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| God Struck Out In 1913, Mickey Major and 17 others were arrested near Auburn. Their crime? Playing baseball on Sunday. |
Now THAT'S devotion In 1929 Michael J. O'Hara drove his family to California where going to mass was a great adventure. |
| Christmas tragedy Seven teenagers crammed into a car for a fateful, tragic ride to buy holidiay decorations in Skaneateles. |
When the rains came Fall is a beautiful time in Central New York. Usually. But a 1915 storm put several people, including the O'Haras, under water. |
| Deadly misstep Patrick Quigley had just received good news from Ireland and wanted to share it with his sister, but he never made it to her house. |
Grapes of wrath One O'Hara-involved incident shows how automobiles made rural farmers fearful for their privacy and their property. |
| Tony Kane's last voyage He could have been a character in "Boardwalk Empire"; the way Tony Kane lived virtually guaranteed an early death. |
Terror of Cayuga Herman O'Hara. Just the mention of his name sent chills through his neighbors who had reason to believe the worst about the mysterious farmer. |
| A Rude Awakening On Jan. 30, 1929 John C. McLaughlin and his wife were awakened by a roaring fire at Jordan School across the street. |
A novel legal suit John Dougherty put complete trust in his mother, but apparently she didn't trust him to take care of her in her final days. |
| Lost ... then found (19 years later) One McLaughlin disappeared for almost 20 years; another mysteriously dropped out of sight, but soon returned. |
Here a Tom, there a Tom The one thing these unusual stories have in common is a bunch of men named Thomas O'Hara. |
| Reunion in Ireland There's good news for a change involving one William McLaughlin, who late in life paid a visit to his Irish birthplace. |
O'Hara confetti Here are some interesting leftovers from a search for information about O'Hara families that settled in Central New York. |
| Why? The killer wouldn't say Auburn police detective John E. Major quickly solved a fatal stabbing in 1952, but one element of the case remains a mystery. |
Tragedy at Putnam's Crossing Two lives were lost as the result of a spectacular, but perhaps inevitable train-car collision in Jordan, NY, in 1917. |
| Back to school for Det. Major There weren't eight million stories in The Prison City, there were several, such as "The Case of the Hungry Burglars." |
It could have been much worse It's a miracle only one Marcellus student was killed at the Kirkville train crossing. |
| Dog bites man Plus a young girl smoking a cigar, a man driving through Skaneateles blindfolded ... and other short items. |
Too many John McLaughlins? An 1895 election threatened every saloon in Skaneateles, so bar owners came up with an unusual defense. |
| Even safety tests were unsafe An 1897 accident at Glenside Woolen Mills in Skaneateles involved both a Major and a McLaughlin. |
Let the fighting begin . . . Once there was an eccentric Skaneateles farmer whose lifestyle alienated family members and whose death infuriated them. |
| The Curse of Patrick Conroy William McLaughlin's father-in-law shared a name with several unlucky men. |
Paddy in the Hollow Okay, we're not sure this McLaughlin was a relative, but we'd like to think he was. |
| The American nightmare For two Dohertys who emigrated to America, life was all too short – and tragic. |
Sticky situation Someone has been stealing syrup, but Skaneateles authorities are on the case. |
| Year of the Crash On July 2, 1944, an Army plane crashed near Solvay. It was one of several such mishaps in Central New York. |
Dead? Not quite In 1919 a Syracuse undertaker spent an unforgettable weekend at a Sandy Pond hotel. |
| Better late than never In 1918, Solvay Democrats went looking for a female candidate, but couldn't find one. |
A Good Idea at the Time Sent to investigate a neighborhood oil spill, a policeman tried to eliminate the problem by setting it on fire. Ooops! |