WELCOME TO CIRCLEVILLE - Episode 1: The First 3 Letters

Marie Mayhew:

On a cold, overcast spring day in March 1977, in a small rural town in Ohio, Mary Gillespie opened her front door and started to trek to her mailbox. The Gillespie, on Brookmiller Road, sat in isolation. Surrounded by farmland and trees, their closest neighbors were miles down the road. It was a remote area. To retrieve their mail, Mary would have had to a waled a few hundred feet to their mailbox, positioned just a few feet off of Brookmiller Road. The walk itself probably would have only taken less than seven minutes. But on that cold March day, between the rain and the snow, it would have been enough time to just have been a kind of quite reprieve for Mary to gather her thoughts, maybe just to catch her breath. A moment of peace.

Marie Mayhew:

Mary, her husband Ron, and their daughter, Tracy, would get all kind of mail. Bills, family letters, holiday cars, promotions, mail like any other family in the town of Circleville, Ohio. But on that day, in 1977, what was waiting for Mary at the end of that long walk to the mailbox was different. It was a letter postmarked from Columbus, Ohio with no return address. Written on a single sheet of paper in slanted, blocky handwriting was this.

Terrance Jenkins.:

Stay away from Massie. Don't lie when asked about knowing him. I know where you live and have observing your house and know you have children. This is no joke. Please take it serious. Everyone concerned has been notified and everything will be over soon.

Marie Mayhew:

Standing alone in the early spring quite by her mailbox on Brookmiller Road, one can only imagine the sudden unease Mary must have felt as those word sank in. On that rural road, in the open, she wasn't alone with her thoughts. Someone was there with her.

Marie Mayhew:

Letter in hand, turning away from the open road, she starts back to the shelter of her house, quickening her pace.

Marie Mayhew:

This letter, the one she received in March 1977, is the first of over 40 anonymous letters, sent and received, over the span of a decade. Handwritten in that strange blocky uppercase lettering, this ongoing correspondence was mysterious, belittling, threatening, and would ultimately end with an attempt on Mary's life.

Marie Mayhew:

Thank you for listening to Whatever Remains Podcast. I'm your host Marie Mayhew. This episode, we arrive in the small town of Circleville, Ohio.

Marie Mayhew:

Beginning in 1977, Mary Gillespie and other residents of Circleville, Ohio began to receive anonymous letters. And not just a few trickling in here or there but thousands of letters and accused the citizens of the small town of being involved in some pretty terrible things. Embezzlement, domestic violence, affairs, and even murder. Letter after letter, year after year, this anonymous author was hellbent to expose every ugly litter secret in Circleville. The writer was relentless, but the real scary thing was that a lot of these accusations contained some very particular, and accurate personal information, exposing some of the most private details from people's lives. It was that this anonymous author knew their subject and knew them well. They could have been a friend, a neighbor, or maybe even family. The person putting that much venom into people's mailbox wasn't some stranger, and they were certainly not planning on stopping or even slowing down.

Marie Mayhew:

This anonymous writer wasn't just content to turn over every rock in the private lives of Circleville citizens just to see what squirmed out, they wanted something. And in 1983, after a decade of mailing malice and threats, they would try and kill Mary Gillespie to get it. But who was the Circleville writer and what were they trying to achieve? How could just one person possibly know so much about the private lives of the residents and keep it up for decades?

Marie Mayhew:

And in 1990, when someone was finally arrested. Did the police ultimately catch the right person? On this season of Whatever Remains, we untangle a decades worth of police records, hundreds of pages of court transcripts from the trial of Paul Freshour, the man ultimately convicted of these crimes. We read the letter themselves, some of them not made public in years, and try and track their origins. We'll learn more about lives of the people of Circleville that lived under this shadow for years, and how these letters wore at this community. And we'll talk to law enforcement officers and a private investigator, who is still working to solve this ongoing mystery. But beyond the attempted murder of Mary Gillespie, there were other brutal unsolved deaths that the Circleville letter writer appeared to know about. Were they in some way responsible or were they trying to seek justice? We'll try to figure out who was behind the Circleville letters, the anonymous writer with a grudge to bear on one small town and what could have been their reason for flooding Circleville with so much malice?

Marie Mayhew:

Circleville, Ohio is a beautiful, peaceful, small town. Population, a bit over 13,000. There's more than 80 cities in the state of Ohio that are larger. So in earnest, it really, truly is a small town. But one a year, the town swells to over 400,000 people as they all swarm there for the Circleville Pumpkin Show, a three day extravaganza celebrating that one orange gourd. But Circleville, Ohio is exceptional because it appears to be perfectly ordinary. Imagine a serene snow globe of a town and that's Circleville.

Marie Mayhew:

Now if you know anything about small towns or like me, if you grew up in one, Circleville may conjure up images of family and friends, the sense of connection to a community, holiday festivities, birthdays, school dances, parades, maybe all in all a bit bland but comforting secure times. But there's also an uneasy feeling with small towns, a vivid sense that it's too small and cloying, too perfect. It doesn't even really matter how fond these warm memories are, something about that small town, even though it's so familiar, isn't inviting you to stay. You could even argue the opposite. There's something in that small town that isn't right, it's just not safe.

Marie Mayhew:

Small towns tend to have big secrets, buried deep under those freshly mown lawns. This trope of something being not quite right in the small town is famous and highly popular. David Lynch in Twin Peaks. Stephen King in Derry. Even Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird. This one simple idea of the small town gone bad is the basis for endless entertainment and we love it. We crave digging up those dark little horrors, we wanna know everything. That is until we do. Start turning over those rocks and there is no telling what could crawl out.

Marie Mayhew:

And like those stories we crave, something pretty disturbing happened in Circleville, starting small, flourishing over decades. It began quietly in 1977. The first set of letters would become the origin story, the groundwork for all the later events that happened in Circleville. 1977 was the town's first real exposure to this virus. The anonymous letters started to make their way into people's mailboxes on March 2, 1977, and they were not sent to Mary Gillespie. In fact, she wasn't even the subject of them. Surprisingly, the first letter was sent to Westfall High School, to the attention of Gordon Massie.

Marie Mayhew:

Gordon Massie was the school superintendent for Westfall, and had a long career in Ohio's School Districts, first as a principal and then as local school superintendent. School superintendent is a pretty big roll, especially in a small town in the '70s. If a school is corporation, then the superintendent is the CEO. They're responsible for all major events, good or bad, and for image of the brand of that school. Much of what a superintendent's actual job is, is building support from other groups within a school. So they have to be very tight with the parents of the students, the community, and even the local government.

Marie Mayhew:

And while the superintendent runs the school, the Board of Education is in charge of the superintendent for the District. Just like the board of a corporation, the Board of Education has oversight for that superintendent. The big responsibility of a superintendent is making recommendations about operations for that District. Things like staffing decisions for teachers, monetary investments, things like that. But maybe even more important, it's the superintendent role to keep the Board informed of events or happenings in that District that could have an impact on them, the school the people themselves.

Marie Mayhew:

And like a corporation, the Board can fire a superintendent should they think they are effective at doing their job. For a small town superintendent, whose job it is to avoid issues and keep their peace in their district, receiving the first letter must have detonated like a bomb in Gordon Massie's hands. Written in a cramped small print, alternating between upper and lower case, it alleges that Massie was sexually harassing the women's school bus drives at Westfall High School.

Terrance Jenkins.:

Letter one. Mailed from Columbus, Ohio on March 2, 1977. Addressed to Westfall High School. Attention Superintendent Massie. No return address. Dear Sir. According to my girlfriend, you have asked her to go out many times and have asked the other female bus drivers too. Due to your position and their jobs with you, you should not do this. This must stop at once for the good of the school and families. If they are not stopped, I will be forced to write to the school board, and I'd hate to do that. To prey on another man's girl is untouchable, especially when their out trying to make a living. There's also talk of you dating a married woman and taking advantage of them. Do you need time and names again? Please think. I suggest you find yourself a pimple-faced whore and start up with her and leave my girls alone.

Marie Mayhew:

The letter writer is saying that he knows this is happening because Massie has asked out his girlfriend but seems to believe that he needs to stop because it's not good for families or the school. These women are trying to make a living and if Massie doesn't stop immediately, he'll the one thing that every superintendent's job is to avoid. He'll go straight to the school board. But were the allegations in the letter true? And if they were, how did the letter writer know? Were they really the boyfriend of one of the public school drivers at Westfall? Maybe most importantly, what does the letter writer want? Then just a mere two days later.

Terrance Jenkins.:

Addressed to Westfall High School. Attention Board of Education. No return address. Dear School Board. This is to inform you that you have several dissatisfied female drivers due to their working relations with their boss. He dates a lot of the drivers. One, because she's afraid to because of her job and because of his position. He constantly asks several of them over and over. No one ever stops him. He will not take no for an answer from a couple of them. It even bothers some that he has not asked. They would like the chance to tell him where to go. Under these circumstances, they cannot be treated equally. He picks on the weaker ones constantly. This is a terrible working condition and must be stopped for the sake of the schools and the families involved. Again, you should investigate. He has dated several of them. Before long, we'll start repeating the rounds all over again, causing on some more hardships and others, a low morale problem. Some have even considering a bargaining unit for job protection. He's a nice guy on the outside, but please talk to your drivers independently for the full facts of how he is to work for. Please talk to them and treat the problem. Some are nervous and shouldn't be driving under additional pressure as this. After me writing this letter, I sure hope he does not upset my girl for his sake.

Marie Mayhew:

The letter is sent to the same address from Columbus, but this time attention to the Board of Education. The handwriting here is moving towards script and is neater, more uniform, as if the writer needs to present themselves more respectfully to this audience. Sexual harassment should be reported and deal with full stop, and these accusations are serious. If you, your girlfriend, a loved one, is the target of this or witness, if they have to work in it, then the anger is understanded and warranted. The writer is calling out a systematic abuse that would not become part of our nation's discourse, well, til pretty much now. But if you were serious about bringing this wrongdoing to light, then why write Gordon Massey at all? Why warn him that this was coming? Why not contact the Board of Education directly? If the writer fears repercussion for making these accusations, then why make threats?

Marie Mayhew:

The timing of when these two letters were sent, begs the question about the writer's ultimate motivation. Clearly, two days between Gordon Massie's receiving the first letter and the School Board receiving the second, is not a lot of time for Massie to take any real recourse of action. He wouldn't have had time to formulate a plan, to reach out to the School Board and warn them. He would have been in some level of just recoil. Two days is just enough time for Gordon Massie to start to understand how bad of a predicament he was in. And the letter writer, whoever it was, was just getting started.

Terrance Jenkins.:

Letter three. Mailed from Columbus, Ohio on March 4, 1977. Addressed to Westfall High School. Attention Superintendent of Schools. No return address. Dear Superintendent. This is to inform you several of your bus drivers are working under pressure due to their boss constantly putting the moves on them. Some like it. The decent ones don't. Is he getting paid to run the women or run the bus lines? Again, some move behind him because they need the attention and are weak. Should this position be filled by someone capable of taking advantage of his job, school and people that work for him? Is this the type of family man that we need in a position such as this? Capable of using working women because of his advantages. One woman dates him because of her job. This is a terrible working relations and something must be done about it. Most of the drivers know what is going on constantly. You should talk to them and also him before something drastic happens.

Terrance Jenkins.:

For he cares not if they are married or single. Could he be allowed to hound them constantly? I was informed at first by a close friend and refused to believe it. But she proved it through several other friends. I told them to take this matter to someone but so far they have not. It's only a few but they still should count too. I can prove this and will if her school insists on it. I feel that at first he should be talked to and the drivers also. I will find out through the grapevine if he has been put in line. I know of his affairs now and can prove it, and will do so if he continues harassing drivers for dates. Especially when they keep saying no and he constantly hounds them.

Terrance Jenkins.:

I have met him and he seems like a sincere man. So I would like to see this matter made right and forgotten. I can't stand the thought of him thinking about this. One of these drivers, or especially my girl, which I am sure makes no difference to him. I am being informed of him daily and can point out the last drivers he has been with. I shall prove it to you. Again he needs talking to so this matter can be forgotten. Give the drivers a break. Help them. Find out for yourself. Treat all equal. Friends of concerned drivers that are in fear. I have always been against school tax dollars bonuses because of their purpose and won't pay it unless correction and action has been taken.

Marie Mayhew:

Sent on the same day as the one to the School Board but to a superintendent in a different district. This letter is moving beyond concern. The writer wants toe harassment stopped and for the bus drivers to be heard, but it's also alleging that some of these women don't mind being sexual harassed, some even like it. Needless to say, that is not the case. There also some menace to it, that they will find out through the grapevine if Gordon Massie has been put in line. In these first three letter from the anonymous letter writer, there's not return address or identity of who the author is. The closest we come here is that they are mailed from Columbus, Ohio, Postal Hub 430.

Marie Mayhew:

But there are definite signatures. The letter writer's beginning aren't about Mary Gillespie, the women who would soon become the writer's target. It starts with pushing to make sure that one man, Gordon Massie, would be very scared, to be sure that he knew that even though he was a supposed well respected school superintendent, with his picture in the paper, he wasn't in control. If what this letter writer was saying was true, his family, his job, his reputation was over. And he couldn't do anything to stop it. All Gordon Massie could do now, is wait by his mailbox.

Marie Mayhew:

Thank you for listening to the Whatever Remains Podcast. I'm your host, Marie Mayhew. Our next episode, The Letters Keep Coming, and we introduce you to the story's other main players in the town of Circleville, Ohio.

Marie Mayhew:

(singing)

Marie Mayhew:

So until our next episode, dear listeners, remember, what goes around, comes around. Want to know what Whatever Remains is getting up to next? Follow us on twitter @whateverremains or online at whateverremainspodcast.com. Be sure to subscribe to the show and give us a five-star review on iTunes or wherever you listen to your favorite podcast. Your review helps others to find the show and we love, love, love hearing from our listeners, so please, please reach out. Our intro music is by the fabulous group Rhoda. Our new closing song for Circleville is vocals and guitar by the Rock God, Ed Grabianowski. Produced by Rich Root. Excellent, excellent cover, love it. The all seeing eye or our logo is by the super talented [Desdemona]. This episode features the voice talents of Terrence Jenkins as the anonymous letter writer. Copyright Five Orange Pips Production, all rights reserved.