The Shadow Knows

Are you old enough to remember the popular radio series The Shadow? The Shadow character was created by Walter Gibson, using the pen name of Maxwell Grant. Walter Gibson’s writing process involved first creating a written synopsis of the longer story, a kind of storyboard. One day when Gibson was in Maine, his cousin’s children were visiting his cabin on Little Sebago Lake in Gray, entertaining themselves by reading some of Gibson’s synopses. One of the children asked Gibson why he didn’t publish the synopses as well as the stories, and this suggestion gave Gibson an idea to ask his publisher if The Shadow might be published in comic book form, depicted with illustrations as well as words.  At first, Street & Smith rejected the idea, but when they saw the success of the Superman comics, they decided to launch The Shadow Comics in 1940. The series ran monthly until 1947.

Another update to the story of the stranger's grave in Gray

The story of the stranger buried in the Gray village cemetery has once again captured the attention of the news media. According to a July 10 story on WMTW News 8, someone removed the Confederate flag that usually decorates the grave of an unknown Confederate soldier buried there when his body was mistakenly sent to Maine in 1862. The Confederate flag, a controversial symbol of late, was replaced by two American flags. The Confederate flag was found blowing across the cemetery.

World famous painter of horses!

One of the chapters in Hidden History of the Sebago Lakes Region relates the story of Nicholas Winfield Scott Leighton (1847-1898), a Gray native, who became a world famous painter of horses. Leighton especially liked to paint trotting horses. Leighton had a studio in Boston that became a meeting place for leading horsemen of the day, according to the website of the Lost Trotting Parks Heritage Center.  Leighton died in Massachusetts, but he was interred in the Methodist Cemetery in Cumberland, Maine, near his hometown of Gray. Ironically, his grave is located only a couple of miles away from the Cumberland Fairgrounds where trotting horses are trained. (Painting by Scott Leighton)

More hidden history uncovered!

In a bizarre plot twist to last week’s blog post, an article in the June 3 edition of the Bangor Daily News reported that Lt. Colley may not be buried in the Gray Cemetery beneath the ornate headstone that bears his name. Documentation shows that Lt. Charles H. Colley, Co. B, 10^th Maine Infantry, died on Sept. 20, 1862, and was buried in Grave 325 in the Arlington Virginia National Cemetery. But did his relatives believe that he was buried in Gray? According to the article, “The whereabouts of Charles Colley remains an enduring mystery.”

A Stranger's Grave

One of the stories that was not related in Hidden History of the Sebago Lakes Region is the strange story of a grave in the Gray Cemetery. The simple headstone is engraved with “Stranger” and is often decorated with a Confederate flag. Here is what happened. During the American Civil War, Lt. Charles H. Colley of Gray was killed at the Battle of Cedar Mt. and his body was presumably shipped home for burial. However, when the casket was opened, the family discovered the body of an unknown Confederate soldier. That body was buried in the Gray Cemetery and the good citizens of that community arranged for the headstone to be placed there. Lt. Colley’s body did eventually arrive in Gray and is buried not far from the Stranger’s grave. This video from the Squid Diggers commemorates the strange story in song.