Three Years of Adventure

(Vy and I at Changdeokgung Palace in South Korea)

Well, just recently Vy and I celebrated our three year anniversary. The past few years have gone by so fast but then again looking back, we’ve done so much. I love looking back at life through different times and seeing what was going on then and what changed. I think back before moving to Washington where I was struggling in Florida when I moved with my Uncle out back to Tucson. I love and miss the adventure out there and seeing ghost towns and historic areas but I made a change. I had met someone and she lived up in Washington and long story short, after a short time, I decided to take the chance of a lifetime to move states apart to the Pacific Northwest to a place I’ve never lived before. It was a challenge and I was very nervous – especially moving up here without a job. I remember the worries some people had about my move but I’m glad things have worked out. Things started falling in place when I got a job interview driving up to Washington and eventually got the job with Kellogg’s. Since then, Vy and I had gotten married and moved to our first apartment. The apartment was an old rundown apartment but we never had any problems the year we lived there. We’ve since moved to a different apartment for a year and a half and have recently gotten our first house a couple of months ago. It’s amazing the past three years thinking of the room I lived in for a little bit to us getting our own house and making it this far. It’s been quite the process but it’s nice to actually settle for the first time in a long time and have a place to call home. In the past few years, we’ve also gotten two new cars and traveled to different areas of the world. Besides Mexico and the Bahamas, I had never traveled outside of the country but the past three years, Vy and I have gone to Vietnam twice, Japan, South Korea, and even Canada. I love being able to travel and see many sights with Vy and even met her family in Vietnam and had fun getting to know all of them and learning many new cultures. I've learned so many things and tried foods I never thought I would try and some I liked but a lot I didn't. I liked shrimp head in Vietnam but not eel in Japan. There were many new foods, fruits and drinks and even got food poisoning twice from abroad. We’ve been on numerous hikes, road trips, and have created many memories. I can only hope our life together continues to be as fun and I can’t wait to see what comes up. I’ve had a new job since first coming up here and we’ll see what waits on the horizon for something new. I just look forward to new memories with Vy and enjoy every moment together. Happy Three Years to Vy and I look forward to every day with you!

Sports Nostalgia at a Garage Sale

This blog will help explain why I love both sports/sports history as well as garage sales. Sports are loved by millions upon millions of people while others think athletes are just overpaid for playing a game. That might be the case but looking back at sports, players hadn’t always been paid as they are today and with that in mind, let’s go back to the times of Babe Ruth when players had to work during the offseason to pay their bills. During the late teens and early 1920s, the Yankees heritage and history during that time are remembered highly by sports fans and historians. They played home games at the Polo Grounds IV in Manhattan from 1913 until 1922. There were so many great players during these years, such as Ty Cobb, but when stadiums are torn down, a lot of heritage is lost. Today, owners and cities are constantly trying to build the biggest and most updated stadium whereas the need for the older stadium is gone. Sometimes the old stadium is torn down to build the new one or the new one is built elsewhere and the old one is torn down after the new one is complete. When stadiums are demolished, tales of past players and their heroics are often lost.

Going with my Dad around garage sales in Florida less than 10 years ago (I can’t remember the exact date), we always looked for valuable and unique items. As the day progressed, the less stuff is available at garage sales since a lot of collectors shop early to find the best deals. We went down a housing area where a lady had started a garage sale late and just finished putting stuff out. She was starting to get busy when I walked to a table in the middle of the driveway where a pile of old looking sports stuff was and picked up a unique looking wood folding chair. It was by a few other sports items so I felt something was unique about this item and quickly held onto it and asked the busy lady running the garage sale where it came from. She quickly answered that she had heard the Yankees. It looked to me as if she was selling her husband’s sports stuff, whether willingly or not, but hearing Yankees and the price of $15, it was worth it.

Researching many stadiums and looking at old photographs, as well as reaching out to collectors, there is no definite answer to its background or history. Looking at the wood and discoloration, as well as the gold writing as well as style of font on the top, the chair looks to have been from the 1920s. Also, being such a high number, there had to have originally been a lot of chairs. Speaking with a collector, he stated that it is quite possible that it was a bleacher seat or a chair that old stadiums would rent out if someone didn’t want to sit on a hard bleacher but instead have back support. There are two screw holes in the bottom that could be attached to a wood bleacher. The collector thought there would likely be a metal bracket attached somewhere. If the lady selling it was correct, it could easily be from the Polo Grounds IV, or even their earlier stadium at Hilltop Park (1903-1912) or from the yearly years at the original Yankees Stadium (1923-2009) – all three stadiums have sadly been torn down. If anyone has any ideas or input on the chair, I would love to know and find out the true history of the stadium chair. Until then, I’ll continue to imagine who sat on this chair nearly 100 years ago and watched some of the all-time greats play America’s favorite pastime in historical remembrance of an early stadium – including Babe Ruth hitting a home run out of left field…

Also, be on the lookout for one of my articles to come out next year about the oldest ballpark in continuous use in the United States, Warren Ballpark, and a lot of the all-time greats to have passed through the small and forgotten town in Arizona – including members of the notorious Black Sox Scandal.

A Bit About "Murders of the Prophecy"

This is my second novel but not the last. I’ve been working with Artemis Publishing with this book and it has been fun and a great learning experience. In case anyone is interested, I’ve detailed some information in this blog about the book and idea for a little background. 

The book is available through online retailers and Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1733994440/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

What is the novel Murders of the Prophecy about?

Marshall Withers became a renowned detective after capturing a psychic who had been killing certain clients to show his accuracy when predicting their deaths. Not soon after, Marshall’s partner in the police force is killed by a mobster hitman. Marshall teams up with Salman to perform one last murder and kill the hitman but after the deed, Marshall takes back his word to Salman. Being a true psychic, Salman knew Michael would and places a curse not on Marshall, but his family. After Marshall’s death following cancer, his son, Michael, finds a camera but when opening the camera, he finds a note written by his dad – a note warning him of future carnage. Michael begins using the camera which in itself, forces the film to recreate horror and bring up the curse of Salman. Through many untimely deaths and much violence, the truth is revealed but it’s too late. The ending is near but the truth reveals a dark past for the family’s new beginning.

Why write about a haunted camera?

Since a young kid, I’ve collected antiques. When younger, I was given an old 1920’s camera and a few years back I had it on display on a bookshelf in my one-bedroom apartment. At night or sometimes out of the corner of my eye, I would see the camera lens pointing at me. Of course, that’s how it sat on the shelf so it wasn’t like it was moved or anything but, I wondered once, what if the camera was haunted? I thought, what is the camera’s history? I imagined that maybe the camera was used to photograph old mafia that were killed and the camera was used at the crime scenes by an investigator. Then, maybe the souls of the mafia collected within the camera and as each day progressed, they reached out to me from the camera until finally getting me. Of course, it wasn’t long before the camera got moved to a different spot…a box in the closet, but I’ve always remembered that and created this story from that idea. I mean, as my first blog stated, cameras can freeze time for a slight second but what if the time was supposed to have been forgotten.

What’s the hardest part of writing?

The marketing… As any published author will tell you, the easiest part of writing a book is the writing. The second hardest part is editing, and editing, and editing until you’re sick of the book. But, the hardest aspect of all is the marketing. How do you get your writing and book noticed? There is so much social media and getting your book noticed is the hardest part but you learn more as every day progresses. I have multiple books being written now but I have to continue the marketing of my past books in order to get them noticed. Many people can push out books but selling is part of the process and takes many hours and dedication to be successful as I hope to someday be.

The Jerome Grand Hotel – A Ghostly Tale

Whether or not you believe in ghosts, some places you go can be quite eerie. The popular television shows such as Ghost Hunters, amongst others, brought curiosity into those who viewed the television shows. Whether fake or not, that’s beyond the point, what is true is some people believe and some do not. I used to watch Ghost Hunters for the architectural history of the buildings they went into and to see inside the buildings. Some of the places they went to were quite interesting and could be haunted, if there really is such a thing. Sometimes people say they see ghosts, figures, or even apparitions, but often-times, just a unique experience can create a ghostly tale – such as mine at the Jerome Grand Hotel.

Jerome, Arizona is a former mining town that once had a peak population of nearly 5,000 residents in 1930 (some even say 15,000) but today has less than 500. Much of the town’s original architecture remains today such as many buildings down main street as well as the Jerome Grand (Hotel). The Jerome Grand was the town’s fourth and final hospital. As the population continued to increase, the need for a larger and more modern hotel was needed amongst the citizens and workers around the mines, mills, and town for those who had injuries, came down with black lung due to the smelters polluting the air around town, as well as tuberculosis. The hospital, named the United Verde Hospital, was built in 1926 and in 1930 was labeled the most modern hospital in Arizona, if not the entire Western states. The hospital closed in 1950 and was watched over by a caretaker. The last caretaker committed suicide in the building in the 1980s and the former hospital was boarded up. The building was purchased in 1994 and renovated to become the Jerome Grand.

The first self-service elevator in Arizona was installed in the hospital. A very slow ride up or down today, the original 1926 Otis Elevator still works in the hotel. In 1935, a maintenance man was found dead, pinned beneath the Otis elevator. His spirit is one of many who are rumored to continue to occupy the building. There are no known exact numbers of hospital deaths during the years the building was a hospital, but one estimated number is as many as 9,000 people – on average more than one death per day.

I spent a weekend in Jerome ten years ago – staying at both the Hotel Connor and my second night at the Jerome Grand. Hotel Connor was very historic and fun but to share a possible ghostly experience, I’ll tell about my second night. I had spent the day checking out the area and other nearby ghost towns and historical areas and came to the hotel and walked around before going to my room. I sat in bed, going over maps and papers for the next day before I went to bed. It was a typical, hot summer day in Arizona and I had the overhead ceiling fan on. I turned it on with a switch on the wall next to the light switch. There was also a small cord attached to the fan I could pull on to turn it on or off. I went and got ready for bed in the bathroom a bit later and returned to lie down in bed. With the small television on in the background, I noticed I was kind of hot. I looked up and noticed the fan had been turned off. I didn’t remember turning it off so I was a little confused, stood up and walked over to the switch. The switch was still in the ‘on’ position. I flipped it anyway off and on but nothing happened. I kept it in the on position and stood on the bed to reach up and pull the cord on the fan itself and it started again. I’m not an electrician by any means, but I find it curious as to how that could have happened and if something actually did pull the cord to turn the fan off.

I started to think about what the room that I stayed in used to be or how many people had died there. One thing I do know, I slept great that night and woke up feeling refreshed. It’s not the most exciting tale of a ghost story or sighting, but the small things make you wonder if you are indeed alone or if there is something there. I have had a couple of other strange occurrences that make me think that something else might be out there, such as one in the ghost town of Winfield, Colorado’s cemetery and another in an old mine in the middle of nowhere in Arizona. More tales to be told…

Who is the Mysterious Man?

Benjamin Franklin Mollenhour was born on October 25, 1889, in Mentone, Indiana. In 1917, at the age of twenty-seven, my great-grandfather joined the United States Army. He flew to France to fight in World War One and he returned home in 1919 where he met and married Lulu Link. The two married and had four kids when he came down with severe tuberculosis. Having fought in the War, he was a victim of mustard gas which was a contributing cause to worsen and speed up the effects of tuberculosis. He needed treatment so he was sent to Fort Lyon Sanatorium in Colorado in an attempt to be healed. There, he and his wife and kids would correspond via letters and through his hopeful beginning until the end into his known demise, their story is told through thirteen surviving letters. He spent the latter part of 1929 and nearly half of 1930 in the hospital until Benjamin returned home, beyond healing, and passed away soon after. Through the letters and this memoir, the family’s pain, sadness and heartache is told with a mom raising four young children by herself through the time of the Great Depression. Look soon for his memoir, Letters from Fort Lyon Sanatorium, 1929-1930, with release dates coming in the near future.

**UPDATE** The book has been released on available on Amazon and other online retailers. Please check it out! 

https://www.amazon.com/Letters-Fort-Lyon-Sanatorium-1929-1930/dp/0982643632/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2SXSY96ZL0RM2&keywords=benjamin+mollenhour&qid=1651216407&sprefix=benjamin+mollenhou%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-2

Adventure to a Desolate Ghost Town

What is a ghost town? When thinking of a ghost town, do not rely on what is shown in movies or television shows. The fantasized version of ghost towns show a town in the midst of the desert with old, boarded up windows and full false building facades. Walking down the dusty road and onto the wood plank sidewalk, an explorer can walk throughout the front doors and go inside and see just as everything was a century earlier. The old bar, the dust-filled piano, furniture dispersed throughout the room all silently resting. I guess what is shown on film isn't always correct. As each year goes by, ghost towns dwindle more and more to an eventual absolute nothing. Yet, the nothing will remain a ghost town but there will be no remains. But, how is a ghost town formed to begin with? A lot of western ghost towns were built during the crazed days of mining. Towns were set up where supposed prosperous mines were located. Saloons, hotels, brothels, general stores, and many other establishments were set up to take the miner’s money and to provide entertainment and supplies. Just as fast as the town was built, the town could be abandoned. Buildings were built quick and cheap and weren’t meant to last long since most people knew mines didn’t last forever. Therefore, when a mine either proved worthless, flooded or was depleted, a lot of buildings were taken apart and moved to another town nearby or a newly formed town.

There are other ways ghost towns were formed. In areas where there are no longer jobs, people are determined to leave. Population for towns either increase or decrease, whether drastic or not, and when they decrease, the threat of becoming a ghost town can occur. So many western towns during the nineteenth and even early twentieth century didn’t survive. I first visited a ghost town when I moved to Arizona and visited a few in the southwest corner and fell in love with them. I’ve always had a fascination with old buildings. Growing up in Iowa, I loved going to Pioneer Village in Worthington, Minnesota and visit the collection of old buildings set up to resemble the way they once were. Living in Arizona, I looked up old maps, old books and satellite images of land to see if there were any traces of an old town or old remnants – ghost towns are nothing as the film industry envisions for us. I traced old railroad tracks and searched for any signs of remains; a task that was frequently tedious and upon hiking certain areas proved to be nothing. Often times, even a former town that once held over a thousand people, there is just a partial wall remaining from the dozens upon dozens of buildings that once stood in the area. Sometimes, the wood was removed and repurposed, walls collapsed during a windstorm or in other weather elements, but so many buildings in a desert element were built with adobe. Adobe is a strong material created from earth substances but when the roofs of the buildings either collapsed or the wood was taken off to be reused, the adobe was left vulnerable to Mother Nature. Depending on geographical situation, townspeople used different materials to build their town which created a variety of different styles of buildings throughout each region in the West.

Fifty years ago, ghost towns had more buildings but as each year goes by, treasure hunters hurt the area and the weather takes its toll on the buildings and eventually, nothing will remain but history. One phrase I like to say is that soon there will be nothing but the memories – until even the memories are no more. Much history of the towns are told in books but those who used to live there have moved and passed on and their history became forgotten about and just as quiet as the towns themselves. Traveling to the largest ghost town in Arizona, Vulture Mine, I loved the town and the buildings that remained. There was no main street full of wooden structures but instead stone, wood and adobe structures spread throughout an area. Every time I see such an area, I look at each building and see cracks, collapsing, and eventual destruction since preservation is too foregone for such an area. Some buildings are even too hazardous in some areas that they are torn down – such as the ghost town of Lester, Washington. What is most fun about a completely abandoned ghost towns is the adventure to find them. Through research, GPS waypoints, and following maps that are over a hundred years old, coming through the trees and brush and seeing large walls brings a sense of accomplishment and excitement. Boring for some, yes, but I love to think of the history in such an area. I like to read beforehand as well as after to see what happened, whether a gunfight, miner’s strike, fire, Indian raid, or even a short burst of history – this is an area where people lived and people died. An area where memories are long gone and forgotten. An area I like to see and photograph to preserve history until even the remains are melted back into the earth. Even though many ghost towns are forgotten about and faltering back into the unknown, many are still being created as all towns and communities will eventually face uncertainty – just look at all the abandoned superpowers of the Ancient civilizations.

Background into "Carnival Ride"

I've received a handful of questions in regards to my first novel, Carnival Ride since it came out late last year. Since this blog is shared on my Amazon page as well as Goodreads page, I'll answer a few of those question to give some insight into my first, but not last, novel.

What is Carnival Ride about?

To keep it short, I’ll include the elevator synopsis: Years after being locked away in an asylum, a carnival worker haunts a young girl for retribution with what happened to his own family.

Where did the story for Carnival Ride come from?

For the idea itself, I’ve always had a love for old roadside attractions and old rides at theme and amusement parks. I would rather feel the bumps, rattles, and hear the clicking chains of a 100 year old wooden roller coaster compared to the fast thrill of a looping steel coaster. I remember playing the PC game Rollercoaster Tycoon years ago and built more wood coasters than steel, even though they cost more to make, they brought that nostalgic feel. Many riders who to go carnivals or amusement parks who see old, rusty and outdated rides will likely want to ride something more intense or safer. Yes, carnival rides are safe but a lot of bad press surrounds the rides since they travel so frequently and are built so quickly. Taking just hours to build a ride, I’ve often wondered myself how safe the rides really can be. Then, taking in the fact of the life of a carnie and who’s operating the carnival and the rides, one can only wonder. I’ve always wondered what the life of a carnie would be, especially a carnival worker from fifty years ago and how much times may, or may not have changed throughout the years. With those thoughts in mind, I remember going to Old Town, Florida once and feeling a connection to a Scrambler ride they had there. Feeling the connection, I wanted to research it further and was able to find out that it was the very first produced Scrambler ever made, back in 1955. The ride wasn’t very fast and the whipping motion weak due to the gas-powered engine compared to electric, but the old fashioned feel made the ride worth it. Suddenly, the ride vanished. I contacted Old Town with no luck, and then the ride manufacturer with no luck where the ride seemed to have vanished. It was gone a couple of years until reappearing and vanishing again just as quickly. I then thought and wondered about a story in regards to a haunted ride that vanishes. Taking the haunted ride idea, I figured in an evil carnie in a traveling carnival and slowly came up with the idea. Side note: An article is coming out soon about that Scrambler ride in the upcoming journal from the Society of Commercial Archeology.

What’s next?

Besides a few articles and a book collection regarding pieces of family history, I’ve finished a final draft of my second novel. I’m sending out queries to agents and publishers to hopefully get a bite soon and be able to get the second novel published. It has to do with a psychic who kills, a haunted camera, and a curse that is awoken upon a family. Investigations into the deaths brings a family closer to the truth than they wanted. In the meantime, awaiting responses, I’ve started the third novel also.

Please check out the link to both the hard copy and e-book of Carnival Ride if interested!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0982643616/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i1

Bringing Life Back to the Forgotten

Ever since I was young, I’ve enjoyed antiques. What is it about an old object that is interesting? Well, so many things! First, antiques represent a former time when items were built with care and quality. Items from our former generations were built to last and with a little upkeep, they will. Whether a 1930’s toaster, an 1880’s rocking chair, or 1920’s end table, products were built to be durable. A lot of end tables today are usually built of cheaper wood which chip or break easily and toasters are cheap to buy and are easy to replace. Back decades ago, toasters cost more and when one broke, you were to take it to a local store, usually down main street to get it fixed. With love and care, my three toasters from 1909-1930 are still working better than any new toaster.

Many people have asked, why did I buy that for? What are you going to do with that? In regards to when I acquire a new antique. I’ve bought and gotten antiques free at many different venues including garage sales, flea markets, antique stores, thrift stores, and found them elsewhere such as on a curb. My last one for free was found via Craigslist so I always keep my eyes out. What’s fun about getting a worn out antique is understanding the item’s life. What is the items past and where has it been? The item was built so long ago and constructed to be useful. I have compared myself to antiques many times which is why I have a love for restoring forgotten about antiques. People sometimes are forgotten about and left to fall apart. Sometimes, people are broken and shattered inside and sit, needing to be repaired before they are beyond repair. Sometimes it’s too late and people and things cannot be fixed. But, it’s important to find that challenge beforehand so it’s not too late and once you find what needs to be fixed, fix it and bring life back to the forgotten.

Antiques often sit forgotten about until they are found and either sold cheap or given away or sadly and worse, thrown away. People often sit, sad and depressed, fragile and broken, waiting for someone to cross their path and show care and concern. I’ve sat like that before and felt just like a forgotten about, uncared for antique. One way I felt less lonely and to serve more of a purpose was to help antiques that were forgotten about like I was. I’ve restored many old radios, televisions, electronics, appliances, and a variety of furniture. All the work and pain sanding, staining, painting, soldering, and so forth with the antiques, it felt so great seeing a finished project – especially in regards to electronics. Once safe, plugging in that old appliance or electronic item and hearing sound come from the item such as a radio made the whole trouble worth it. To bring life back to the forgotten is quite satisfying. I hope my wife feels the same way with me. She brought life back to me as I was once the forgotten about antique, that sad feeling of being old and unwanted with no purpose in life. She and I crossed paths and she brought me into her life and repaired me and brought me back to life once again.

Stopping Time, if Only for a Second

Welcome everyone to my first blog! With that being said, I’ll keep the introduction short since you can read more about me on Amazon, Goodreads, Facebook, etc. and I’ll add more as we go along, so, for now, we’ll get this first blog started. I love photography! I have been a photo hobbyist for many years and always using outdated cameras and technology, I love photography and preserving history by taking photographs of historic areas. I love to travel to old buildings and one love of mine is ghost towns. There is nothing more relaxing and historically satisfying than walking around an abandoned and desolate area where life once thrived but now, nothing except silence. Walking down the dusty street where buildings now decay in ruin, I wonder what happened in that area one hundred years prior and who was there, who walked where I was and can only imagine by reading books and historical texts of the area. Another way to not only learn history and the past but see history is by photography. For just a slight second, less than one second, history is frozen and captured in a screen – either on film or digitally. Not only are you freezing that image but you’re stopping time and holding history. Whether the photograph will be held in your family for one or more generations until the images and figures in the photographs become unknown and forgotten about or used for historical purposes, stopping time can preserve so much. When I look at photographs of a ghost town through the town’s birth until its demise at the present time, there are and have been many visitors to the land who took pictures and shared them and near the ruin where I walk, I can look at the photographs that were taken through the past century and not only realize the sadness of forgotten memories dispersing in the gentle breeze on a hot day, but see the deterioration of such a town and the town’s history. Once people left the town and those people have passed on in their own gentle breeze through memories of others, their lives became forgotten just as the town’s history if it wasn’t for historical texts but also, historical imagery – photographs. Take as many photographs as possible because who knows how much longer the wood slats will be held on top of the frame of the rotting wood building until eventual collapse and the building is gone forever. Who knows how much longer the trees will be free to release green imagery and clean oxygen before a parking lot is paved or even, how much longer that special person will be able to have their image taken in order to preserve their life for future generations and people to see them once more. Freeze that image, stop time, and preserve history by stopping time, if only for a second. Please check out some of my historical photography on www.benjaminmollenhour.weebly.com