Roland Vinyard has published a factual novel about the mysterious death of a former friend which has haunted him, and many others, for four decades.  The long-researched and profusely illustrated, “The Ballad of Pete Hauer (It Was Caves that Pete Loved the Best),” details the bizarre late 1970’s death of Pete Hauer, a man the author said “used to be one of my best friends.”  The strange story begins in the late 1960s, when Vinyard—living in West Virginia and working as a historian at Gettysburg Park—and his friend, Pete Hauer, bonded over an interest in cave exploration.  After quitting his job as an environmental educator, Hauer bought a small farm in West Virginia.  The property had a “bad house and a bad barn,” but was available for only $4,500.  The not-entirely-ideal land, however, did contain a saltpeter cave—valuable to Hauer not only because the substance is an ingredient in gunpowder, but also because he was one of the nation’s leading authorities in saltpeter studies.  Hauer—exploring horrible cries coming from outside his home—found his animals brutally murdered.  The killings baffled those who knew Hauer, his loved ones wondering what anybody could possibly have against him.  It turned out the animal slayings were committed by an “anti-hippy” neighbor, the incident unfortunately being just the first in a long line of enduring horrors that precipitated several decades of inquiries into the life and activities of Pete Hauer.  After further downturns in Hauer’s life, a local student working in a nearby park—which Hauer had also worked at—went missing.  Wondering whether the missing man could’ve potentially disappeared into a local cave, authorities approached Hauer—a known cave expert—for assistance.  In a twist nobody expected, Hauer then mysteriously vanished.  In searching for Hauer, police eventually made a startling discovery in his home— a letter wherein he not only willed all of his possessions to various people, but also admitted to murdering the missing man.  The letter led authorities to the man’s body—discovered in Hauer’s saltpeter cave.  “The boy had been found, but now Pete was missing,” said Vinyard, explaining that a several month, nationwide search for Hauer turned up nothing.  Around Thanksgiving, one of Hauer’s neighbors and his son were out hunting.  As they sat down to eat, the boy spotted something unusual nearby.  “They realized it was decomposed remains—partially in a tree and partly on the ground,” said Vinyard.  Having known Hauer, the boy who discovered the body instantly recognized his boots.  The many whys and hows of this twisted tale have remained with not only Vinyard, but many across the state of West Virginia and beyond, for 40 years.  The book tells the mysterious story in detail, discussing all possible options while providing extensive evidence, including FBI files, color images created by the author, black and white photos, maps, and Hauer’s confession note.  Quotes acquired by the author across his years of research serve as introductions to each chapter.  In 2012, Vinyard held a concert at his Sprakers home (the public events taking place regularly) wherein an artist used a crankie—a 19th century form of storytelling utilizing a long, illustrated scroll.  Vinyard and his wife were inspired to create a crankie detailing Hauer’s story, set to accompany a song Vinyard had written about Hauer.  A 26-foot long quilt was created by Vinyard’s wife, as he constructed an apparatus to display it on.  Joshua Thomas  https://www.recordernews.com/news/local-news/185356 

What can a love triangle from 200 years ago reveal about the quelling of women’s ambition?   Quite a bit, according to University of Delaware professor and religious historian Christine Leigh Heyrman.  Her book, Doomed Romance: Broken Hearts, Lost Souls and Sexual Tumult in Nineteenth-Century America, explores the paradoxical nature of the 1800s evangelical Protestant movement, which elevated women as swiftly as it undermined them.  Told through the story of Martha Parker, “It Girl” of the 1820s, we learn how a jilted suitor and his network of powerful allies vengefully turned the young Parker into a cautionary tale for ambitious women of her generation.  https://www.udel.edu/udaily/2021/august/christine-heyrman/ 

Golden Rule—whoever has the gold makes the rules. *  “Old Sana’a is famous for the tower houses which you can see rising up to ten stories above the walls.  There are thousands of them, some going back to the eleventh century, and they are said to be the world’s first skyscrapers.”  The Panther, John Corey novel #6 by Nelson DeMille 

tower house:  a tall, fortified stone building intended for habitation.    https://www.yourdictionary.com/tower-house  See also https://www.thecoolist.com/10-tower-homes-rising-high-norm/ and https://architizer.com/blog/inspiration/collections/tower-house-4/ 

A bazaar or souk, is a permanently enclosed marketplace or street where goods and services are exchanged or sold.  The term bazaar originates from the Persian word bāzār.  The term bazaar is sometimes also used to refer to the "network of merchants, bankers and craftsmen" who work in that area.  Although the word "bazaar" is of Persian origin, its use has spread and now has been accepted into the vernacular in countries around the world.  Evidence for the existence of bazaars or souks dates to around 3,000 BCE.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazaar

Lucius Livius Andronicus, (born c. 284 BC, Tarentum, Magna Graecia [now Taranto, Italy]—died c. 204 BC, Rome?), founder of Roman epic poetry and drama.  He was a Greek slave, freed by a member of the Livian family; he may have been captured as a boy when Tarentum surrendered to Rome in 272 BC.  A freedman, he earned his living teaching Latin and Greek in Rome.  His main work, the Odyssia, a translation of Homer’s Odyssey, was possibly done for use as a schoolbook.  https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lucius-Livius-Andronicus 

Titus Andronicus, an early, experimental tragedy by William Shakespeare, written sometime in 1589–92 and published in a quarto edition from an incomplete draft in 1594.  The First Folio version was prepared from a copy of the quarto, with additions from a manuscript that had been used as a promptbook.   The play’s crude, melodramatic style and its numerous savage incidents led many critics to believe it was not written by Shakespeare.  Modern criticism, however, tends to regard the play as authentic.  Although not ranked with Shakespeare’s other great Roman plays, Titus Andronicus relates its story of revenge and political strife with a uniformity of tone and consistency of dramatic structure.  Sources for the story include Euripides’ Hecuba, Seneca’s Thyestes and Troades, and parts of Ovid and Plutarch.  https://www.britannica.com/topic/Titus-Andronicus 

October 8 is the eve of the second Saturday of October in 2021, which is the second of the two World Migratory Bird Days in the year.  These days were established by the Secretariats of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds and the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals to highlight the importance of protecting migratory birds and their habitats.  Wiktionary 

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2435  October 8, 2021