Nathaniel Hawthorne, in Our Old Home: A Series of English Sketches, describes an epitaph he saw on an old tombstone in the Lillington churchyard:

Poorly lived,
And poorly died,
Poorly buried,
And no one cried. (10)

Lewis J. Gorin, Jr.: As a Princeton senior in March 1936, founded & appointed himself 1st National Commander of the Veterans of Future Wars. VFW's goals: obtain $1000 bonus for 15 million young Americans who would eventually serve in future wars. Suspended operations in fall 1936. (20)

Ted Hustead, turned Wall Drug in tiny Wall, South Dakota into a major tourist attraction. "… the quintessential way to experience Wall Drug seems to be to stand at the wall of clippings reading about people standing at the wall of clippings reading about people standing at the wall". (25)

Amme Hummert, creator of radio soap operas. Started with "Just Plain Bill" in 1932 (30), and soon had 18 different 15-minute serials running, for a total of 90 episodes each week. By 1939, her programs accounted for over half of advertising revenues generated by daytime radio. (32)

John Fulton, Spain's 1st American matador. After killing the bulls, he would paint pictures of the newly-slain bulls using their own blood. (39) After killing his last bull in 1994, his son cut off his father's ponytail, the traditional ritual indicating a matador's retirement. (41)

Virginia Mae Morrow, remembered under hypnosis in 1952-53 that she had lived a past life as Bridey Murphy in Ireland, dying in 1864 by falling down a flight of stairs. When The Search for Bridey Murphy was published in 1956, she became a 50's fad: Bridey Murphy parties ("come as you were") and Bridey Murphy jokes. (42)

Hal Lipset, private detective in San Francisco who elevated use of electronic surveillance. Ran business from his 25-room mansion in Pacific Heights. Mainstay in Herb Caen's column in The San Francisco Chronicle. (45)

Ramachandra V. Patwardhan, New York City's only Hindu priest for decades, starting in 1956. 1st wedding was considered so exotic that it was broadcast live on TV. (49)

Rudolf Walter Wanderone. Pool hustler who adopted the name Minnesota Fats in 1961, claiming that Jackie Gleason's character in The Hustler had been based on him. (58) "Change a tire? I'd rather change cars." Claimed that he never lost a game "when the cheese was on the table". (60)