Chowchilla, CA/ Skidmore, MO

Chowchilla, CA/ Skidmore, MO

Author: Fred Knoop October 11, 2019 Duration: 49:23

Chowcilla California lays in Madera County with a population of 18,270. It’s name is derived from Native American tribe known as the Chaushila, a Yokut tribe. It is said that the name translates to “murderers” which is a reference to the warlike nature of the tribe. Other then it’s intereting name there is not much to be said about the little town, but in 1976 something did happen that would put Chowcilla on the map.


WikiPedia article about Chowchilla, California


WikiPedia article about 1976 Chowchilla kidnapping


www.latimes.com/visuals/photography/la-me-fw-archives-the-1976-chowchilla-bus-kidnapping-20190709-htmlstory.html


www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2011-apr-03-la-me-chowchilla-kidnapping-20110404-story.html


Skidmore is indeed a small town, with only a population of 284. The local St. Oswald’s Protestant Epicopal Church is on is on the National Register of Historic Places. The town held a yearly “Punkin’ Show” up until 2004. It’s not the Punkin’ Show or the historical church people whisper about when they talk about Skidmore, it’s the shooting of former town bully Kennith Rex Mcelory. As you well see this story is the epitome of a small town secret. 


WikiPedia article about Skidmore, Missouri


WikiPedia article about Ken McElroy


www.bustle.com/p/13-things-about-ken-mcelroys-shooting-you-need-to-know-before-watching-no-one-saw-a-thing-18497585


YouTube video (tZktTdGHaJY). Buzzfeed Unsolved The Strange Killing of Ken Rex McElory”


morbidology.com/the-town-that-got-away-with-murder/


Local Headlines


www.coasttocoastam.com/article/watch-fleet-of-ufos-caught-on-film


www.cnet.com/news/mysterious-fireball-that-crashed-and-burned-wasnt-a-meteor/


www.mcdowellnews.com/news/bigfoot-posts-photos-of-strange-figure-at-lake-james/article_75933f40-e533-11e9-9342-c333d513abb0.html


Listener Stories


www.weirdca.com/location.php?location=482


https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/accidental-death-of-picked-on-teen-stirs-peers-remorse/article4149177/


You can follow the show on Twitter or Facebook @stscast, or on Instagram@stscast.gram


This week's featured podcast is Into the Shift Baseball Podcast

And be sure to check out Big Heads Media for more great pods!

Also hit up Dirty Knees Soap Co. for some fantastic soap and other products!

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/small-town-secrets.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


There's a particular kind of quiet that settles over a small town, a hush that often holds more than it reveals. Small Town Secrets, hosted by Fred Knoop, goes digging beneath that surface calm to find the stories that define a place. Each episode is a journey to a different community somewhere in the world, where the strange and the historical intertwine. You might hear about a decades-old mystery that still divides local opinion, or an architectural oddity with a bizarre origin story. The scope is broad, touching on unexplained phenomena, compelling historical footnotes, and those simply peculiar events that become local legend. This isn't just about cataloging oddities; it's about understanding how these narratives become woven into the fabric of a community's identity, shaping its culture and the people who live there. Knoop approaches each tale with a curious and respectful tone, letting the atmosphere and the details build a vivid sense of place. The podcast serves as an audio travelogue to the shadowy corners of the map, proving that sometimes the most remote locations harbor the most fascinating secrets. It’s for anyone who suspects that the real story of a town isn't found on the welcome sign, but whispered in its diners and remembered in its forgotten buildings.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 80

Small Town Secrets
Podcast Episodes
Hayward, CA/ San Leandro, CA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:45
Hayward is in the heart of the East Bay. It’s home to many things such as the famous Buffalo Bill’s Brewpub a large fiberglass Paul Bunyon- like statue called big mike and it’s where Tom Hanks graduted collage. Big Mike…
Cumbria, EN/ Mineral Point, WI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:36
The legend of the Groglin Grange Vampire is really the classic vampire story, but unlike Dracula this one may have actually happend. Crouglin is nestled in Cumberland County, England. The story first originated in a book…
Hopkinsville, KY/ Loveland OH [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:21
The Hoppkinsville Gobblin Encounter, the Kelly-Hopkinsvilled Encounter or the Kelly Green Man Case. Whatever you name you give it, they all refer to the same thing. The night when when a family was terrorized by small hu…
Blanchester, OH/ Saanich BC, Canada [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:21
On Wednesday, August 28, 1996 22yo Clarissa Ann Culberson (known as Carrie) returned home from a volleyball game at around 11:30 pm. Shortly after that Carrie and her read Honda CRX woud vanish, never to be seen again.un…
Borley Essex/ West Pittson PA [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:01
It’s known in the as “The most huanted house in England”. The house is located in the tiny parish of Borley in Essex. It was located on Hall road next to the Borley Church. It was built for Reverend Henry Dawson Ellis Bu…
Kecksburg, PA/ Sokolec, Poland [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:12
On December 9th 1965 an anomalous object was tracked on radar and seen by thousands of people as it streaked across the night sky. The object flew over six states as well Winsor Ontario. It was reported that it left trac…
Ashtabula OH/ Hammond IN [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:42
The Ashtabula train disaster has many names, the Ashtabula bridge disaster, the Ashtubla Horror or the Ashtabula river railroad disaster. Which ever name you choose they all refer to a terrible derailment that occured in…
Van Meter IA/ Middletown MD/Casstown OH [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:08
In 1909 and again in 1932 a large dragon-like creature was spotted from Maryland to Ohio. Was the Snallygaster real or just something made up to sell papers?www.legendsofamerica.com/snallygaster/www.phantomsandmonsters.c…
Coming March 2019 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26
Small Town Secrets is a podcast that explores the secrets and strangenss of small towns across the globe. Be it Paranormal, True Crime or just plain weird.Do you have a story to share of a town you’ve lived in? Then head…