Amazing Tales from Off the Beaten Path

Many people see the large white cross as they drive by, shining atop a hill overlooking the downtown. But not everyone has checked out what's hiding behind it. It's an unusual and unique complex that once drew tens of thousands a year to see it.

Where was the first Christmas tree? Proof is hard to come by. It seems that Windsor Locks, CT is among the very first – at least in legend; a stone monument lays claim to the first decorated tree in 1777. Researching this case turned up other very interesting side stories: German prisoners-of-war, Native American attacks, and even the Wizard of Oz.

Watkins Glen; world’s largest concert. 600,000 attendees. Six teenagers broadcast with an illegal pirate radio station they brought to the site, interviewing the Grateful Dead, broadcasting traffic and weather reports, and playing records. Attendees loved it. One of the broadcasters tells the crazy story.

Access to knowledge for the masses. For many years in the United States, you had to pay a membership fee to a subscription library if you wanted access to books and information. That all changed in the early 1800s when the first publicly funded library opened in CT.

The end of the world was supposed to be on a Wednesday in November of 1873. One hundred religious believers gathered on an island in a New England river to ascend into heaven, even climbing trees to be among the first to rise up.

Ground zero. 9-11. World Trade Center. John Maher was one of the first TV cameramen inside the buildings, while they were still burning. He shares his surreal memories and experience.

It's an ancient European tradition. Hiking a town’s boundaries still occurs in three CT towns (Madison, Guilford, and Durham). They carve a ceremonial stone and place it where the towns meet.

Nellie Green was a famous rum runner and bootlegger during Prohibition. She was also an accomplished boxer and opera singer. She survived the 13 years when alcohol was illegal, keeping her patrons well supplied with alcohol - as well as supplying many downstream customers throughout the state.

PT Barnum – the world’s greatest showman. Not only did he entertain millions with his American Museum and famous circus, but he was a major benefactor to his adopted hometown of Bridgeport - establishing the first hospital, bank, ferry service across Long Island Sound, and even a beautiful cemetery.

Skydiving became a popular sport in the U.S. in the 1950s. The first commercial jumping operation, at a rural grass landing strip, catered to college students with nerves of steel. Early skydivers completed breathtaking stunts, like a surprise landing in Manhattan's Central Park.

This stunningly gorgeous island instills hope and virtue in all who visit. A highly successful 12-step alcohol avoidance program is based there. It hosts spiritual retreats and offers majestic beauty and serene calm. You'll also find internationally renowned dahlia gardens and a highly unusual religious relic – an 800-year-old mummified arm..

Vermont was formed by Connecticut. Ethan Allen, from Litchfield, CT, created the infamous Green Mountain Boys, a militia that fought for land rights and independence for people living in the wilderness that would later become Vermont. Connecticut's Seth Warner later led the Green Mountain Boys to significant military wins during the Revolutionary War.

This lost village hosted 100 inhabitants in the 1700s and 1800s in an exceptionally remote area of New England. Called the Barkhamsted Lighthouse Village, it was founded by a man and woman who lived an almost Romeo and Juliet love story. Archeologists accidentally found it and have pieced together the unusual back story.

During the War of 1812, the British Navy blockaded Long Island Sound. Just before the British sailed to Washington to burn the White House, they stopped for what was supposed to be a cannon bombardment of a tiny village. The village defenders were outnumbered 1,300 to 30, but they won The Battle of Stonington.

Residents of rural Roxbury, CT take it in stride when celebrities live among them. They left alone famous playwright Arthur Miller and his wife Marilyn Monroe. The media did not. During a wild chase, on the day of their engagement, a New York Times reporter was killed in a crash on Roxbury's rural back roads trying to snap their picture.

General Israel Putnam is the man credited with saying, "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes," at the Battle of Bunker Hill. His military achievements, as George Washington's "go to fixer," are legendary. Among his ideas: stretching a chain under the surface of the Hudson River to keep British ships from sailing up to West Point.

The Associated Press carries more news stories each day then any other service. Most media organizations belong to the nonpartisan outlet. Moses Yale Beach created the AP during the Mexican American War, looking for a way for his New York Sun newspaper to beat his competitors and get the news to readers more quickly.

The first time a phone was used to call for emergency help. It happened after a horrible train wreck. The train crashed through a bridge and into the icy river below in January of 1878. The train full of passengers was returning from a religious revival with the passengers singing as the crash occurred.

The worst weather disasters in southern New England occurred in years that ended in the number 8. Included are the Blizzard of 1888, the Hurricane of 1938, and tornadoes and ice storms in the years 1878, 1898, 1978, and 2018.