Author John Smolens is an award winning novelist whose historical fiction "Day of Days" tells the story of the tragic and shocking bombing of the Bath, Michigan Schoolhouse in 1927.  There were 45 people killed in that bombing and countless children and adults injured. In the spring 1927, Andrew Kehoe, the treasurer for the school board in Bath, Michigan, spent weeks surreptitiously wiring the public school, as well as his farm, with hundreds of pounds of dynamite. The explosions on May 18, the day before graduation, killed and maimed dozens of children, as well as teachers, administrators, and village residents, including Kehoe’s wife, Nellie. A respected member of the community, the Kehoe himself died when he ignited his truck, loaded with crates of explosives and scrap metal. In its portrayal of several Bath school children, Day of Days examines how such a trauma scars one’s life long after the dead are laid to rest and the wounded heal, and how an anguished but resilient American village copes with the bombing, which in its time seemed beyond comprehension, and yet now may be considered a harbinger of the future. One survivor, Beatrice Turcott, who decades later lies on her death bed, recalls the spring of 1927, and how this haunting experience has led her to the conviction that one does not survive the present without reconciling hard truths about the past. John Smolens has published twelve works of fiction, eleven novels and a collection of short stories. His most recent novel is "Day of Days" , published by Michigan State University Press.  His novel Wolf’s Mouth was selected as a Library of Michigan Notable Book for 2017. In 2010, he was the recipient of the Michigan Author of the Year Award from the Michigan Library Association. The intro music titled "Flint, Michigan"  was provide courtesy of singer-songwriter Antje Duvekot. The outro music titled "Flint River Blues" was provided courtesy of singer-songwriter Colton Ort.

True Crime Flint

The Bath Schoolhouse Bombing of 1927 with author John Smolens

A prisoner in Starke, Florida wrote me a letter one day.  It started out with the spookiest of lines, "Dear Mr. Busch, I have been diagnosed with AIDS and it is terminal.  I killed two people in your area and I need to get right with God".

A Murder Confession but No Bodies

David Melfi did what no parent could have ever imagined, held his twin brother down while another man stabbed him 45 times.  He participated in the murder of his twin.  

Fraternal Twins Murder Case: Cain and Able Revisited

American popular culture has memorialized the Purple Gang in books, movies and even Elvis Presley's hit "Jail House Rock" mentions the notorious Detroit gang.  The Purple Gang sat on top of the underworld of Michigan in the 1920s and 1930's until the Mafia took over in Detroit, Michigan.  They did deals with Al Capone, the notorious mobster from Chicago.  The Purple Gang played in northern Michigan and hid out in places like Lupton, Clare and Roscommon, Michigan.  Our guest is Gregory Fournier, author of The Elusive Purple Gang: Detroit's Kosher Nostra is a concise history of one of America's most notorious Prohibition gangs. The Burnstein brothers and their associates were the only Jewish gang in the United States to dominate the rackets of a major American city. From their meteoric rise to the top of Detroit's underworld to their ultimate demise, this is an episodic account of the Purple Gang's corrosive pursuit of power and wealth and their inevitable plunge towards self-destruction. Find author Gregory Fournier's book on the Purple Gang as well as other true crime works of his a his website: thttps://gregoryafournier.com/ #purplegang #jailhouserock #alcapone 

The Purple Gang's Legendary History

Flint's southend is where autoworkers live and work.  In days past, before General Motors closed its many facotries in Flint, South Saginaw Street was a hustling and bustling place.  Not so different from other busy industrial towns.  The "strip" as it was known by the locals was located along S. Saginaw Street in front of GM's Fisher Body Plant #1. It was a place where strangers with guns came to do their business.

George's Gambling Joint Armed Robbery and Pinball

Flushing, Michigan is a quiet bedroom community of one of America's most violent cities, Flint, Michigan.  That was until two drug crazed armed robbers rounded up three people at a convenience store and left them dead. To this day the brutal senseless robbery is seared into the memories of those in the All-American town.

Robbery Murder at Mary's Dairy

This is a true crime story about an unsolved murder of a Flint drug store owner in 1954.  It was the former prosecutor's welcome to Flint, as his mom was pregnant for him at the time she witnessed the armed robbery and murder.  The murder took place in a 1950's style drug store complete with a soda fountain. He recounts his mother's trauma and what unfolded afterwards.  The storey then captures what has occurred 65 years later to Flint, Michigan.   The once wealthy town has been overtaken by globalization, violent crime, drugs, a public health crisis and crime.  Today, it is a city that struggles to become relevant to the American people.  Perhaps it is just the mid-stages of a soon to be "ghost town" complete with a crime pandemic, bad water and polluted brownfields.  This narrative sets the stage for many of the true crime stories to follow.

The Unsolved Murder at Charlies' Drug Store

True crime as told by a veteran prosecutor from Flint, Michigan. Features interesting murder, rape, robbery and other horrific crimes. Episodes often are from the file cabinet of the prosecutor or trial lawyers who argued to the jury to convict. The podcast journey takes you into investigations, development of trial theories strategies. Criminal law isn't bean bag. Successfully prosecuting cases requires thoughtful strategy and skill. If you like criminal thrillers and murder cases you will love the True Crime Flint.

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True Crime Flint

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