Chester and Grace: The Real American Tragedy

12/16/06- AT YEAR'S END

SINCE WE ARE RAPIDLY APPROACHING THE END OF 2006, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE YEAR OF THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY," I FIGURED THAT NOW WOULD BE THE BEST TIME TO ANSWER THE MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION THAT HAS PROBABLY BEEN ON EVERYONE'S MIND: "HOW DID I GET INVOLVED WITH THE GILLETTE CASE?"

WELL, I GUESS NOW WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE TIME TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION.

IT ALL STARTED IN THE BREAKROOM AT WAL-MART IN HERKIMER WHERE I WORK IN JULY OF 2005. THAT NIGHT, I NOTICED A COPY OF THE HERKIMER EVENING TELEGRAM THAT WAS DATED JULY 12, 2005. ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THAT ARTICLE, I READ AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE FIRST REPORTS ABOUT THE CENTENNIAL. I WAS ABLE TO CLIP IT OUT BEFORE IT WAS THROWN AWAY AND I STILL HAVE IT TO THIS DAY. THAT IN TURN PROMPTED ME TO GO TO THE LIBRARY AND TOOK OUT JOSEPH BROWNELL'S BOOK, "ADIRONDACK TRAGEDY." I READ THAT THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF THREE WEEKS AND THEN CRAIG BRANDON'S BOOK, "MURDER IN THE ADIRONDACKS" WAS AVAILABLE FOR ME TO TAKE OUT AND SO I HAD THAT ONE OUT FOR SIX WEEKS. I NOW OWN COPIES OF BOTH BOOKS.

WHILE I HAD "MURDER IN THE ADIRONDACKS" OUT, I BEGAN TAKING NOTES ON THE CASE FROM THERE BECAUSE THE INFORMATION THERE WAS VERY ACCURATE. AND THEN TAKING NOTES OUT OF THE BOOK SOON LED TO AN OBSESSIVE PRINTING OF WHATEVER INFORMATION ABOUT THE CASE THAT I COULD GET OFF THE INTERNET. AND I GOTTA TELL YOU, YAHOO AND GOOGLE HAS A VERY EXTENSIVE LINE OF ARTICLES THAT RELATED TO THE GILLETTE CASE. EVENTUALLY, I SET UP MY EMAIL ADDRESS AT THE LIBRARY SO THAT WAY I COULD CONTINUE MY RESEARCH ON THE CASE.

BY JANUARY, 2006, I WAS A MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN TRAGEDY CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE, AN ORGANIZATION THAT WAS MADE UP OF THE HERKIMER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, THE ILION LITTLE THEATER CLUB, AND THE GRACE COMMITTEE, AN ORGANIZATION FROM THE TOWN OF WEBB. AT MY FIRST MEETING, I RECEIVED A COPY OF GRACE'S LAST LETTER AS SHE WROTE IT AS WELL AS GETTING MY PHOTO (UNINTENTIONALLY, OF COURSE) ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE TELEGRAM.

SHORTLY AFTER THAT, I DISCOVERED THE JOYS OF INTERNET BLOGGING WHEN I SET UP A BLOG SITE ON YAHOO AND I HAD WRITTEN SOME BLOGS ON THE CASE ON THAT SITE, INCLUDING MY LITTLE "VALENTINE" TO GRACE. FINALLY, WHEN I FELT THAT I HAD PUT UP QUITE A BIT OF BLOGS ABOUT THE GILLETTE CASE ON MY YAHOO SITE AND THE FACT THAT I HAD A LOT OF INFORMATION FROM BOTH THE BOOKS AND THE INTERNET, I DECIDED TO OPEN THIS SITE HERE ON BLOGGER.COM.

AT THE SAME TIME, I ATTENDED THE MANY EVENTS THAT THE CENTENNIAL YEAR HAD TO OFFER, INCLUDING THE HERKIMER PERFORMANCES OF THE TRIAL REENACTMENTS; THE BUS TRIP TO CORTLAND AND SOUTH OTSELIC THAT RELATED TO THE GILLETTE CASE, INCLUDING GRACE'S HOME AND GRAVESITE; THE ILION LITTLE THEATER'S PERFORMANCE OF THE PLAY, "CHESTER AND GRACE;" AND I ALSO ATTENDED THE RECENT HISTORIC MARKER DEDICATION FOR THE 1834 JAIL IN HERKIMER.

HOWEVER, I WAS UNABLE TO ATTEND THE MEMORIAL FOR GRACE UP AT BIG MOOSE LAKE ON JULY 11. I HAD TO WORK THAT NIGHT AND THERE WAS NO WAY THAT I COULD GET THE DAY OFF TO GO UP THERE. HOWEVER, TO LET GRACE KNOW THAT I DIDN'T FORGET HER, I ARRANGED TO HAVE FLOWERS SENT UP TO THE MEMORIAL TO BE PUT IN THE LAKE ALONG WITH THE MEMORIAL WREATH THAT WAS EVENTUALLY PUT IN THE LAKE BY FRANK CAREY, THE GRANDSON OF MARJORIE CAREY, THE WOMAN WHO HEARD GRACE SCREAM THE DAY SHE WAS MURDERED, AS WELL AS ROBERT WILLIAMS, GRACE'S GRANDNEPHEW, WHOM I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH RECENTLY AND I WILL EXPLAIN THAT LATER, AND SUSAN WILLIAMS, GRACE'S GRANDNIECE. I WAS TOLD THAT IT WAS A WONDERFUL CEREMONY. ALTHOUGH MY FLOWERS DIDN'T GO IN THAT DAY, I WAS TOLD THAT THEY WENT IN TWO DAYS LATER IN A PRIVATE CEREMONY.

I HAVE MET A LOT OF PEOPLE DURING MY INVOLVEMENT WITH THE CASE AND I HAVE OBTAINED NUMEROUS PIECES OF INFORMATION ABOUT THE CASE, MOST NOTABLY IN THE LAST FOUR MONTHS ALONE. I HAD JUST RECENTLY COMPLETED FOUR MONTHS OF GOING THROUGH CRAIG BRANDON'S RESEARCH FILES, WHICH ARE AVAILABLE AT THE HERKIMER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY. DURING THAT TIME, I MET A WOMAN WHO WAS RESEARCHING THE ROXALANA DRUSE CASE FOR A SERIES OF GHOST NOVELS ABOUT THAT CASE AND SHE GAVE ME EVERY SINGLE LEGAL DOCUMENT ABOUT THE CASE, INCLUDING THE TRIAL TRANSCRIPT. THEN ON THIS SITE, I ESTABLISHED CONTACT WITH A WOMAN FROM HOUSTON, TX. WHO HAS SENT ME PHOTOS FROM THE CASE, AS WELL AS THE GRACE EPISODE OF "UNSOLVED MYSTERIES," THE MOVIE SCRIPT FROM THE 1931 MOVIE, "AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY," AND GRACE'S AUTOPSY REPORT. I HAVE EVEN MET BOTH CRAIG BRANDON AND JOE BROWNELL.

THEN WHO WOULD'VE THOUGHT THAT IN ONLY A YEAR AND A HALF OF RESEARCH, I WOULD BE WRITING A BOOK ABOUT THE CASE, MUCH LESS ONE THAT FOCUSES EXCLUSIVELY ON GRACE, SINCE SO LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HER OUTSIDE OF THE LOVE LETTERS AND HER STORY WITH CHESTER. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS MOVING CLOSER TO REALITY. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO START A WRITING CAREER FOR YEARS AND NOW IT LOOKS LIKE IT IS GETTING CLOSER TO ACTUALLY HAPPENING.

AND SO, NOW HERE IS THE PART WHERE I LIST SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE HELPED ME AND SUPPORTED ME THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF MY WORK ON THE CASE TO DATE AND EXTEND MY DEEPEST GRATITUDE FOR THEIR SUPPORT:

TO CRAIG BRANDON AND JOSEPH BROWNELL: THANK YOU FOR WRITING THE TWO BOOKS THAT HAVE INSPIRED ME TO CREATE BOTH THIS SITE AND MY UPCOMING BOOK. I HOPE THEY WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT ME AND OFFER ASSISTANCE AS I CONTINUE TO WRITE THE BOOK.

TO MARY BOARDWAY OF HOUSTON, TX., WHO WAS AMONG THE FIRST TO COMMENT ON THIS SITE: THANK YOU FOR SENDING ME THE PHOTOS, THE "UNSOLVED MYSTERIES" EPISODE, AND THE AUTOPSY REPORT. THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

TO SUSAN SCHWAGER OF COLONIE, N.Y.: THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE LEGAL DOCUMENTS THAT PERTAINED TO THE CASE AND I WISH YOU LUCK WITH YOUR ROXY DRUSE BOOK.

TO JACK SHERMAN: THANK YOU FOR PUTTING ON SUCH A GOOD SHOW WITH THE REENACTMENTS THIS PAST SUMMER.

TO THE GRACE COMMITTEE IN TOWN OF WEBB: THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE A PART OF THIS HISTORIC EVENT AND I HOPE THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO GO UP TO BIG MOOSE LAKE, HOPEFULLY NEXT YEAR.

TO ROBERT WILLIAMS, GRACE'S GRAND-NEPHEW: THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE IN HELPING ME GET READY TO WRITE MY BOOK ABOUT YOUR GREAT-AUNT. I PROMISE I WILL REMEMBER YOU WHEN I DO GET THE BOOK PUBLISHED.

TO JEFF STEELE, SUE PERKINS, AND CARYL HOPSON OF THE HERKIMER COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY: THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO BE A PART OF THE CENTENNIAL COMMITTEE AND FOR YOUR SUPPORT WITH MY RESEARCH ON THE CASE FOR THIS SITE AS WELL AS MY BOOK AND I HOPE THAT I CAN BE OF FURTHER ASSISTANCE WITH ANY OTHER EVENTS THAT YOU HAVE PLANNED.

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE ILION LITTLE THEATER CLUB: THANK YOU FOR PUTTING ON SUCH A GOOD SHOW WITH BOTH THE TRIAL REENACTMENTS AND "CHESTER AND GRACE." I'M SORRY THAT I WASN'T ABLE TO SEE "MY DEAR CHESTER," BUT I DO HOPE THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO COME TO MORE OF YOUR SHOWS NEXT YEAR.

TO JENNIFER SCHANTZ: THANK YOU FOR THE FINAL LETTER; FOR DELIVERING GRACE'S FLOWERS TO BIG MOOSE FOR ME AT THE MEMORIAL WHEN I COULDN'T BE THERE MYSELF TO DELIVER THEM; FOR A VERY INSPIRED PERFORMANCE AS GRACE IN "CHESTER AND GRACE;" AND FOR REALLY INTRODUCING ME TO GRACE BROWN. I WISH YOU WELL WITH EVERYTHING IN THE FUTURE.

TO MY FAMILY: THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF ME WITH MY CONTINUED WORK WITH THE CASE. I LOVE YOU ALL.

TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE VIEWED THE SITE AND HAVE OFFERED COMMENTS AND/OR SUPPORT TO ME: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND BECAUSE OF THIS, IT CAN BE ASSURED THAT CHESTER AND GRACE'S STORY WILL CONTINUE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY. ONCE AGAIN, I THANK YOU SO MUCH.

AND LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST, I WOULD LIKE TO THANK GRACE BROWN HERSELF FOR LEAVING BEHIND A LEGACY THAT HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. YOU GAVE ME THE SIGN I NEEDED TO START MY WRITING CAREER AND FOR THAT I AM ETERNALLY GRATEFUL TO YOU. I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING AND I HOPE THAT I WILL BE ABLE TO GET YOUR STORY OUT TO THE PUBLIC. MAY YOU CONTINUE TO REST IN PEACE.

AND SO, I MUST BRING THE SITE TO A CLOSE FOR 2006 SO THAT WAY I CAN GET IT UPDATED AND SET FOR NEXT YEAR, BEING THAT THE CENTENNIAL YEAR IS OVER, BUT AS I SAID, I WILL CONTINUE TO KEEP THE SITE OPEN BECAUSE THERE IS STILL SO MUCH THAT I NEED TO TELL, AS WELL AS THE FACT THAT THERE IS ALWAYS THE POSSIBILITY OF NEW INFORMATION THAT COULD POP UP AT ANY TIME.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR.