Chalkboard Thoughts

       Elaine Richardson was born in 1956. Her mother was Sondra Lane. Elaine was the oldest child and had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. Elaine was a graduate of Overbrook High School.   Elaine Richardson was a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1979. She lived at 1840 North 54th Street Wynnefield.  Elaine Richardson's street.   (If you’re not from Pennsylvania or nearby and you hear Indiana University you probably think that this college is in Bloomington, Indiana. Well, the state of Indiana has an Indiana University but so does the state of Pennsylvania. They are not the same place. They aren’t interconnected. They simply have the same name. It is confusing. To make it more confusing the one in Pennsylvania is in the town of…Indiana, Pennsylvania. We apologize for any confusion.)   On Monday, April 16th, 1979, 22 year old Elaine Richardson was last seen getting on a city bus in Philadelphia to go...

 Marie Shaw and her husband were playing cards in their home at 29808 Osborne Road in North Liberty, Indiana on Monday September 12th, 1977. (An example of Sear's Merry Mushroom Kitchen ware.)   Marie and Willard were both in their early 30’s. They had been married since 1967. Their home was rather new and Marie had decorated it in the style of the times with mushrooms being a recurring theme. Her family jokingly called it the “Mushroom Manor”. Today people eagerly collect those 1970’s mushroom themed decor items. They had lived in South Bend but moved south to the rural community of North Liberty a few years before.    That evening, two men knocked on their door, entered and threatened the couple. They demanded money while holding a knife to the throat of Marie Jane Shaw. Willard Shaw offered them all the cash he had in the house. He had $750 dollars put away in the bedroom from a vacation check he had cashed. He gave them the 25 dollars from his wallet as well...