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There is a "mug shot" machine used to take pictures of "Galena's Most Wanted", and a Nazi flag taken by Edward Beyer from Hitler's Hideout in Austria, the "Eagle's Nest". There are also a number of paintings by Galena native, Carol Riley. Several of these paintings of Galena area mines have been displayed at the Smithsonian Institution, in Washington, D. C. A helicopter sitting out back, is the museum's latest acquisition, awaiting restoration by the fire department.
The museum is supported by a one-mill tax levy, donations, and souvenir sales. A video on the history of Galena is available, as are several books about the area. Caps and T-shirts featuring the museum are also for sale. For more information, or to purchase goods, or to donate, write: Galena Mining and Historical Museum Association, Galena, KS, 66739, or call 316-783-2192.
Dean Walker, Secretary of the Kansas Association, and his wife, Paula, offered to take us to see the Spooklight. This unexplained phenomenon has been appearing in northeastern Oklahoma for well over 100 years. Some skeptics tried to attribute it to the reflections of headlights on cars passing on the nearby Will Rogers Turnpike, but accounts of the Spooklight by area Indians pre-date the existence of automobiles. During the 1940s, the army spent two weeks in the area, searching for its origin.
Paula grew up in the area, and she and Dean have seen it many times. They said that it only appears when the humidity is high; foggy nights are best. They have never seen it floating through the trees, though many people have. They said it follows the road, sometimes straight, sometimes bouncing around. When I asked if it might come up on us from behind, they said no, it always comes from the same direction. It has floated onto the hood of their car, and has been said to have entered other people's cars. It appears like a white light, but sometimes colors can be seen emanating from holes in it.
The road where the Spooklight is most frequently seen is called Devil's Promenade. Our hosts took us to other vantage points from which it can be seen, taking us through equally descriptive places such as Devil's Hollow, and Witch's Hollow. They showed us two places where a guy known as Spooky operated souvenir stands and rented telescopes on a tower.
Though we never saw the Spooklight, we did get a thrill when the headlights on Dean's Bronco failed. There's nothing quite like going down a remote, rough, narrow, hilly unfamiliar road with deep ditches on both sides, with someone you just met, at 40 miles an hour, in pitch darkness. (I guess a stuck throttle and no brakes would have completed the scenario!!) After he turned off the lights and allowed the wiring to cool, we were off again, only to have the lights fail a couple more times.
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