"Trolleys, Tales & Talk" Nov. 3, 2009

Muscatine Tours Podcast

Dan Clark calls this show "Our Very Own Lincoln-Assassination Story." After killing President Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth eluded federal pursuers and changed his name and lived out more adventures. He ended up in Oklahoma or maybe South America or India. Booth's accomplice Michael O'Laughlen didn't die in prison in 1867 after all, but rather in Muscatine County in 1890, after living where Wild Cat Den State Park is today. Dan says these yarns are part of our local lore, so you'll want to learn about them—and you don't have to believe to enjoy. He reads from the "O'Laughlen" manuscript http://odin.indstate.edu/about/units/rbsc/neff/PDFs/stevenson_olaughlin.pdf and urges listeners to attend a talk by Gladys Mittman who grew up with the story and has been learning more lately. Details at http://muscatinejournal.com/articles/2009/10/31/news/doc4aebcbd126576354383074.txt. More background at http://www.muscatinejournal.com/articles/2007/04/13/news/doc46204bd5585b2975671645.txt.