12:18.759 --> 00:12:23.000 was a vandal who had broken the window. So they, 00:12:23.139 --> 00:12:27.200 like many places these days, they have a security 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:30.539 camera outside aimed right at the car. So they 00:12:30.539 --> 00:12:33.379 reviewed the security footage. Now the security 00:12:33.379 --> 00:12:36.519 camera was positioned from the passenger side, 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:39.580 so you couldn't see. the driver's side window 00:12:39.580 --> 00:12:42.799 specifically but you could see the entire vehicle 00:12:42.799 --> 00:12:48.340 now in the video it was around 3 or 4 a .m and 00:12:48.340 --> 00:12:53.840 suddenly a floating airborne bright light about 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:57.100 maybe the size of a softball or a volleyball 00:12:57.100 --> 00:13:01.080 but it was difficult to tell due to the this 00:13:01.080 --> 00:13:04.940 light this orb being so bright so this uh this 00:13:04.940 --> 00:13:09.059 light came into the frame and moved around the 00:13:09.059 --> 00:13:14.039 vehicle and then moved low almost to the ground 00:13:14.039 --> 00:13:17.639 or maybe even to the ground on the opposite side 00:13:17.639 --> 00:13:21.679 of the car on the driver's side out of the camera's 00:13:21.679 --> 00:13:26.179 view the light paused there for several seconds 00:13:26.179 --> 00:13:30.299 and then it rose up again to a height slightly 00:13:30.299 --> 00:13:34.450 above the roof of the car and then suddenly The 00:13:34.450 --> 00:13:37.570 light zigzagged back and forth approximately 00:13:37.570 --> 00:13:41.970 four or five times and then shot off out of camera 00:13:41.970 --> 00:13:46.970 range at what was an impossible speed. The witness 00:13:46.970 --> 00:13:50.509 said it was similar to like taking a laser pointer 00:13:50.509 --> 00:13:53.830 and pointing it at a wall and then shaking it 00:13:53.830 --> 00:13:56.549 back and forth real quickly and moving it off, 00:13:56.669 --> 00:14:02.029 moving it away. The video was clear and unambiguous. 00:14:02.720 --> 00:14:05.220 Even though it was night vision, you could still 00:14:05.220 --> 00:14:10.120 very clearly see the vehicle and anything around 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:16.539 it. And this strange light, which had gone down 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:19.580 on the side of the vehicle where the driver's 00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:22.580 side window was that broke, and then took off 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:28.379 and the window was broken. So numerous witnesses 00:14:28.379 --> 00:14:31.870 actually viewed this footage. Multiple people 00:14:31.870 --> 00:14:34.549 looked at it and nobody could figure out what 00:14:34.549 --> 00:14:38.509 it was, obviously. So they, it was considered, 00:14:38.629 --> 00:14:40.929 well, maybe they should contact the police because 00:14:40.929 --> 00:14:43.330 of the vandal, because of the broken window. 00:14:43.590 --> 00:14:46.549 But they understood that the police wouldn't 00:14:46.549 --> 00:14:51.169 be able to do anything about it. And they discussed 00:14:51.169 --> 00:14:54.669 further whether or not to go public with the 00:14:54.669 --> 00:14:57.929 footage, either to put it on social media or 00:14:57.929 --> 00:15:02.409 otherwise. And the decision was made to simply 00:15:02.409 --> 00:15:05.950 replace the car window and forget that the event 00:15:05.950 --> 00:15:10.129 happened. And the reason these folks didn't want 00:15:10.129 --> 00:15:12.850 to go public with it was the attention it might 00:15:12.850 --> 00:15:15.629 cause. They didn't want investigators to come. 00:15:15.789 --> 00:15:18.269 They didn't want to be interviewed. They valued 00:15:18.269 --> 00:15:21.870 their privacy. So yeah, that was basically going 00:15:21.870 --> 00:15:26.129 to be the end of it. Now, I can't be 100 % sure, 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:29.669 but I believe that the original footage, was 00:15:29.669 --> 00:15:32.389 recorded over like it wasn't saved it wasn't 00:15:32.389 --> 00:15:35.250 kept nobody really wanted to needed to keep that 00:15:35.250 --> 00:15:39.389 the footage around any longer so it was uh it 00:15:39.389 --> 00:15:42.210 was recorded over however there was at least 00:15:42.210 --> 00:15:46.269 one person that did copy the footage off of the 00:15:46.269 --> 00:15:51.340 monitor screen i believe of the event but that 00:15:51.340 --> 00:15:53.440 person i'm not sure who that is i'm not sure 00:15:53.440 --> 00:15:56.580 if they want to release the video now i want 00:15:56.580 --> 00:15:58.379 to make it clear that the witness who told me 00:15:58.379 --> 00:16:01.879 the story i trust this person completely they 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:05.879 had no reason to fabricate this and their description 00:16:05.879 --> 00:16:09.899 was honest and authentic their response to the 00:16:09.899 --> 00:16:14.559 to the entire event so at the time i noted the 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:17.340 story i said wow that's a great one and kind 00:16:17.340 --> 00:16:20.419 of put it aside hoping that maybe One day I could 00:16:20.419 --> 00:16:22.679 follow up on it. Maybe the witnesses might want 00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:24.720 to reveal what happened. Maybe the video would 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:29.779 surface. But then a few months later, in late 00:16:29.779 --> 00:16:34.879 2022, I was looking at UFO sightings online and 00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:39.220 I found a UFO sighting report that got my attention 00:16:39.220 --> 00:16:45.179 and made me reconsider the car window incident, 00:16:45.299 --> 00:16:48.639 which was apparently damaged by a low -flying... 00:16:49.230 --> 00:16:52.250 glowing orb so i was looking through sightings 00:16:52.250 --> 00:16:55.509 on a website called ufo stalker .com now there 00:16:55.509 --> 00:16:58.149 are a bunch of other websites with ufo databases 00:16:58.149 --> 00:17:02.690 that have far more sightings but ufo ufo stalker 00:17:02.690 --> 00:17:06.829 is still one that i check on occasion so it's 00:17:06.829 --> 00:17:10.450 a very short description that the sighting there's 00:17:10.450 --> 00:17:13.589 not a lot of detail to it but here's the information 00:17:13.589 --> 00:17:16.990 that comes from that sighting it occurred on 00:17:17.740 --> 00:17:24.279 April 26, 2022, at 4 .06 p .m., and it took place 00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:28.779 at Geneva Middle School and High School on North 00:17:28.779 --> 00:17:32.900 Street. So it's basically one long sentence giving 00:17:32.900 --> 00:17:35.700 you the whole sighting, and this is how it reads. 00:17:36.420 --> 00:17:39.240 First, it mentions that it was a sighting of 00:17:39.240 --> 00:17:42.519 a light, of some kind of light, and it describes 00:17:42.519 --> 00:17:46.240 it as such. Quote, it was over by a parking lot, 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:49.019 just moving all over the place with a white light, 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:52.640 even turning red, then moved over to our field 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:57.019 and was hovering a little more higher, then just 00:17:57.019 --> 00:17:59.940 got higher, then went back to the parking lot 00:17:59.940 --> 00:18:04.220 and was gone. End quote. So when I read this, 00:18:04.359 --> 00:18:07.240 I realized, wow, this is less than a quarter 00:18:07.240 --> 00:18:12.480 mile from the orb sighting with. car damage. 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:16.900 So now I have one solid sighting with multiple 00:18:16.900 --> 00:18:21.400 witnesses and apparently video, and now a second 00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:26.079 sighting describing a very similar object, very 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:29.319 close to where the first sighting took place. 00:18:29.579 --> 00:18:33.259 So I'm talking about it today because I want 00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:36.160 to put it out there to all of you, especially 00:18:36.160 --> 00:18:40.740 my listeners in Geneva. Have you seen any strange 00:18:40.740 --> 00:18:45.700 low -flying lights or orbs moving and hovering 00:18:45.700 --> 00:18:49.240 around the North Street, Carter Road neighborhood 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:51.960 near the school? Do you know anyone who has? 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.779 If so, let me know. I'd love to hear from you. 00:18:57.019 --> 00:19:01.660 And also, I'm looking for anyone with info on 00:19:01.660 --> 00:19:04.779 the incident with the car window and the footage, 00:19:04.920 --> 00:19:08.230 especially the person out there who... Apparently 00:19:08.230 --> 00:19:11.910 has a copy of this footage. Please reach out 00:19:11.910 --> 00:19:15.589 to me. I will keep your anonymity, confidentiality. 00:19:15.670 --> 00:19:20.529 I honor those at all times. And I'd like to explore 00:19:20.529 --> 00:19:23.150 this more. I'd like to look into this more. See 00:19:23.150 --> 00:19:26.769 what's going on up there on North Street. And 00:19:26.769 --> 00:19:29.329 see if it's something that other people have 00:19:29.329 --> 00:19:37.480 experienced as well. So there you go. Okay, folks, 00:19:37.599 --> 00:19:42.319 so I have a bunch of stories that are all under 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:45.880 the umbrella of one main story, and I call that 00:19:45.880 --> 00:19:51.819 story Seneca's Steamboat Hex. So Seneca Lake's 00:19:51.819 --> 00:19:56.559 steamboat era took place from 1828 through the 00:19:56.559 --> 00:20:01.740 1920s. In its heyday, these steamers would run 00:20:01.740 --> 00:20:05.000 on a regular schedule from Geneva to Watkins 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:08.140 Glen. about a four -hour trip with several stops 00:20:08.140 --> 00:20:12.779 along the way. So these big wooden vessels, depending 00:20:12.779 --> 00:20:15.279 on their size, could transport anywhere from 00:20:15.279 --> 00:20:19.740 50 to 1 ,500 passengers in a single trip while 00:20:19.740 --> 00:20:23.200 also towing multiple canal boats and delivering 00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:28.119 various goods to and from locations up and down 00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:31.200 the lake. Now, passengers would take the steamboat 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:35.559 for a variety of reasons. Many Geneva businessmen 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:38.079 who lived south of the city would take their 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:42.859 daily commute aboard a steamer, while other residents 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:46.740 and visitors could pay the 25 -cent fare to visit 00:20:46.740 --> 00:20:50.940 friends or shop or conduct business or just take 00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:55.859 excursions to recreational attractions or to 00:20:55.859 --> 00:20:59.880 just enjoy the scenery. Now, the finer steamboats 00:20:59.880 --> 00:21:03.680 offered private cabins. fine meals in the dining 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:07.220 room, and musical entertainment in the staterooms 00:21:07.220 --> 00:21:11.500 or on the promenade decks. There were an estimated 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:15.579 75 different steamers that traveled the waves 00:21:15.579 --> 00:21:18.779 of Seneca during this era, many of which were 00:21:18.779 --> 00:21:24.240 built at boatyards along the lakeshore in places 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:28.359 including Geneva, Lodi Landing, Long Point, Dundee. 00:21:28.730 --> 00:21:31.490 and Watkins Glen. Now because these boats were 00:21:31.490 --> 00:21:35.250 made of wood and powered by large coal and wood 00:21:35.250 --> 00:21:38.470 burning furnaces, steamboat fires were common. 00:21:39.269 --> 00:21:42.690 Still, many locals at the time believed that 00:21:42.690 --> 00:21:45.950 there was a hex on the steamboats of Seneca that 00:21:45.950 --> 00:21:49.589 was responsible for the numerous accidents, fires, 00:21:49.970 --> 00:21:54.569 sinkings, and even deaths that struck a good 00:21:54.569 --> 00:21:57.740 number of these steamboats. But possible hexes 00:21:57.740 --> 00:22:02.039 aside, many of the more prominent steamers of 00:22:02.039 --> 00:22:05.700 the era had histories that were filled with bizarre 00:22:05.700 --> 00:22:10.259 and striking stories. And here are just a few 00:22:10.259 --> 00:22:14.240 of them. So the first one I call the Seneca Chief, 00:22:14.500 --> 00:22:18.940 a .k .a. the Geneva. So the Seneca Chief went 00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:23.079 from Geneva to Watkins Glen and back on July 00:22:23.079 --> 00:22:28.180 3rd, 1828. which heralded the start of the steamboat 00:22:28.180 --> 00:22:32.500 era on Seneca Lake. The 90 -foot -long boat left 00:22:32.500 --> 00:22:35.859 Geneva around 8 a .m. and made it to Watkins 00:22:35.859 --> 00:22:40.279 at around 1 p .m., where it was greeted by a 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:43.900 group of around 4 ,000 to 5 ,000 people who were 00:22:43.900 --> 00:22:47.839 eager to see this new steamboat, this new technology 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:51.900 on its maiden voyage. So after the Seneca chief 00:22:51.900 --> 00:22:54.829 stayed in Watkins for about two hours, It made 00:22:54.829 --> 00:22:58.410 its way back to Geneva and docked at around 8 00:22:58.410 --> 00:23:02.109 p .m. Now, within the next year, the steamboat's 00:23:02.109 --> 00:23:05.549 owners had built a cabin on the deck, raised 00:23:05.549 --> 00:23:09.009 the wheels, and completed some other improvements 00:23:09.009 --> 00:23:14.970 to increase comfort, speed, and appearance. But 00:23:14.970 --> 00:23:20.930 in January 1832, the Seneca Chief sank at a wharf 00:23:20.930 --> 00:23:25.930 in Geneva after a storm. The boat was eventually 00:23:25.930 --> 00:23:29.809 raised. They did more upgrades on it. And by 00:23:29.809 --> 00:23:32.670 the next year, it was sold to new owners who 00:23:32.670 --> 00:23:36.069 promptly lengthened the boat by 35 feet and renamed 00:23:36.069 --> 00:23:42.450 it the Geneva. So around 1847 or 1848, the Geneva 00:23:42.450 --> 00:23:45.650 had reached the end of its career. But disposing 00:23:45.650 --> 00:23:49.509 of a 125 -foot -long steamboat wasn't going to 00:23:49.509 --> 00:23:53.960 be easy. That little problem was solved when 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:56.920 it was decided that the steamer would be packed 00:23:56.920 --> 00:24:00.960 with explosive powder and blown up off of the 00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:04.640 shore in Geneva as part of the Fourth of July 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:09.440 celebration. So an estimated 10 ,000 onlookers 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:13.839 gather along the shore, eagerly awaiting the 00:24:13.839 --> 00:24:17.480 spectacle, and the Geneva was loaded with powder, 00:24:17.599 --> 00:24:22.980 was... placed far offshore, and a long wire was 00:24:22.980 --> 00:24:26.099 connected to an electric battery that was run 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:29.839 to set off the explosion. After several attempts, 00:24:30.059 --> 00:24:35.500 the powder failed to ignite. So, a few people 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:39.460 got into a boat. This little boating party was 00:24:39.460 --> 00:24:43.799 dispatched with a fuse to approach the steamer 00:24:43.799 --> 00:24:47.319 and trigger the explosion by introducing fire. 00:24:48.250 --> 00:24:51.130 However, it turned out that the powder had somehow 00:24:51.130 --> 00:24:54.609 become wet and the boating party could only manage 00:24:54.609 --> 00:24:58.690 to light the steamboat on fire. So at first, 00:24:58.710 --> 00:25:00.789 the crowd was disappointed that they didn't get 00:25:00.789 --> 00:25:05.490 to see the Geneva blow up. Yet, once the fire 00:25:05.490 --> 00:25:08.569 started raging, it was sending flames up high 00:25:08.569 --> 00:25:12.630 into the night sky and brightly lighting up the 00:25:12.630 --> 00:25:15.630 harbor and the shore. The spectators ended up 00:25:15.630 --> 00:25:18.680 having a pretty good time anyway. Now the next 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:24.400 story I call Death Toll on the Watkins. The Watkins 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:27.619 was another early Seneca Lake steamer. It was 00:25:27.619 --> 00:25:32.099 built in 1853 and ended up having a dark history 00:25:32.099 --> 00:25:35.279 that unfolded within a very short span of time. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.720 Several years after the Watkins went into service, 00:25:38.900 --> 00:25:43.240 the newly invented steamboat propeller was added 00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:47.549 to the steamboat. But the excitement of the new 00:25:47.549 --> 00:25:51.329 propeller didn't last long because a propeller 00:25:51.329 --> 00:25:55.069 accident on Seneca Lake killed two people. The 00:25:55.069 --> 00:25:58.670 Watkins was taken out of service for a short 00:25:58.670 --> 00:26:02.329 time, but not long after it returned to work, 00:26:02.470 --> 00:26:05.349 there was another horrific accident that happened 00:26:05.349 --> 00:26:09.769 on the Watkins. Two bolt heads on the boiler 00:26:09.769 --> 00:26:13.559 were blown off by an explosion. killing one boiler 00:26:13.559 --> 00:26:17.700 operator and injuring another. And despite the 00:26:17.700 --> 00:26:20.440 boat's death toll, it was returned to service 00:26:20.440 --> 00:26:23.940 for a few more years, but eventually taken out 00:26:23.940 --> 00:26:26.359 of service and the engines were removed and the 00:26:26.359 --> 00:26:31.099 hull was left to rot. Moving on to the next story, 00:26:31.599 --> 00:26:37.660 the Onondaga, contaminated war hero. So in 1860, 00:26:37.819 --> 00:26:43.420 a steam -powered paddle wheel towboat, named 00:26:43.420 --> 00:26:47.880 the Perez H. Fields was built. When the American 00:26:47.880 --> 00:26:52.039 Civil War began in 1861, the boat was commissioned 00:26:52.039 --> 00:26:55.200 by the U .S. government to transport troops. 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:59.000 So enlisted Union soldiers would be picked up 00:26:59.000 --> 00:27:02.980 along the shore in Geneva and transported on 00:27:02.980 --> 00:27:07.299 the Perez H. Fields to Watkins Glen before those 00:27:07.299 --> 00:27:09.880 soldiers would head to the Union encampment in 00:27:09.880 --> 00:27:13.759 Elmira. about 24 miles away, and then they would 00:27:13.759 --> 00:27:16.460 travel on to the battlefields across the south. 00:27:17.099 --> 00:27:21.200 It's likely that hundreds or maybe even thousands 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:25.640 of Union soldiers rode on the Perez H. Fields 00:27:25.640 --> 00:27:30.819 down Seneca Lake in the early 1860s. And after 00:27:30.819 --> 00:27:36.000 the Civil War ended, the steamer Onondaga ended 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:39.380 up spending the next five years serving as a 00:27:39.380 --> 00:27:43.359 towboat. Now, the Seneca Lake Navigation Company, 00:27:43.539 --> 00:27:47.859 looking to increase their fleet of excursionist 00:27:47.859 --> 00:27:51.740 steamboats, commissioned a shipbuilder named 00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:55.140 Bruce Springstead, a highly renowned shipbuilder, 00:27:55.160 --> 00:28:00.220 Bruce Springstead, to rebuild and revamp the 00:28:00.220 --> 00:28:06.859 Perez H fields. And the result was a 175 foot 00:28:06.859 --> 00:28:12.779 long, 500 passenger. luxury ship. Now the Onondaga 00:28:12.779 --> 00:28:16.920 was regarded as the largest steamer in service 00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:21.619 between the Hudson River and Buffalo and the 00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:25.859 newly renamed Onondaga offered the finest in 00:28:25.859 --> 00:28:29.819 comfort and style on its trips between Geneva 00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:33.200 and Watkins Glen and points in between. Over 00:28:33.200 --> 00:28:36.500 the next couple of decades as bigger and faster 00:28:36.500 --> 00:28:39.720 steamboats appeared on Seneca Lake The Onondaga 00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:43.500 lost a bit of its shine, but it continued to 00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:48.099 carry passengers on its daily route before, or 00:28:48.099 --> 00:28:51.680 routes, before finally being retired and docked 00:28:51.680 --> 00:28:56.839 in Geneva in 1895. Now, it seems that nobody 00:28:56.839 --> 00:29:00.519 was really sure what to do with this old steamboat, 00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:03.819 so the Onondaga remained at the dock in Geneva 00:29:03.819 --> 00:29:10.019 for the next three years. Then in 1898, the Smith 00:29:10.019 --> 00:29:12.539 Opera House in Geneva, a performing arts theater 00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:16.960 in Geneva, hosted the Joshua Simpkins Opera Company, 00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:20.759 who were performing one of the most popular shows 00:29:20.759 --> 00:29:24.200 of the time, the stage comedy Joshua Simpkins. 00:29:25.099 --> 00:29:28.000 Now, it was discovered that the road troop, after 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.420 arriving in Geneva, had brought smallpox with 00:29:30.420 --> 00:29:33.380 them. So local officials did what they thought 00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:36.599 was the best course of action. to quarantine 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:40.599 all of the actors at the edge of the city in 00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:44.839 their private rail cars. And then once the actors 00:29:44.839 --> 00:29:47.640 were in there, they hosed down the rails cars 00:29:47.640 --> 00:29:54.160 with formaldehyde. Now the quarantine didn't 00:29:54.160 --> 00:29:58.319 go as they had hoped because the infected actors 00:29:58.319 --> 00:30:02.440 or the potentially infected actors weren't staying 00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:07.240 inside the train. the public was curious and 00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:10.740 they weren't staying away from the train. So 00:30:10.740 --> 00:30:15.839 the public health and government officials decided 00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:20.140 that this was no good. So they loaded the entire 00:30:20.140 --> 00:30:24.920 troop onto the Onondaga and then anchored the 00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:29.079 boat a ways away from shore in Geneva's Harbor 00:30:29.079 --> 00:30:34.480 for a month long quarantine. So these, uh, these, 00:30:34.990 --> 00:30:40.769 were going to stay on this steamboat floating 00:30:40.769 --> 00:30:44.789 in the middle of the harbor for a full month. 00:30:45.509 --> 00:30:49.869 Now, the performers made the best of their stay 00:30:49.869 --> 00:30:56.369 aboard their new floating home, even giving performances 00:30:56.369 --> 00:31:00.430 of Joshua Simpkins on the deck of the steamboat 00:31:00.430 --> 00:31:03.089 for the entertainment of the audiences that were 00:31:03.089 --> 00:31:07.359 gathered on shore. So when the traveling company 00:31:07.359 --> 00:31:11.579 finally disembarked the Onondaga at the end of 00:31:11.579 --> 00:31:15.920 the quarantine on June 24th, 1898, the legendary 00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:19.839 steamboat was now considered a floating biological 00:31:19.839 --> 00:31:24.900 hazard. So immediate disposal of this potentially 00:31:24.900 --> 00:31:30.180 infected boat was deemed necessary. And the Seneca 00:31:30.180 --> 00:31:34.700 Lake Steamboat Company came up with a plan. to 00:31:34.700 --> 00:31:39.259 end the life of the Onondaga with a fiery extravaganza. 00:31:39.440 --> 00:31:43.599 So they decided that the Onondaga would be blown 00:31:43.599 --> 00:31:48.039 up on the lake off Kashong Point on September 00:31:48.039 --> 00:31:54.700 14, 1898. And it was advertised both as a celebration 00:31:54.700 --> 00:31:58.000 of the United States' recent victory in the Spanish 00:31:58.000 --> 00:32:02.759 -American War. and also as an homage to the explosion 00:32:02.759 --> 00:32:08.079 of the USS Maine, which had helped spur the start 00:32:08.079 --> 00:32:12.900 of the war earlier that year. So flyers promoting 00:32:12.900 --> 00:32:15.720 the event were distributed across New York and 00:32:15.720 --> 00:32:19.240 Pennsylvania, inviting visitors to enjoy, quote, 00:32:19.279 --> 00:32:22.660 a never -to -be -forgotten spectacle, end quote, 00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:26.480 and an estimated crowd of 5 ,000 people traveled. 00:32:27.119 --> 00:32:30.220 from near and far to gather on both shores of 00:32:30.220 --> 00:32:34.819 the lake, both on the east and west, to watch 00:32:34.819 --> 00:32:38.880 the show. So a band played, hot air balloons 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:43.099 were launched. It was quite a day. And after 00:32:43.099 --> 00:32:46.819 the paddle wheel and the other machinery were 00:32:46.819 --> 00:32:51.759 removed, 500 pounds of dynamite, 300 pounds of 00:32:51.759 --> 00:32:54.839 blasting powder, and a barrel of gasoline were 00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:58.859 distributed. around the onondaga the onondaga 00:32:58.859 --> 00:33:01.859 was then towed to the center of the lake off 00:33:01.859 --> 00:33:06.819 kashong point and was ignited at about 4 30 p 00:33:06.819 --> 00:33:11.119 .m three long tongues of fire shot out from the 00:33:11.119 --> 00:33:13.720 ship sending debris flying in all directions 00:33:13.720 --> 00:33:18.619 a massive dome of dense yellow smoke surrounded 00:33:18.619 --> 00:33:23.119 and obscured the boat from view for a while as 00:33:23.119 --> 00:33:27.460 a 500 -foot mushroom cloud rose into the sky. 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.420 And over the next several days, small pieces 00:33:32.420 --> 00:33:35.759 of the Onondaga were found scattered on the lake. 00:33:36.140 --> 00:33:38.700 But this wasn't quite the end of the story of 00:33:38.700 --> 00:33:44.180 the Onondaga because in August of 2012, almost 00:33:44.180 --> 00:33:49.680 114 years after the explosion, the destruction 00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:53.900 of the Onondaga, A group of researchers located 00:33:53.900 --> 00:33:57.079 the wreckage of the steamboat at the bottom of 00:33:57.079 --> 00:34:02.299 Seneca Lake at a depth of around 400 feet. Next 00:34:02.299 --> 00:34:06.160 up, I have a story called The Mighty Ben Loader's 00:34:06.160 --> 00:34:10.539 Deadly End. So the largest and most powerful 00:34:10.539 --> 00:34:14.659 steamboat ever built on Seneca Lake was the Ben 00:34:14.659 --> 00:34:18.500 Loader. Construction on the boat was completed. 00:34:19.179 --> 00:34:23.019 And it was placed into service on Seneca Lake 00:34:23.019 --> 00:34:31.059 in 1849. Now, this was a behemoth. It was 250 00:34:31.059 --> 00:34:36.460 feet long and could transport 1 ,500 passengers 00:34:36.460 --> 00:34:40.079 at a time with a top speed of around 20 miles 00:34:40.079 --> 00:34:44.559 an hour. So at its peak, the Ben Loder was completing 00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:48.559 four round trips between Watkins Glen in Geneva, 00:34:49.050 --> 00:34:54.389 each day. Then in 1853, the steamboat was sold 00:34:54.389 --> 00:34:58.909 to a new owner and converted to a towboat. Now, 00:34:58.929 --> 00:35:01.369 the way these towboats worked, there were horse 00:35:01.369 --> 00:35:04.789 -drawn canal boats that were carrying coal and 00:35:04.789 --> 00:35:07.369 agricultural products and building materials 00:35:07.369 --> 00:35:11.429 and other cargo that would arrive in Geneva on 00:35:11.429 --> 00:35:14.710 the Seneca Cayuga Canal. Then the canal boats 00:35:14.710 --> 00:35:18.469 would be tied together and hitched. to a towboat 00:35:18.469 --> 00:35:21.429 and then the towboat would pull the canal boats 00:35:21.429 --> 00:35:24.949 down the lake to be unloaded in Watkins Glen. 00:35:25.969 --> 00:35:30.050 Then the canal boats would be reloaded with cargo 00:35:30.050 --> 00:35:34.349 and towed back to Geneva. Now the crew of each 00:35:34.349 --> 00:35:37.949 canal boat would take the trip from Geneva to 00:35:37.949 --> 00:35:41.050 Watkins and back and they'd either leave their 00:35:41.050 --> 00:35:43.469 horses in one of the large horse barns in Geneva 00:35:43.469 --> 00:35:46.449 or they'd bring the horses with them on the canal 00:35:46.449 --> 00:35:51.150 boats. for the round trip some of the larger 00:35:51.150 --> 00:35:54.349 tow boats were known to pull dozens of canal 00:35:54.349 --> 00:35:58.170 boats at one time the largest number of canal 00:35:58.170 --> 00:36:02.929 boats ever towed at once was 70 and that record 00:36:02.929 --> 00:36:07.550 was held by you guessed it the ben loader now 00:36:07.550 --> 00:36:12.329 in 1861 during its 12th year of service on seneca 00:36:12.329 --> 00:36:16.159 lake The assistant engineer and a deckhand were 00:36:16.159 --> 00:36:19.420 killed on the Ben Loader by a boiler explosion. 00:36:20.420 --> 00:36:24.739 A dozen canal horses and several other crew members 00:36:24.739 --> 00:36:29.900 were scalded by the blisteringly hot water that 00:36:29.900 --> 00:36:32.739 came from the boiler during that explosion as 00:36:32.739 --> 00:36:38.860 well. Then on the evening of May 15th, also 1861, 00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:42.019 the Ben Loader was on its way from Geneva to 00:36:42.019 --> 00:36:48.260 Watkins Glen. pulling 27 boats and 17 cribs of 00:36:48.260 --> 00:36:53.380 lumber. About 12 miles south of Geneva, the steamer 00:36:53.380 --> 00:36:57.019 encountered a sudden storm and a violent gust 00:36:57.019 --> 00:37:00.900 of wind from the southwest slammed into the steamboat 00:37:00.900 --> 00:37:07.079 and its cargo, causing the last 11 boats that 00:37:07.079 --> 00:37:10.239 were tied to the bend loader and that were also 00:37:10.809 --> 00:37:13.730 filled with lumber, railroad ties, coal, and 00:37:13.730 --> 00:37:17.889 barley to break free. And the Ben Loader's crew 00:37:17.889 --> 00:37:20.969 watched in horror as three of the boats were 00:37:20.969 --> 00:37:24.170 lifted almost completely out of the water before 00:37:24.170 --> 00:37:28.849 plunging and disappearing into the waves. And 00:37:28.849 --> 00:37:32.949 on board those apparently sunken boats were the 00:37:32.949 --> 00:37:37.869 crew and their horses, all of whom were assumed 00:37:37.869 --> 00:37:42.690 dead. But the next morning, the Ben Loader and 00:37:42.690 --> 00:37:47.210 another steamboat, the STR -0, were sent to look 00:37:47.210 --> 00:37:50.809 for the missing boats and the crews and horses. 00:37:51.050 --> 00:37:53.750 And when they arrived at the scene of the previous 00:37:53.750 --> 00:37:59.309 evening's events, they found all of the boats 00:37:59.309 --> 00:38:04.969 and the crews either ashore or anchored nearby. 00:38:06.679 --> 00:38:09.699 By some miracle, only minor injuries were suffered 00:38:09.699 --> 00:38:14.000 and all the crew members were alive. It was learned, 00:38:14.039 --> 00:38:16.400 however, that when the three coal boats plunged 00:38:16.400 --> 00:38:19.480 underwater, they flipped over, lost their loads 00:38:19.480 --> 00:38:21.880 of coal, and then bobbed to the surface upside 00:38:21.880 --> 00:38:25.920 down. And in the process, six horses were lost. 00:38:26.380 --> 00:38:30.820 But interestingly, only one of those horses' 00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:36.309 corpses were found. uh when it drifted to shore 00:38:36.309 --> 00:38:41.690 then just a few weeks later the ben loader finally 00:38:41.690 --> 00:38:48.590 met its end on june 2nd 1861 the steamboat was 00:38:48.590 --> 00:38:51.949 docked at a coal trestle in watkins glen for 00:38:51.949 --> 00:38:54.010 the night and at some point during the night 00:38:54.010 --> 00:38:57.929 the ben loader caught fire the flames raged out 00:38:57.929 --> 00:39:01.849 of control the crew made the decision to cut 00:39:01.849 --> 00:39:04.710 the steamboat adrift so the fire wouldn't ignite 00:39:04.710 --> 00:39:08.030 the coal storage facility nearby and possibly 00:39:08.030 --> 00:39:11.889 the entire village. So the Ben Loader floated 00:39:11.889 --> 00:39:15.590 out onto Seneca Lake, fully engulfed in flames, 00:39:15.610 --> 00:39:19.409 and would be completely incinerated down to the 00:39:19.409 --> 00:39:24.110 waterline. Now the next story is a quick one. 00:39:24.769 --> 00:39:29.070 I call it the legendary Otetiani's egg -citing 00:39:29.070 --> 00:39:34.369 finale. Well, so this isn't necessarily evidence 00:39:34.369 --> 00:39:36.849 of a curse or a hex, but the final days of the 00:39:36.849 --> 00:39:41.789 Otetiani were a bit strange. You may recall if 00:39:41.789 --> 00:39:45.710 you listened in episode two, I talked about the 00:39:45.710 --> 00:39:49.190 incredible encounter between the Otetiani and 00:39:49.190 --> 00:39:51.989 the Seneca Lake Serpent that took place in 1900, 00:39:52.210 --> 00:39:55.349 the most famous Seneca Lake Serpent story ever. 00:39:56.090 --> 00:40:00.590 And after that event, the Otetiani continued 00:40:00.590 --> 00:40:04.789 doing regular routes between Geneva and Watkins 00:40:04.789 --> 00:40:09.469 Glen through late 1905. And it was around that 00:40:09.469 --> 00:40:13.889 time, 1905, 1906, that it was renamed the Seneca. 00:40:14.510 --> 00:40:18.769 And for the next three years, it was only intermittently 00:40:18.769 --> 00:40:24.670 in service between Watkins and Geneva. And when 00:40:24.670 --> 00:40:27.590 the steamboat reached the end of its useful life, 00:40:28.170 --> 00:40:33.050 It wasn't just disassembled for parts or burned 00:40:33.050 --> 00:40:36.170 in the lake or anything like that. It was docked 00:40:36.170 --> 00:40:40.289 in Watkins Glen in the winter of 1908 to 1909. 00:40:41.010 --> 00:40:46.570 And part of the boat was brought ashore and cut 00:40:46.570 --> 00:40:51.170 in half and began the final phase of its life 00:40:51.170 --> 00:40:57.170 as a hen house. And finally, we wrap up the... 00:40:57.869 --> 00:41:02.769 stories of the seneca steamboat hexes with the 00:41:02.769 --> 00:41:06.090 final tale the sinking of the manhattan and the 00:41:06.090 --> 00:41:10.769 end of the steamboats so as railroads completely 00:41:10.769 --> 00:41:15.769 took over the manhattan was still regularly bringing 00:41:15.769 --> 00:41:19.949 passengers between geneva and watkins glen in 00:41:19.949 --> 00:41:23.829 1915 now this steamer like many others that had 00:41:23.829 --> 00:41:27.230 traveled seneca lake over the previous hundred 00:41:27.230 --> 00:41:31.170 years, ended its career quite abruptly and in 00:41:31.170 --> 00:41:34.869 dramatic fashion. So the Manhattan was anchored 00:41:34.869 --> 00:41:38.150 at the northern end of the lake near the canal. 00:41:39.010 --> 00:41:42.409 Now somehow one evening the steamer broke away 00:41:42.409 --> 00:41:46.329 from its moorings and went adrift, and it made 00:41:46.329 --> 00:41:48.929 its way about a hundred feet through the canal 00:41:48.929 --> 00:41:53.510 before getting wedged under a bridge. So the 00:41:53.510 --> 00:41:57.159 crew came, the boat was dislodged, And then it 00:41:57.159 --> 00:42:00.579 was towed back and reattached to its moorings 00:42:00.579 --> 00:42:05.440 when the Manhattan promptly sunk. So the owners 00:42:05.440 --> 00:42:10.500 worked to successfully plug the leak and towed 00:42:10.500 --> 00:42:14.000 the Manhattan to Cayuga Lake and docked it there. 00:42:14.159 --> 00:42:18.199 At which point the Manhattan sunk again, marking 00:42:18.199 --> 00:42:22.699 the final chapter in Seneca Lake's steamboat 00:42:22.699 --> 00:42:28.469 era. okay so the steamboat era was over but i 00:42:28.469 --> 00:42:32.789 have one more story from the early 1900s came 00:42:32.789 --> 00:42:35.869 right after the steamboat era and i loved it 00:42:35.869 --> 00:42:38.630 i think it's just a really delightful little 00:42:38.630 --> 00:42:43.030 tale and i call it from luxury boating to liquor 00:42:43.030 --> 00:42:47.929 bootlegging the tale of the portadora so in 1909 00:42:47.929 --> 00:42:51.949 the first gasoline powered boat to run a regular 00:42:51.949 --> 00:42:55.139 schedule on Seneca Lake was built. It was 43 00:42:55.139 --> 00:42:59.059 feet long and capable of carrying 50 passengers. 00:42:59.579 --> 00:43:03.019 Name of the boat was the Portadora, and it was 00:43:03.019 --> 00:43:06.900 owned by Captain Frank Power. And the Portadora 00:43:06.900 --> 00:43:11.260 was a very sleek, very modern machine for its 00:43:11.260 --> 00:43:15.699 time. Now, five years after the Portadora's launch, 00:43:16.179 --> 00:43:19.920 Captain Tower wanted to find a way to attract 00:43:19.920 --> 00:43:23.650 more passengers to his boat. So he developed 00:43:23.650 --> 00:43:28.030 Pastime Park on the northeast side of the lake. 00:43:28.449 --> 00:43:33.010 On this property, Captain Tower built tennis 00:43:33.010 --> 00:43:37.829 courts, a picnic grove, a bathhouse, and a 5 00:43:37.829 --> 00:43:40.909 ,000 square foot pavilion for entertainment and 00:43:40.909 --> 00:43:45.809 dancing. And pretty soon, Genevans began... building 00:43:45.809 --> 00:43:49.130 cottages at Pastime Park, where businessmen could 00:43:49.130 --> 00:43:52.050 spend the summer with their families while commuting 00:43:52.050 --> 00:43:55.909 back and forth to work on the Portadora. Now, 00:43:55.949 --> 00:43:59.050 after nine years of running the Pastime Park 00:43:59.050 --> 00:44:02.809 route, the Portadora was removed from service 00:44:02.809 --> 00:44:07.650 and sold by Captain Tower to what was described 00:44:07.650 --> 00:44:13.349 as a group of New Yorkers in 1923. And those 00:44:13.349 --> 00:44:15.809 new owners were about to put that old passenger 00:44:15.809 --> 00:44:20.090 boat into a very different kind of service. The 00:44:20.090 --> 00:44:23.929 United States era of alcohol prohibition was 00:44:23.929 --> 00:44:27.289 in full swing at this time, which created the 00:44:27.289 --> 00:44:30.650 illegal bootlegging industry. Now, in the northeastern 00:44:30.650 --> 00:44:34.809 United States, one popular route to bring booze 00:44:34.809 --> 00:44:38.750 from Canada to the United States was via boat 00:44:38.750 --> 00:44:43.190 across Lake Ontario. And the new owners of the 00:44:43.190 --> 00:44:47.510 Portadora put the boat to work transporting this 00:44:47.510 --> 00:44:52.630 illegal alcohol. And these boats were called 00:44:52.630 --> 00:44:56.590 rum runners. Now, I'm not sure how long the Portadora 00:44:56.590 --> 00:45:01.010 was in service running alcohol, but eventually 00:45:01.010 --> 00:45:05.510 the long arm of the law caught up and the Portadora 00:45:05.510 --> 00:45:10.530 was seized by revenuers. And after having brought 00:45:10.530 --> 00:45:14.550 joy and laughter to so many countless families 00:45:14.550 --> 00:45:17.849 on Seneca Lake for so many years, the Portadora, 00:45:18.170 --> 00:45:22.010 like many rum runners of the era, was ordered 00:45:22.010 --> 00:45:27.389 to be destroyed. Well, that's it for this time 00:45:27.389 --> 00:45:29.429 around. I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks so much 00:45:29.429 --> 00:45:31.510 for listening. And if you have any thoughts on 00:45:31.510 --> 00:45:34.110 any of the topics in this episode, please let 00:45:34.110 --> 00:45:36.599 me know. And remember to like and subscribe wherever 00:45:36.599 --> 00:45:39.340 you get your podcasts and get over to SenecaLakeMysteries 00:45:39.340 --> 00:45:42.000 .com and subscribe to the email list so you don't 00:45:42.000 --> 00:45:45.019 miss anything. A new podcast comes out every 00:45:45.019 --> 00:45:47.239 month on the sevens. I'll talk to you then.