Forgotten Tales of Rhode Island

by Jim Ignasher

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Description

Few Rhode Islanders remember the day a German submarine suddenly surfaced in Newport Harbor, or the escape of a bear, tiger and panther from a circus train on the Stonington Railroad. Still fewer may have heard about the World War II fighter plane that crash-landed in the middle of a secret listening post for intercepting enemy radio signals, tucked away on a farm in Scituate. Forgotten Tales digs deep into Rhode Island's history and unearths little-known stories and folklore that span three show more centuries. Read about the undertaker who dug his own grave, midnight gold diggers using magical diagrams, Smithfield's 'suicide bridge' and a pet elephant with a unique Achilles heel. Jim Ignasher delivers a strong dose of local color in this fascinating anecdotal history of the Ocean State. show less

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Member Reviews

4 reviews
It's a small, light book, filled with short stories about Rhode Island. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about these forgotten tales, and shared a few of its stories to some of my friends. These are stories you probably wouldn't be finding in an ordinary textbook, though it would be a nice supplement.
One of my favorites was about the Ida Lewis Rock lighthouse - first lighthouse to be manned by a woman in the United States, and the only lighthouse to be renamed after someone. There are stories about hot air balloons, escaped zoo animals, one of which was never found, German submarines, and others.
Light, fun, worth the read.
½
As someone who used to live in Rhode Island and who explored many of its nooks and crannies (thanks to geocaching), I was eagerly looking forward to reading this book. I hoped to discover new stories and read some familiar ones as well. This book would be a great present for anyone who has a connection to Little Rhody.

My only complaint/suggestion for future editions would be to include an index so we could find stories based on familiar people/places.

All in all, a good book that I will be forwarding onto friends who still live in the smallest state with the longest name!
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I love the little slice of life stories of localizes Rhode Island. These are antidotes that you just won't find in a more mainstream book.

While a few of the stories were entirely forgettable most others were nice light reads and I felt enriched afterwards.
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
This book is a hodgepodge of historical anecdotes about Rhode Island. Some of the stories are very odd and interesting. Some of them are just kind of boring. If you're interested in the history of Rhode Island, you might want this book. Otherwise, you'll probably be kind of bored.
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

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Classifications

Genres
History, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
DDC/MDS
974.5History & geographyHistory of North AmericaNortheastern United States (New England and Middle Atlantic states)Rhode Island
LCC
F79.5 .I56Local History of the United States, Canada and Latin AmericaUnited States local historyRhode Island
BISAC

Statistics

Members
13
Popularity
1,771,092
Reviews
4
Rating
½ (3.63)
Languages
English
Media
Paper
ISBNs
1