A_____ P_____ was seventeen when he was arrested for stealing a car. It was the only time in his life he would trouble the police. He still lives in New Castle (hence the redaction of his name), and this November he will celebrate his ninety-fifth birthday by playing in his polka band in front of family, friends and invited guests.
And I’ll be there, too.
At the end of November, I’m travelling to New Castle with a documentary crew to film part of their documentary, American Mugshot. We have some interviews lined up with relatives of some of the people I’ve written about, but we’d like to talk to more, if possible.
So, do you know anyone you’ve read about on the blog? You don’t have to be related; we’d still like to talk to you about your memories of them—good or bad.
If you do, and you wouldn’t mind me asking you a few questions, let me know.
You can leave a comment on this post, or click here to send me an email.
Thanks, New Castle—see you soon!
Small Town Noir 
I love the way this project has developed. Wonderful!!!!!
Thanks, Kendall — come a long way since the old Flickr days, hasn’t it?
This is such a neat site. Love the stories. Keep it up!
Thanks. There’s a good few stories still to come…
I discovered this site last night after seeing the documentary mentioned above. This site captures so many of my interests: true crime, film noir, American history and the human condition. I worked as a small-town newspaper reporter after college, covering the crime beat. I was already a “Dragnet” fan and enjoyed getting the backstory from the police on the cases I covered. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for writing! I’m so glad you like it. Being a small-town crime reporter sounds like a perfect first post-college job. Just the thing to fully round out your education…