Transcripts For FBC Trish Regan Primetime 20240713 : vimarsa

FBC Trish Regan Primetime July 13, 2024

Im jamie colby, driving today through the blue Ridge Mountains of Western North carolina. Cherokee and catawba indians lived here as far back as the last ice age. Ive come, because a viewer wrote to me about a strange inheritance related to those, and other native american tribes. My name is Jerry Williams. My friend moon left me hundreds of thousands of indian arrowheads. He made me swear to keep them together. Ive been trying to do just that. Hi, jerry. Im jamie colby. Glad to meet you. Come on in. Nice to be here. Jerry tells me that the story of the 1 4million arrowheads he inherited begins on a summers day, back in the 1930s, with two lovers, moon mullins and his fiancee irene cress. The day before they got married, they were skipping rocks across the river. But irene said, what are these . They dont look like rocks. They realized the skipping stones arent stone at all. He said, oh, honey, thats indian arrowheads. Irene is instantly fascinated with the ancient relics. She said, i think ill start collecting these, and it just caught on. The newlyweds have a new hobby, one theyll pursue passionately through their 40plus years of marriage. Theyll also collect lifelong friends among the fellow arrowhead enthusiasts they meet, like our heir jerry, whos partnative american, and this man, Wayne Underwood. He said, if we get in a little fuss, then we just go arrowhead hunting. And some days, theyd go and hunt all day long. They just loved life, and they loved spending it together. At the time, arrowheads are common in these parts, scattered like shells on a beach. Just about anyplace you go, native americans have been there, and you can usually find something if youll be patient and hunt for it. Oh, gosh, we went to south carolina, North Carolina, virginia, tennessee. We went everywhere. It was so much fun to go out and be together all the time. Sounds like you became family. They were just like grandparents, really. My dads mother and father died when i was three. And it was just like it was meant to be. Over the years, moon and irene find their biggest hauls on farms, fertile land where tribes may have raised crops themselves, and built villages, leaving behind a long, hidden stash of treasures. On a real good day, they might find 2,000 pieces. He said, its just like the indian people is wanting me to find their relics. Moon and irene add arrowheads from mississippi, georgia, and texas, 20 states in all, as their collection grows to 100,000 arrowheads, then 200,000, and more. The couple display their ancient finds in their home. He had it set up beautifully. He made all his frames, cut all the glass. Irene put cotton and the material, and formed the designs on the arrowheads. It was amazing. The mullins collection is breathtaking. Youre just overtaken by the number of arrowheads. Joe candio is a native american historian, and member of the pascua yaqui tribe. It certainly surpasses anything that ive ever seen, as far as a private collection. The majority of them do associate themselves with the precolumbian time. Check out this one. Its made from volcanic glass, often used in battle, and its more than 10,000 years old. This ones even older, dating back more than 12,000 years. Its Groove Center is crafted to make the arrowhead better able to withstand the shock of colliding with a hard object, like the bone of a large animal. Sometimes associated with the large mastodons that were living on the north american continent. Its quite rare to find Something Like this. Its just the most amazing collection id ever seen. In fact, when Wayne Underwood first sees the mullins collection, he immediately wants it for a roadside attraction called mystery hill that he runs in nearby blowing rock, North Carolina. Heres all these pieces that were just unique. The history behind each one of em, i mean, what did that one piece do . Was it a tool . Was it used for a weapon . Was it a ceremonial piece . Hes not the first to try to get the mullins to part with it, or the last. Moon and irene had an opportunity to sell this exhibit to john wayne. Excuse me . Heres a strange inheritance quiz question for you. Native americans attached bird feathers, often from turkeys or hawks, to arrows, for what purpose . Camouflage the shooter, balance the arrow, or stake a claim to the kill . The answer after the break. Look into my eyes you will see what you mean to me dont tell me its not worth trying for you know its true everything i do i do it for you so, what purpose did bird feathers serve on native american arrows . Its, b, the feathers balanced the weight of the arrowhead, allowing the arrow itself to spin in flight, and produce an ideal trajectory. Its a hobby that randy moon mullins and his wife irene began as newlyweds. Halfacentury later, theyve collected 1 4ofamillion indian arrowheads from all across america. They were looking at the largest privatelyowned collection east of the mississippi. I mean, its amazing. The couple display their finest relics in a makeshift museum in their hickory, North Carolina home. Boy scout groups, Church People come in, and see what he collected. It was an honor. Inevitably, word of the collection spreads well beyond hickory. Moon and irene had an opportunity to sell this exhibit to john wayne. Excuse me . John wayne came to look at the exhibit . Yeah. But moon asked him, will you keep it all together . , he says, no, and moon wouldnt sell it to him, because he knew it was going to be split up. According to underwood, the duke wasnt the last offer moon received. One was for halfamillion bucks. He turned down 500,000 . Yes. That sounds perfectly reasonable to American Indian historian joe candio. The collection certainly is extremely valuable. Youre seeing a lot of just pristine, perfect arrowpoints. On the low end, these intact arrowheads could run from 5 to 15bucks apiece. As you go back in time, typically an arrowhead becomes more valuable. Some of the oldest points, my goodness, i have seen those go anywhere from 500to 2,000. 5 bucks here, 1,000 bucks there the value of the 250,000 arrowheads adds up quickly. Do you think its worth 1 million . Oh, its probably worth more than that. Did moon ever sell any of them . No, he wouldnt sell em. To him, it was worth more than money, to see you or anyone else come there and look at it, and say, how did you do this . This much is certain its not getting any easier. In 1978, moon is diagnosed with severe diabetes. The 72 year old has to have his left leg amputated. Did that stop him from going out and looking . Oh, no. Moon was the type of fella thatd get up in the morning with a smile on his face. Moon just throws on his prosthetic leg, and off he goes with irene, hunting more arrowheads. It come like an obsession. It was just like a great hobby, and he loved it. Then in 1979, a new federal law makes it illegal to take arrowheads from public land. Of course, by then, most of the prime areas are already combed over anyway, so its unlikely anyone could duplicate moon and irenes achievement today. Then, in 1982, moons arrowhead collecting partner of more than 40 years, irene, passes away in her sleep at the age of 69. Moon said, my world just turned upside down. He loved her to death. Moon closes his arrowhead display to the public. Over the next few years, his own health declines. In 1985, he reaches out to his dear friend Jerry Williams for help. He said, would you come up and take care of me til i die . Because i dont want to go to a resthome. cause if i do, ill have to do something with the museum. He didnt want to lose it. Was that moons biggest fear . Yes. Jerry, whos in his 30s and recently married, convinces his wife they need to move in with moon to provide fulltime care. Whyd you agree to do it . I couldnt turn him down. He was just like a grandparent. I couldnt abandon him. The doctor even told me, i dont think hes got that much longer to live. Moon starts getting his affairs in order. He said, youre going to be inheriting my collection. Youre native american, and i think youll do the right thing. What did he tell you would be right for you to do . He said, he knew that i would share it with the people. I said, well, thats your wish, i said, im going to hold to it. I said, i love you to death for doing this. I mean, why did he want to give it to me . I mean, [ laughs ], he couldve given it to anybody, you know . But he picked you. He picked me. Yes. Moon updates his will, leaving jerry his rare and valuable stash of arrowheads, and his house and property. But under jerrys care, he hangs on longer than his doctors predicted. Moon ultimately succumbs to Heart Disease in may 1987, two years after jerry moved in. He died right in my hands in 87. [ crying ] and. He just said, thank you. I mean. I cant. Just beautiful. Just beautiful. You loved him so much. Yes. His close friend is gone, and jerry wants to honor him by reopening moons arrowhead museum. I went to the city, but the property wasnt fit to meet the codes. And he said that it would probably cost you 50,000. Did you have 50,000 . No. No, we didnt have any money. So, the enormous arrowhead collection just sits in the dark for the next decade. I did nothing with it. Its killing me. Because i wanted you know, i wanted to share it. Did you feel like you were letting moon down . Yes, i did. Then things go from bad to worse. They finally called us and said, were going to have to take your property. What was the problem . The state was building a new highway right through the middle of the museum, and they had no place to move the museum to. So, Wayne Underwood has a brainstorm. I didnt have the money, but i had an opportunity to sell a ticket. This strange inheritance story is about to get downright weird. [ laughs ] heres another quiz question for you. Threeofthefollowingfour english words come from native american languages. Which one doesnt . The answer when we return. Voiceover is there a danger hiding in your home . Unused opioid medicines could harm your family. Find your unused opioid pills, patches, or syrups, and learn how to dispose of them safely at fda. Gov drugdisposal so, which of the following words does not come from a native american language . Its, d, the word bison comes from latin. The rest are all borrowed native american words. Jerry williams inherits a vast and valuable collection of ancient indian arrowheads from his good friend randy moon mullins, and vows to keep it together. But theres a problem. The state of North Carolina is planning on running a new highway through the house that contains the artifacts. And people would not potentially see the collection ever again. No. How difficult was that for you to take . Well, that was real difficult. He turns to Wayne Underwood, another longtime friend of moon, whos longcoveted the collection. When moon passed away, i said a prayer. Lord, im not going to get involved with the politics of the inheritance, so if its meant to be that we have it, im just leaving it up to you. 10 years after that, Jerry Williams called me. Without hesitation, wayne offers to buy moons collection from jerry. I said, jerry, would you sell the exhibit . , and he said, yes, and told me what the price was. What was it . 300,000. A sweetheart deal for a collection some say is valued at more than 1 million, but jerry trusts wayne to keep the arrowheads together. Theres just one tiny little problem. I didnt have 300,000. Oh, thats an issue. But what i had was, i had an opportunity to sell a ticket. A ticket to one of the most bizarre Roadside Attractions youll ever see here in blowing rock, North Carolina. Its called mystery hill, and wayne owns it. Its an unusual place thats on a vortex area. Its like there was a gravitational pull to it. The hill in infamous for these gravitational anomalies. [ laughs ]. And strange phenomenon. Ooh, my head. Seriously. Yeah, grab ahold of the rail there, just a minute, til you sort of get used to it. As i walk inside, my balance and senses are instantly thrown for a loop. Okay, you look really funny. [ laughs ] in this house, the laws of gravity appear to not hold up. All your life, youve been taught water runs downhill. Ima pour water in the low end of the pipe. Goes out the high end. This is a trick house. Its all crazy. Objects seem to roll the wrong way, too. Can you see it . Why would it go up . Everyone has their own suspicions as to why gravity misbehaves here. Some claim theres a large Mineral Deposit below the house. In theory, the dense rock could create an unusually strong gravitational pull. Its just one of those things youve got to experience for yourself, and make up your own mind. Okay its a funhouse. It is a funhouse. A funhouse that wayne thinks would be even more fun with an exhibit of native american relics, so he comes up with a clever counteroffer. I said, jerry, heres the deal. If we move the collection to mystery hill, every time we sell a ticket, you and your wife will receive 1. When it reaches 300,000, the exhibit will belong to the museum, but you and your wife will continue to get your 1. What did jerry say . What was his reaction . He said, i like the idea. For awhile, anyway, but 300,000 tickets turns out to be awful lot to sell. Is waynes idea a big bust . I said, what are we going to do . Wed love to tell it. Send me an email or go to our website. One in three hundred and sixtyfive African Americans battle sickle cell disease. I was one of them. Life back then was painful; i was in and out of the hospital and had frequent pain crises. A blood stem cell transplant is the only cure for sickle cell disease. I was fortunate to find a Perfect Match in my younger sister, but many patients do not have a compatible donor in their families and black patients have only a twentythree percent chance of finding an unrelated donor. More black donors are urgently needed to help save lives. It only takes a simple cheek swab to join the be the match registry. Learn more about becoming a donor and access free patient resources by visiting end sickle cell dot org today. You or someone you know could be the cure for a patient battling sickle cell, like me. Look into my eyes you will see what you mean to me dont tell me its not worth trying for you know its true everything i do i do it for you yeah, i would fight for you id lie for you walk the wire for you yeah, id die for you you know its true everything i do i do it for you now, back to strange inheritance. Jerry williams agrees to sell his strange inheritance, a 1 4million ancient arrowheads to North Carolina roadside attraction owner Wayne Underwood. Its a Risky Business deal. 300,000 for the relics paid off 1 at a time. I offered to pay him 1 out of each one of those tickets, so wed buy it over time. In the summer of 1997, wayne opens his new native American Artifacts Museum at mystery hill, and today, i get a personal tour. No way . Its one case after another. Theres so much history in this room. Years and years and years of history. And it all started with one arrowhead. This is the first board that they collected shortly after they got married. I just cant even imagine how many hours it would take to put a collection like this together. Theres no denying its oneofakind, but would it really draw hundreds of thousands of paying customers . Did you have expectations of even earning 300,000 in admission for them . Eventually. The first few years, wayne sells around 20,000 tickets a year, and jerry and his wife get 20 grand in royalties, a nice, little income. That trend continues for several more years, until the Great Recession hits. Attendance at mystery hill tumbles. Some months, the royalty checks are as little as a couple of hundred bucks. Was jerry wrong to put his trust in wayne . I said, what are we going to do . But by 2012, things rebound along with the checks. In january 2016, the total surpasses that 300,000 threshold, and remember, the payments arent done yet. The deal states the couple continue to get 1 a ticket forever. How much have they gotten above 300,000 do you think . Its going to be right at 400,000. So, jerrys smiling. Oh, yeah. Is moon smiling . Yeah, moons smiling and irene, too. Yeah, because its still together. All the hard work and all the time that they spent together, that exhibit is still being seen by people every single day. What does it feel like to be in that room . It brings a lot of memories. When youre around somebody that long and collected with them, theres this burn in your heart. Ancient peoples leave behind valuable pieces of history. Thousands of years later, an accidental discovery kickstarts a lifelong passion. And now, two proud custodians are making sure the relics are never hidden from view again. Were going to take care of it, and share it with as many people as we can share it with. Its just like it was godsent. It was meant to be there. Wayne now wants a new showcase for the indian relics, so right on site at mystery hill, he plans to build the moon and Irene Mullins collection. It will also feature workshops on traditional native american skills, including, of course, arrowhead making. Im jamie colby. Thanks so much for watching strange inheritance. And remember, you cant take it with you. [ gongs chiming ] its a strange inheritance gong show. And this is the set of gongs. The very set . [ gongs chiming ] a piece of history. You want to liken it to a stradivarius except theres only one set of true puccini gongs. A musical mystery. How the heck did they end up in a warehouse in queens . [ drumroll plays ] but drumroll, please. [ castanets clicking musically ] can she strike a deal to fund her husbands dying wish . Are you hoping that someone will see them and say, heres a check . You Better Believe it. [ door creaks ] [ wind howls ] [ thunder rumbles ] [ bird caws ] im jamie colby, heading into the town of hastingsonhudson, new york, a suburb about 18 miles north of manhattan. Im on my way to meet a woman who wrote to me about her strange inheritance a piece of musical history with the most improbable tale of how she came to own it. My names Marlene Piturro. When my husband died, he left m

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