Possum Springs

The town of **Possum Springs** is one of the major Locations in Night in the Woods, and where most of the game takes place. It is heavily based off of Pennsylvania, where several members of Infinite Fall reside.

## Layout

#### **Bus Station**

Located near the highway, this is one of the newest buildings in Possum Springs.

#### **Ravine**

A deep ditch in the woods between the bus station and Sawmill Park. A load of logs from the old sawmill fell down here some time ago.

#### **Sawmill Park**

An old playground that has fallen into disrepair and been declared off-limits. Its most notable feature is a structure resembling a boat and a castle combined.

#### **Bridge**

A truss bridge over a ravine along the road that leads to the highway. A welcome sign for Possum Springs is placed on the other side of the bridge.

#### **Maple Street**

A residential area with a nice flat area that leads into a hill that continues into the Town Centre. Known residents include Bea, the Borowski’s, Mr. Chazakov, the Harvey’s, Mr. Penderson, Selmers, and Mr. Twigmeyer.

#### **Church Hill**

The local church, Church of The First Coalescence, is located on Church Hill. It is a rather large cathedral run by Pastor K. It also has A statue of Rubello off to the right alongside an announcement board. Bruce lives in the forest next to the cathedral, and the Thryy Wyrd Tyyns can be found on the cliff at the edge of the woods.

#### **Subway**

An underground tunnel that used to be for use for trolleys. However, the last trolley made its run September 4th. Bernie Goss, the longest employee with 25 years as an operator picked up passengers starting at the market street tunnel entrance and ended at the trolley garage where light refreshments were served by Congressman Archibald Reed. It houses a pretzel and pierogi joint called Trollyside News, run by a grumpy dog man. It also has an enormous mural. Some teens hang out here sometimes

#### **Town Centre**

Undoubtedly the largest area of Possum Springs. It houses most of the businesses, several apartments, as well as a war memorial.The businesses found in Town Centre include Fat Pocket Pawn. Telezoft, The Ol’ Pickaxe (where Bea works), a broken down Party Barn (where band practices are held), Video Outpost “Too” (where Angus works), Pastabilities (later replaced with a taco shop), Miller’s, Snack Falcon (where Gregg works), and the Clik Clak Diner. It is also where the Towne Centre Family Practice (run by Dr. Hank), Social Security Administration, and apartment building 1063 (where Gregg and Angus live). If you take the power lines (accessible after construction is complete at the beginning of act 2), there’s Lori M.’s usual hangout spot, Mallard’s grave, and the old Possum Springs theatre. Town Centre also has two subway entrances as well as stairs to Church Hill.

#### **Outskirts**

This is where the old Food Donkey is, and where Germ mostly hangs out. This is where town ends, being fenced off to the woods at the far left.

## History

### **Founding of Possum Springs**

In the year 1793, two fur trappers by the names of John and Steven, parched from their journey, and carrying 300 beaver pelts, saw an enormous tree with a spring beside it within a deep hollow. An old woman approached them and asked for but a crust of bread. The two brothers, disgusted by her and her appearance, refused. The woman became frustrated with the brothers, with them not even offering her one of their 300 beaver pelts to warm her. She said she would curse them and they would die, that night.

The old woman had cursed the spring. John lie lifeless on the ground, and Steven feared for his life. Having also drinken of the spring, Steven also perished. The brothers came back as spirits, cursed to never leave the spring. The God of the Forest appeared to the witch, and banished her to wander the night, seeing as she had tarried at the springs too long.

Possum Springs was founded, and with the beaver population being greatly declined, their biggest exports became corn and pumpkin. Harfest was created to celebrate the founding of Possum Springs

### **Strange But True: A Tale of Teeth**

Bad bosses figure heavily into Possum Springs history. In 1870, a local mine boss was skimming workers on their pay. A group of miners confronted him while he was in the act. He denied everything, with many a slur, and punched the miner’s leader, Darnel Glace in the face, causing him to lose his last remaining tooth. The miners knew how much Darnie’s tooth meant to him and they descended on the boss. A few held the boss down while the others removed all of his teeth with pliers.

The teeth were passed out to the miners and a secret society was created with a vow to protect the other worker’s interests. Membership was based on owning one of these teeth and each was marked with a symbol of their choosing. These symbols were used around the coal patch to organize meetings and make announcements. The boss survived the attack but never named his attacker sin fear of implicating himself. When he died a few years later, members dug up his grace to retrieve his skull. It was used in ceremonies performed before going out for retribution. All would gather around, place their teeth into the sockets and later retrieve their tooth after the retribution was completed.

Upon a member’s death, their tooth would be passed to a new member. Teeth of members in jail would be left in their sockets until their fates were decided. After the strike of 1889, the society dwindled. Occasionally a descendant of one of these men will find a tooth with strange markings in their home.

### Mine Explosion, Strikes, & Possum Springs Massacre

An explosion occurred at 6:20 am at the Stafford mine. All work was ceased while men attempted to rescue any survivors. Three men were pulled out alive along with twenty dead. The explosion occurred 10 miles deep in the mine and only one group of men were able to escape before the elevator’s rope snapped and the next group of men plummeted to their death. Hopes of finding more survivors was low. The main path to the tunnel caved in due to the explosion and supervisors attempted to piece together exactly where everyone was during the accident.

The final group of bodies from the 1888 explosion were recovered 2 days shy of the 1 year anniversary of the tragedy. These five men brought total of dead to 112. Two men, Addison Pine and Henry Harvey were the ones who set off the explosion. Although mine bosses had been informed that gas pockets were present in that section, they elected to not inform Pine and Harvey of the possible danger.

The other 3 bodies belonged to Peter Bledsoe, Christian Stanoff, and Peter Lajtha. Peter Lajtha’s funeral arrangements were handled by Father Littiz as the man’s widow since returned to Hungary with his two orphans

A strike at Stafford mine was called. The idea first arose after the memorial for the 1888 explosion victims. Miners gathered in the home of Arthur Borowski to continue the memorial for their friends. They also began recounting all of the promises the bosses had reneged on this past year, including basic safety measures to avoid another explosion. A group of 20 miners entered the mines to begin the strike and 30 more joined them before morning. All work stopped and miners struck in 8 hour shifts. Their wives and children brought food and water for the men. The bosses stated the mines were safer than they were a year ago and that there was no need to act in this manner.

On the 30th day of the strike, there was no end in sight. The bosses refused to meet with the miners saying their demands were “too fantastical”. The miners claimed they were only asking the bosses to adhere to the safety standards that are already in the law. The National Guard was called in after a scuffle and the Culson Cokeworks union joined which caused an uptick in the national press arriving at the site. The women’s camp expanded its services from serving meals to beating any non-union miner from entering the mines. They were succesful in both ventures for some time.

Severe violence broke out at the Stafford Mine strike. The bosses  arrived to attempt to renew talks and were taunted by some of the children present. Rocks were thrown and the National Guard and strike breakers opened fire on the crowd. After a few minutes the smoke cleared  and the gory scene revealed. Nine miners were dead with a dozen more injured. A young brother and sister were also shot dead as they were delivering a package of food to their uncle who was on strike below when the shooting broke out.

The photograph of the two children (aged 7 and 9) who were shot in cold blood circulated far outside the little county. The heinous act led to a personal visit from the governor to the strike site to meet with the strikers. Independent inspectors were brought in and talks finally began, 45 days since the start of the strike. The bosses agreed to comply to the current safety standards and to honor the demands of the miners.

Samuel Culson purchased 10 acres of land on the outskirts of Possum Springs. Culson partnered with Randolph Stafford, owner of the Bell’s Hole Mineworks; Daniel Glick, railroad magnate; and prominent business owner Harrison Shreigeist to make some stunning improvements throughout the town. The old miner’s doublehouses on Elm Street were torn down and replaced with spacious single homes. A new Elementary school was opened nearby along with a new state of the art center courtesy of Arnold Applebaum. This is in addition to the improvements Randolph Stafford promised the previously striking miners.