LOUDONVILLE – The Cleo Redd Fisher Museum in Loudonville kicks off its fall Speaker Series on Monday, Oct. 17, with a look at Cletus Reese, the former resident of Coshocton County who sparked headlines in the 1950s after a streak of murders.
In 1952, mental patient Cletus Reese was sent home from the Cambridge State Hospital on a trial release. He was to live by himself on his family's old farm near Newcastle, along the Coshocton and Knox County border, with his sister checking in regularly on his progress. His release turned out to be a mistake, as the unstable Reese became delusional; fearing that communist spies were overrunning the farm and that US First Lady Bess Truman was sending him telepathic messages urging Reese to defend his nation against the spies. At least, that's what Reese said when he finally confessed to the police, three victims having already been discovered on Reese's farm.
Author Mark Sebastian Jordan will examine the story of Reese, illustrating his talk with numerous pictures, and looking into the secret that may have motivated much of Reese's bizarre behavior. Jordan, a regular speaker at the Cleo Redd Fisher Museum, is the author of "The Ceely Rose Murders at Malabar Farm" and the weekly History Knox column.
The Speaker Series continues in November with John Moser, of Ashland University, discussing Operation Torch – the allied gamble to retake North Africa during World War II.
The Speaker Series is free and open to the public. The program will be held in the lecture hall of the Cleo Redd Fisher Museum, at 203 E. Main St. in Loudonville. Doors for the event will open at 6:30 p.m., with the program beginning at 7 p.m. Due to the popularity of the Speaker Series, guest are encouraged to arrive early as seating is limited. For more information, visit www.crfmuseum.com.
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