Monday, May 18, 2015

"Old Mike" For Monday Mysteries...!

Once in a while we come across a semi-local mystery that needs to be talked about.

This particular mystery is from our friends and neighbors in Arkansas, and is worth looking at again, I think.

Old Mike

In the early 1900s, down in Nevada County, the man who would come to be known as “Old Mike” was a familiar face in and around the city of Prescott. A traveling salesman, he would swing by each month to sell stationery to homes and local businesses. He occasionally stayed overnight, but he always left the following day on the afternoon train.

One day, residents found Mike lying motionless under a tree. He had apparently passed away the night before. Knowing him only by his first name—and after a postmortem search failed to turn up any identification—the townspeople did the only sensible thing they could think of. They embalmed him and put his corpse on display outside of the local funeral home.

That’s where Mike sat for the next six decades. He was originally placed there in hopes that someone would identify him or claim the body, but no one ever came forward. Eventually, in 1975, the state attorney general’s office requested that he be buried, and Mike was finally laid to rest later that May. His true identity will likely forever remain a mystery.

If you want, you can read more about "Old Mike" right here. I can't help but wonder why they waited that long to bury the guy, ya know? Just another unsolved mystery, I reckon!

Coffee out on the patio this morning. We'll take a chance on the weather.

6 comments:

  1. It's a sad to think no one missed him enough to trace him down in all that time...

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  2. I had heard this story and do wonder why they never buried him until 1975. That must have been a grizzly sight to see him there. Ewwww! Guess it did wonders for the tourist business tho.

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  3. Why did they wait that long? Well, you know you should never do anything today that you can put off until tomorrow, right? Dang!! Do you think they waited long enough to put him underground? (grin)

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  4. I have read this story before and I still can't understand why they did't follow up with company he worked for or did he make his own stationary? Hard to tell sometimes

    Enjoy the patio and the coffee Maybe I should just bring a cup with me.

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  5. That was a truly odd story.

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  6. Hey Mamahen...
    I would have thought that someone would have tried to find him in all that time.

    Thanks for coming over today!



    Hey Linda...
    Pretty strange, that's for sure!

    Thanks for coming by this morning!



    Hey Dizzy...
    Maybe they just got used to having him around.

    Thanks for stopping in this morning!



    Hey Jo...
    That seems like a logical move to me, but what do I know? Sad!

    Thanks, sweetie, for the visit today!



    Hey Rob...
    Strange to say the least! Guess it happened more than we will ever know.

    Thanks for the company today!

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