Hurstories

By Sydney Hitchcock   Transcript:   Sydney: Not many people when asked about the War of 1812 could tell you why the war was fought, who was involved, or about any of the key battles. Some may recall that the White House was burned and that at some point in our country’s history the lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner must have been written, but few could tell you that both of these events occurred during this War. The War of 1812 was the United States of America’s first chance to flex its newly independent muscles. Tired of being pushed around by the British in the Atlantic and to the North, the United States wanted to make it clear - the British were no longer welcome on their soil. It is no surprise that most people who are not historians have never learned about the Battle of Lake Erie, which is known as the turning point of the War of 1812. Fought between the British and the U.S. over control of Lake Erie, this battle was the first major naval victory the U.S. had ever won against the Royal Navy. Contro

By Rebekah Prather   Sources Lisa Thompson, “Rhodes Granted Parole in Infant Death Case.” GoErie.com, October 1, 2015. https://www.goerie.com/article/20151001/NEWS/610151934. Superior Court of Pennsylvania. COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania, Appellee v. Teri RHODES, Appellant. No. 143 WDA 2009., December 31, 2009. Nancy Grace, “Nancy Grace”, CNN, Aired September 20, 2007. Beyer, Kristen, Shannon McAuliffe Mack, and Joy Lynn Shelton. “Investigative Analysis of Neonaticide: An Exploratory Study.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 35, no. 4 (April 2008): 522–35. Raymond Pierotti, "Infanticide Versus Adoption: An Intergenerational Conflict." The American Naturalist 138, no. 5 (1991): 140-158. Accessed January 29, 2020. www.jstor.org/stable/2462512.

By Kayla Rieck Transcript: [Woman 1]: 911, what’s your emergency? [Woman 2]: We’ve been robbed. [Woman 1]: Okay, stay on the line. [Woman 2]: Okay. [Woman 1]: Is anyone hurt? [Woman 2]: No. [Police Siren droning on] You’re listening to Hurstories. A podcast about Western Pennsylvanian history. Created by the digital history students at Mercyhurst University. Hello everyone, my name is Kayla Rieck and you are listening an episode of Hurstories – a podcast created by Mercyhurst students – and today you will be listening to one of the weirdest things to happen to Erie. This is the story of Brian Wells, more famously known as the Pizza Bomber. August 28th, 2003 – Brian Wells is killed. Part one: The phone call. At roughly 1:30pm, Mamma Mia’s receives a phone call. The owner, Mr. Tony Ditomo, first picked up the call, but couldn’t understand who was talking, so he handed the phone to Brian Well who proceeded to write his own directions. Two sausage and pepperoni pizzas were to be delivered to 8631 Pea

Written and researched by Adam Macrino [Evening News Inspired Music Intro written and recorded by Adam Macrino] Newscaster Voice: Hello everyone, and welcome to Hurststories. My name is Nathan de Panda. On this edition of Hurststories we bring you a story out of the town of Erie, Pennsylvania. On the night of Saturday, July 9th, 1898, the sleepy town was brought to life with the whoops and hollers of Cowboys and Natives as Buffalo Bill Cody and his Congress of Rough Riders paraded into town. The members of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show were greeted by the citizens of Erie, who lined the streets, as the long caravan of performers made their way into the town. This was one of 7 times that Buffalo Bill and his Rough Riders brought their skill to showcase to the town of Erie. Here to bring you more details is Hurststories correspondent, Brian Pedactor.[1] Narrator Voice: Thank you, Nathan. To understand what a spectacle this would have been for the citizens of the day, we at Hurststories want to familiarize th

Written and researched by Ashley Carr Transcript: If you’re a young woman from a working class family from New Jersey in the years leading up to the outbreak of the Civil War, chances are, you would feel that growing tension, feel it about to burst, and want to do something about it. But for a woman, who has been told she has no use on the battlefield, and no voice in politics, options are limited. You could be a nurse, but, if you don’t have the stomach for gore, like Elizabeth Carter didn’t, you take up work on the home front.[1] Elizabeth moved to Erie, Pennsylvania to be a school teacher, working hard so she could send money back to her family in New Jersey, who depended on her. Amid the terror and freedom of being a young woman on her own in the world for the first time, she met the man who would become her husband, and a Brigadier General of the Union Army: Strong Vincent.[2]   A while into their budding relationship, Elizabeth and Strong were walking the streets of Erie together when man cat-calle

Written and researched by Abby Saunders Transcript: Hurstories Script   ABBY: I’m your host, Abby Saunders, ready to tell you all about Frank “Bolo” Dovishaw, his undercover gambling ring, and his unfortunate demise. First thing’s first – have you heard of the mafia? I think that a lot of people stereotype the mafia into a general group… criminals. The mafia is more like a family, though! No, literally. Mafias from around the world are most often run by groups of families, kind of like a ‘family business.’ Just like fathers in the farming industry pass down farming traditions to their sons, fathers in the mafia pass down mafia traditions to their sons. Boys are taught skills specific to running the business, and girls are taught how to be inconspicuous and lay low. Mafia members become like family members. It is not unusual to find men from different families acting brotherly to their business partners. Also, it is not uncommon to kill family members that act up in the Mafia. This idea will pop up later

Written and researched by Rachael Wilson Transcript: The landscape of rural northwestern Pennsylvania is quite the beautiful place. There are rolling hills, stretching fields full of crops and wildflowers, and the historic French Creek rolls throughout Mercer, Erie and Crawford counties of Pennsylvania.  For almost two thousand years, the Iroquois people lived in western New York and Pennsylvania, as well as southern Ontario and Quebec. They stayed within the areas of the Great Lakes, specifically lakes Ontario, Huron, and Erie and lived utilizing the land.[1] Those who lived in what is what is modernly known as Waterford, Pennsylvania – about twenty minutes south of Erie – relied on the resources in and around the French Creek watershed, including the nearby Lake LeBoeuf. The Iroquois knew how to take advantage of the landscape that they had been given. The Pennsylvania woods were too thick to hunt and grow food, so they were able to create spanning meadows to grow food and hunt the game of the area.[2]

Written and researched by Deana Hale Narrator: Hello and welcome to this episode of Hurstories. My name is (name First and last) and I will be your host for this episode. Let us begin.  Narrator: Now, I want you to imagine yourself as a person trying to get a job to support your growing family. You find a job in the newspaper at the local GE plant, this means that you can potentially get a job. Once you get hired for the job you were taken to an orientation, where they proceed to tell you about the amazing wages and good benefits you were about to receive.  Narrator: But that was a complete and utter lie, it was like those seen on TV items that you pick up in a supermarket. They have these flashy and sugar coated words slapped onto the packaging, but in the packaging it was a big fat lie and it would fall apart in less than a few months. [sigh] I am getting off topic, we are not here to talk about my hatred for those infernal items and get back to our topic.   Narrator: In this episode we are going to be

Written and researched by Steven Mooradian Koehler Beer and the Prohibition Era  Steven Mooradian  Hello! Welcome to this episode of the Hurstories, a history podcast presented by Mercyhurst students. My name is Steven Mooradian and I will be your host for this episode.    Any good Erieite will tell you, there’s a church on every street, and a bar on every corner.   Erie’s long history with beer extends to the first large waves of immigration, bringing their brewing practices with them, none more locally famous than the Koehler family.  Their persistence through 13 years of prohibition propelled them into local legend, and the Koheler name remains a staple in northwestern Pennsylvania.  Erie, Pennsylvania has been a Mecca for immigrants for over a century and a half. Groups of Italian, Polish, German, Irish, Russian, Greek, and other European immigrants have historically found a small slice of Erie to call home. Even more recently, large contingencies of Nepalese, Bhutanese, Syrian, Central African, a

In today’s ‘Hurstories’ episode, we’re going to be talking about Mercyhurst’s strong Black Student Union in the 1970s. While discussing Mercyhurst’s BSU from that time period, we are also going to look at the greater context of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements on college campuses across the country. Get the transcript and Show Notes at hurststories.wordpress.com

On this episode of Hurstories, is Jordan Kessler discusses Mercyhurst's College of Older Americans in the 1970s.  Get the transcript & Show Notes at hurststories.wordpress.com    

Written & produced by Addison Richmond Two yearbooks sit side by side, both the same standard size, both about the same thickness, both with the same school’s name (Mercyhurst college) in scrawled on the front. But there is were the similarities end. One is bound with a classic, marbled paper cover, the other is bolder, louder, bound with bright colors and curvy font. If we peer inside these yearbooks, we can see further evidence of their differences. The first is filled with classic senior pictures: largely dominated with girls, dressed in neat skirts, with smart jackets. Standing proudly and with an air of professionalism that we’d expect to find in a large corporation’s directory.[1] The second is much freer. It’s still mostly dominated by female students, but something’s a little different. The tight pinned curls are replaced with loose straight hair. The stiff pencil skirts are replaced with slacks, and the occasional shorts. Even the settings of the pictures has changed, students frolic in daisy fi

Episode written & produced by Alexandra Strauss Depending on your religious affiliation, the month of May holds significance for upholding religious celebrations. You could celebrate the goddess of spring or Mary, the Mother of God. For some countries, May even holds significance for laborers and the working class with International Workers’ Day. Beltane is a traditional Celtic ritual that is celebrated on the first of May. May Day is a Catholic celebration that is dedicated to the Holy Mother of God, the Virgin Mary. Many Catholic churches host a May Crowning in honor of Mary, and Catholic schools took up the practice of having a girl from the oldest grade crown Mary. I even crowned Mary for my eighth grade May Crowning!... Mercyhurst College held May Day events from 1932 until 1968! I’m your host, Alex, for today’s Hurstories episode on May Day!