Jim Ignasher

Forgotten Tales of Rhode Island Jim Ignasher

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 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.