New Book, Ghosts, Crimes & Urban Legends of Bay City Published
Inside Bay City From Sauk Massacre to Explosion of the Tank Ship Jupiter
December 17, 2005
By: Guest Columnist
New Book, Ghosts, Crimes & Urban Legends of Bay City Published by Dave Rogers
John Woos, center, chats with Sheriff John W. Miller, right, and Undersheriff Harvey LaRose on his return to Bay City in 1967.
Did you know that the notorious Pretty Boy Floyd, bandit, bank robber and killer of 10, apparently liked Bay County so much he visited here twice?
Or that local bandit-slayer Steve Madaj served more hard time than any other person in Michigan history up to the time of his release in 1962?
Did you know the reason the Tank Ship Jupiter, loaded with more than a million gallons of gasoline, exploded that fateful September day in 1990?
How about the eventual fate of the slayerof theatre manager Floyd Ackerman in 1943? How did he get out of prison after 24 years?
All this, and much more, is in a new book by D. Laurence "Dave" Rogers, published by Historical Press LLC. (120 pages, $12.99)
"These stories have been gathered in the past 46 years since I started with the daily newspaper here in 1959," Mr. Rogers told MyBayCity.com, continuing:.
"Many other historians contributed ideas and research about the ghosts, crimes and urban legends that abound here."
Some of the stories are featured on the Ghost Tour and Cemetery Tour of the Bay County Historical Society, he said. "Other stories have emerged just recently after long years of research that has finally borne fruit," said Mr. Rogers.
The 15 chapters in the book also include:
A tale of stolen gold buried at Linwood, along with a corpse, in the 1860s;
New details of the violence and corruption on Hell's Half Mile and of the ghost of Water Street;
A tale of a possible miracle that may have stopped the great South End fire in 1892;
A glimpse into ancient China and the bizarre career of a Bay City diplomat who may be the Center Avenue ghost;
Seldom-heard yarns of Ku Klux Klan's activities in Bay City and the area;
The capture of two members of the Bonnie & Clyde gang here;
An account of how Johnny Woos, the slayer of beloved theatre manager Floyd Ackerman, was freed by a jury on retrial of his case in 1967;
Official reports of the Wenonah Hotel fire in 1977;
Why the Oakland County Prosecutor's office came here in 2003 to search for the body of Jimmy Hoffa;
And the blow-by-blow description of how the river was set ablaze with gasoline in the Jupiter fire.
Reservations for a book may be made by calling Historical Press, 686-5544. Copies will be available for sale later this week at the Decorating Palette, 115 Center Ave., and the Bay County Historical Museum, 321 Washington Ave.###