By Olivia Kleinau ('23)
Dr. Douglas Gaerte, Professor of Communications, at Houghton University, shared two articles of spooky stories from the local area.
The first article was shared from Angelica, N.Y., 21 minutes from Houghton. Cindy Wagner, writing for the Olean Times Herald, writes about an abandoned poorhouse.
In the town of Angelica, Wagner writes, “some of the oldest graves in the Day of the Dawn Cemetery on the east side of the village have no names on the stones. Only numbers. The graves are those of long ago-residents of the Allegany County Home, one of the many almshouses—or poorhouses—opened around the country in the early 1800s.”
According to a 1857 state report regarding the Allegany County Home, the people within these poorhouses were treated barbarously. The poorhouse also consisted of terrible living conditions.
Dr. John Norton, the county physician, wrote a report in 1864, describing the conditions as, “no ventilation, old, rotten, and filthy, and entirely inadequate for the purpose for which it is used.”
On July 28, 1980, the house burnt down, but was rebuilt the next year. It remained open until the early 1960s and still stands today.
Another article, shared by Gaerte, is the tale of the disappearance of Flossie Wilbur from her home in Angelica, N.Y. John Anderson, writing for the Tyler Morning Telegraph, breaks down the mysterious disappearance of Wilbur. Her disappearance was described as an unsolved murder for decades until a deathbed confession of a terminal cancer patient solved the case.
Wilbur had been missing since Aug 24, 1985, and all that was left of her were the groceries both in and out of her car.
Anderson writes that David Sherk, Wilbur’s neighbor, allegedly confessed to the murder while, “in a medical facility in Wyoming County, N.Y. with terminal cancer.”
According to neighbors, Sherk was well liked in the community, but Wilbur, however, was not. Two investigators on Wilbur’s case revealed that she kept a diary talking badly about many people in the town.
Rolland Rasmusson, who lived across the street from Wilbur, said in an interview, “Most people didn’t think very much of her. She kind of had a foul mouth when she was talking and a lot of people didn’t like her very well.”
Despite the admission to the alleged murder, no charges were drawn against Sherk due to his condition and cooperation with the case.
Written in 2020, the article finishes by stating that the police would continue to look for Wilbur’s remains based on Sherk’s descriptions. However, the case still remains open as her remains have yet to be found. ★
