1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:14,480 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,520 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,560 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales right there on display, just waiting 5 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 1: for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,599 Speaker 1: The year was nineteen fifty six, and the West African 7 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,640 Speaker 1: city of Accras was alive with music. As the plane 8 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 1: touched down on the tarmac, jubilant crowds began to cheer 9 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,360 Speaker 1: and sing the name of the American ambassador. This was 10 00:00:49,440 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: no ordinary diplomat. He was Louis Armstrong, the famous jazz musician. 11 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: The US government had recently recruited him to its Jazz 12 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: Ambassador program, which aimed to fight the spread out of 13 00:01:00,280 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: communism through music. By sending famous American artists on tours 14 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: around the world. They sought to spread America's values and hopefully, 15 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: the popularity of its politics. Jazz had been chosen for 16 00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:16,080 Speaker 1: two reasons. First, the genre was incredibly popular, and second, 17 00:01:16,360 --> 00:01:19,560 Speaker 1: many of the musicians were black. The burgeoning civil rights 18 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: movement was causing lots of bad press for America and 19 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 1: the government hoped that promoting black artists might help rehabilitate 20 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:30,200 Speaker 1: its image abroad. Louis Armstrong wasn't particularly interested in that 21 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: second part, but he'd never been to Africa before and 22 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: saw the trip as an opportunity to connect with his roots. 23 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 1: While he didn't know which part of the continent his 24 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,319 Speaker 1: enslaved ancestors came from, he hoped that visiting might spark 25 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,839 Speaker 1: some feeling of connection. Meanwhile, Acron was experiencing a unique 26 00:01:46,880 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: cultural moment of its own. In nineteen fifty six. It 27 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: was the capital city of the British Gold Coast Colony, 28 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: which had been under imperialist rules since the fifteenth century. 29 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: Now the country seemed to be on the brink of independence. 30 00:01:59,640 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: The peace could sense change on the horizon, and there 31 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: was a strange, jubilant excitement in the air. A visit 32 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 1: from an American musician as popular as Louis Armstrong offered 33 00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: a much needed opportunity to celebrate, so the moment he 34 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: stepped off the plane, the crowd exploded. Thirteen bands played 35 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: on trucks around the tarmac. The mood was so raucous 36 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: that Louis picked up his own trumpet and joined in 37 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: with them. Over the next forty eight hours, he played 38 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,680 Speaker 1: a number of shows around the city, one at the 39 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: old Polo Grounds in front of one hundred thousand celebratory spectators, 40 00:02:33,440 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: another at the Opera, and a third at the Paramount Club, 41 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: where he was joined on stage by some of the 42 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: country's most famous musicians. With all the excitement, it certainly 43 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,680 Speaker 1: felt like a homecoming. But for Louis Armstrong, the connection 44 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: he'd been looking for came during a quiet moment backstage. 45 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: He met a dancer who bore a striking resemblance to 46 00:02:52,040 --> 00:02:54,600 Speaker 1: his mother, who had just died a few years earlier, 47 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: and according to Louis, seeing this woman convinced him that 48 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: his ancestors came from that area. He stated, and I quote, 49 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: I came from here way back. At least my people did. 50 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: Now I know this is my country too. By the 51 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: time he left Acra two days later, it seemed that 52 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 1: everyone was a little different. Just a year later, the 53 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: Gold Coast achieved its independence, becoming the nation of Ghana. Today, 54 00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: the country has a vibrant, stable democracy, and its most 55 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:24,119 Speaker 1: popular music genre is called highlife, a fusion of African 56 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:29,360 Speaker 1: Caribbean music and traditional jazz. In a sense Louis Armstrong's 57 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: visit to Acra was a homecoming for his music as 58 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: much as it was for him. After all, jazz was 59 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,600 Speaker 1: heavily influenced by traditional West African songs, which enslave peoples 60 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,640 Speaker 1: brought with them to the United States. That music had 61 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: now come full circle, inspiring a fresh generation of West 62 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:50,480 Speaker 1: African artists. It seems that the Jazz Ambassador program had 63 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:54,600 Speaker 1: been a success, subtly steering a fledgling country toward democracy, 64 00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: but it had also changed Louis Armstrong, making him more 65 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,920 Speaker 1: convinced than ever that the American government had their own 66 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:03,880 Speaker 1: work to do back home. Soon after returning home, he 67 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: dropped out of the program as an act of protest. 68 00:04:07,240 --> 00:04:10,920 Speaker 1: When questioned on the matter, he gave reporters a simple explanation, 69 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,520 Speaker 1: the way they're treating my people down south, the government 70 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:32,480 Speaker 1: can go to hell. Nestled in the Alleghany Mountain County 71 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: of Greenbrier, West Virginia, is the Greenbrier Resort. Since opening 72 00:04:36,400 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: in the seventeen hundreds, the resort has attracted high profile clientele, 73 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:45,159 Speaker 1: including politicians, celebrities, and even royalty. The palatial resort sits 74 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: on eleven hundred acres and offers its visitors five hundred 75 00:04:48,839 --> 00:04:51,479 Speaker 1: rooms to choose from. It's got plenty of space for 76 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:56,039 Speaker 1: long held secrets, and it's loaded with wartime history. For one, 77 00:04:56,160 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: this expansive property served as a hospital and enemy prison 78 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: during w World War Two. For this reason, it has 79 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:04,640 Speaker 1: long been a source of local pride, but it wasn't 80 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:07,640 Speaker 1: until after the war that the Greenbrier became a source 81 00:05:07,800 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: of mystery. In nineteen fifty eight, the iconic venue gave 82 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: locals some much needed zeal. At the time, the country 83 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,159 Speaker 1: was in the midst of the Cold War, and people 84 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: all across the US sought distraction from fear and uncertainty. 85 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: So when ground broke on a new wing at the Greenbrier, 86 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:28,479 Speaker 1: residents felt a sense of hopefulness. The expansion symbolized optimism 87 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,160 Speaker 1: for the future, but the excitement soon turned to confusion. 88 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,159 Speaker 1: You see, locals looked on as construction workers dug the 89 00:05:35,200 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: hole for the foundation, and it was massive, probably a 90 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: few stories deep. People were familiar with the resort's layout, 91 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 1: after all, many of them had worked there, but no 92 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: one knew of any other part of the building that 93 00:05:46,880 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: reached so far underground. Confusion devolved into fear when cement 94 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: trucks began parading to and from the construction site, and 95 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:57,960 Speaker 1: this went on for days before giant steel doors were 96 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,160 Speaker 1: installed and guards were stationed out front. It was unlike 97 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: anything people had ever seen before, and it felt ominous 98 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,760 Speaker 1: inside the building. The wing was closed off to anyone 99 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 1: except top personnel and curiously, a continuous stream of TV repairmen. 100 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 1: One administrative employee stuck up a friendship with the repairman's manager, 101 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: and there was something the employee couldn't shake. All of 102 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: the other resort workers were Greenbrier employees, but the TV 103 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: repairman worked for a contracting company. None of the Greenbrier's 104 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 1: top personnel provided any explanation for this, so people started 105 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 1: forming their own theories. By the time the Cuban missile 106 00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:39,200 Speaker 1: crisis occurred in the early sixties, many believed the expansion 107 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,640 Speaker 1: served as a nuclear hideout for President John F. Kennedy. 108 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,120 Speaker 1: It wasn't an outlandish thought, considering a lot of residents 109 00:06:46,120 --> 00:06:49,480 Speaker 1: had built bomb shelters in their own backyards, and yet 110 00:06:49,600 --> 00:06:52,640 Speaker 1: few people who supported this theory would openly admit to it. 111 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 1: People still remembered the World War II posters that had 112 00:06:55,600 --> 00:06:59,359 Speaker 1: the phrase loose lips sink ships. So while gossip and 113 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:03,799 Speaker 1: speculation circled among friends, most people rarely discussed the mystery 114 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:08,159 Speaker 1: underneath their own town. But in nineteen ninety two, one 115 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:11,040 Speaker 1: person in Greenbrier opened up to someone who would turn 116 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: the tides forever. They anonymously contacted a Washington Post reporter 117 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 1: and laid out the full truth. As it turned out, 118 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:22,000 Speaker 1: the people of the town had been right almost You see, 119 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:25,200 Speaker 1: the wing wasn't a nuclear shelter for JFK, but for 120 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,200 Speaker 1: every single member of Congress. It was a bunker fitted 121 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: with a congressional floor and podium, a fully stocked pharmacy, 122 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: and eleven hundred pre assigned bunk beds. The people of 123 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: Greenbrier weren't surprised when they heard the news. If anything, 124 00:07:39,600 --> 00:07:42,600 Speaker 1: they were satisfied to be proven right. There were a 125 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 1: few other people who weren't surprised either, the Forsyth TV repairman. 126 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: They were some of the only people allowed in the 127 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: bunker before nineteen ninety two, and they weren't there to 128 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:56,960 Speaker 1: repair TVs. They were actually technicians who performed routine safety checks. 129 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: They made sure that all the protective features worked, like 130 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 1: the blastproof doors and the decontamination showers. Since it was constructed. 131 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: Congress has never used the bunker, and hopefully they never 132 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: have to, but that doesn't change the fact that it 133 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,960 Speaker 1: was simultaneously both the most necessary use of funds and 134 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:22,080 Speaker 1: the most wasteful. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour 135 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 136 00:08:26,360 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 137 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:33,880 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Mankey 138 00:08:34,200 --> 00:08:37,680 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 139 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 140 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 141 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,400 Speaker 1: over at the Worldoflore dot com. And until next time, 142 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 1: stay curious.