woonsocket

Welcome back to another Unsolved "Systeries" mystery. In 1982, 22-year-old Doreen Picard was found dead in the basement of her apartment. Next to her lay 27-year-old Susan Laferte, barely clinging to life. What happened to these two women? It would be 8 years before police got a lead, but would it be enough to catch the killer? Listen now to find out.

We’re heading to Woonsocket this week to check out a mural painted on what was an unassuming concrete wall you wouldn’t think twice about. But this concrete wall actually has an incredibly interesting backstory, one with ties to the Titanic. 

To Visit: Cass Ave, Woonsocket, RI - across from Woonsocket High School

Episode Source Material: 

• The Southern New England Railway
• Southern New England Railway - Wikipedia
• https://www.providencejournal.com/article/20140202/LIFESTYLE/302029971
• NEW HAVEN TO BOSTON
• Titanic helped sink New Haven Railroad
• New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
• New Hampshire Railroad - Historic Context Statement
• Cass Ave. railroad abutment will be a concrete canvas for high school art teacher and her students as they’ll put paint to plaster to pay tribute to Charles Melville Hays Mural in the making
• New York Times | Indict 21 in Deals of the New Haven
• New York Times | New Haven Story One of Upheavals
• Charles Melville Hays : Titanic Victim
• Biography – HAYS, CHARLES MELVILLE – Volume XIV (1911-1920) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
• Charles Melville Hays | Titanic Database Wiki | Fandom
• Founder of Prince Rupert died on the Titanic 100 years ago By DAVE KIFFER
• Why the Titanic Still Fascinates Us | History
• Cass Avenue mural recalls railroad that might’ve been
• Paint progress
• White Star Line
• Titanic
• JUST BEFORE SMASH HAYS SAID DISASTER
• Railway magnate expected rescue from Titanic
• JUST BEFORE SMASH HAYS SAID DISASTER
• The Golden Age of Rail. 
• Charles Melville Hays Biography
• The Truth about the Titanic - CHAPTER I - THE LAST DAY ABOARD SHIP

Hidden away in Woonsocket, RI is a church that has been called the Sistine Chapel of New England. Inside is one of the largest collections of frescoes in the United States. While the artwork is incredible, it’s only the beginning. After the paintings draw you in, what you find are stories--because all 475 people painted into the frescoes are real people who lived in Woonsocket in the 1940s. And some of these stories will make you say, “Wow, I’ve never heard something like that before.”  

To Visit: 84 Cumberland Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895 - Tours Sunday 1-4

Episode Source Material: 

• Mission Statement
• The 40 Angels of St. Ann, the Sistine Chapel of Woonsocket
• The Miracle of the Woonsocket Mill Order
• New England Notebook: One Reporter, Six States, Uncommon Stories -  p. 47
• At 100-year celebration, St. Ann Center recalls church's past military connection
• French Americans
• New England French
• Quebec diaspora
• Guido Nincheri
• Guido Nincheri: An Italian-Canadian Treasure
• Guido Nincheri, Inducted
• Guido Nincheri, 86, Won Papal Medal for his Art
• Marguerite B. Forget - Obituary - Woonsocket, RI - Fournier & Fournier Funeral Services

Have you heard the story of Hachiko, Japan’s most loyal dog? Find out why there’s a statue of Hachiko hidden in Woonsocket, RI.  

To Visit: 1 Depot Square, Woonsocket, RI 02895

Episode Source Material:

• Akita (dog)
• History of the Akita Breed - The Akita Breed
• Akita History: Hachikō & the Revival of the Devoted Japanese Breed – American Kennel Club
• 15 thoughts on “What does Hachiko mean?”
• Hachikō
• Hidesaburō Ueno
• Hachi: A Dog's Tale
• Around New England: Woonsocket's Railroad Station's Deserved, but Short-Lived Stardom - Design New England
• Hachiko - A Dog's Loyalty
• 10 things you didn't know about Hachiko, Japan's most loyal dog 3 days ago
• Hachiko Breed Information: History, Health, Pictures, and more

Join host Claire-Marie Brisson as she hosts not just one - but two! - interviews from two Franco-Americans from Woonsocket, RI who work on preserving their Franco-American culture. About the guests:

Robert Gumlaw serves as President and Member of the Board of Directors of the American-French Genealogical Society. http://afgs.org

Calvin Fox is a proud Franco-American from Rhode Island and a current student at Concordia University (Montréal). He is starting a project to help preserve Woonsocket's Francophone past, available on Twitter @francophoneri.