Shorty McClintock
Shorty was kind of a hermit. He lived in a small house near Oil Creek, just up from Boughton. People used to think he had some money hidden somewhere. He'd be seen after midnight with a lamp digging around in flats down by the creek. Kids would sneak out there and try to dig up the treasure they thought he was burying. They never found anything.
Shorty's family goes back a long way in the area. Even back before the oil. They had a lot of land and somehow Shorty managed to hold on to some of that land even after the State Park started taking over the area.
So it ended up that he had over 100 acres surrounded by state land. Even the small house he lived in was built from the remains of an old mansion that was located a few hundred yards away. Up on the hill was an old family cemetery. The state owned the land where the cemetery was located and called it a historic site. Everyone who ever talked to Shorty said he believed that land still belonged to him.
One time the park rangers found him building a shed up near the cemetery. They got in an argument with him and had to call the State Police to get him to leave. After that Shorty put up a big piece of plywood in front of his house and painted it with 'THIEVES GIVE ME BACK MY LAND'.
One morning in October some hikers were passing through the cemetery. They saw some fresh dirt near one of the graves. As they walked closer they saw a body lying on the ground.
It was Shorty.
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Copyright Edward D. Clark, Jr.