Trying to research an obscure historical figure.?

Question

Here's the situation: I am trying to do a research project about the man called Curtis Howe Springer (a.k.a. "Doc" Springer). He is most well known for starting the controversial health spa "Zzyxz" in California. What I need is any information at all about what he did during his time in Pennsylvania.

Answer 1

You probably have these already, here are a couple of websites.
http://experts.about.com/e/c/cu/curtis_howe_springer.htm

http://www.weirdus.com/stories/CA12.asp

I found 4 articles about him in a database called Historical New York Times--check with your school or public library. These articles were mostly about Springer's spa. If you can, check the indexes for Pittsburg newspapers in the 1930s. I checked a number of other biographical, news and history databases, but came up with nothing. Good luck.

Answer 2

Curtis Howe Springer (December 2, 1896 - August 19, 1985) was a radio evangelist, self-proclaimed medical doctor and Methodist minister best known for founding the Zzyzx Hot Springs resort. In actuality, Springer was neither a doctor nor a minister.

In 1944, he and his fiancée filed a mining claim on federal land to 12,800 acres (51.8 km²) of desert, claiming a tract about 8 miles (13 km) long and 3 miles (4.8 km) wide. The land contained the remains of an 1860 Army post and a railroad station.

On this land, Springer erected a sixty-room hotel, a church, a cross-shaped health spa with mineral baths, a radio broadcast studio, a private airstrip dubbed "Zyport" and several other buildings which included a castle. The "Boulevard of Dreams" was a divided parkway leading to an oasis on Lake Tunedae, later identified as the habitat of the endangered Mohave chub.

By the late 1960s, Springer had begun marking lots on the land and allowing donors of large sums of money to his ministry to build homes on the lots. This caught the attention of federal officials. While Springer had posted a claim, it was still public land.

Springer broadcast a syndicated radio program via 221 stations in the US and 102 more abroad combining his mix of folksy religion and health philosophy. He urged his listeners to send him donations for miraculous cures via "magic potions" which were actually little more than a blend of celery, carrot and parsley juices. People gladly sent their hard-earned savings to Springer for brief stays in the compound.

In 1969, Springer was called the "King of Quacks" by the American Medical Association.

He was arrested for making false claims about his products. He was represented in court by criminal attorney Gladys Towles Root. In the trial, he was convicted of false advertising.

He filed several appeals on this conviction and two years later served 49 days of a 60 day sentence.

The federal government took Springer to court claiming he was squatting on federal land. In 1974, he was found guilty of the crime. He offered to pay $34,187 in back rent on the land to the Bureau of Land Management. The government refused the payment and evicted him and his followers from the land.

Springer died in Las Vegas in 1985 at age 88.

Answer 3

Look at the web site www.history.com and search there for the facts and they will have pics for you as well.
Good luck and Happy New Year

Answer 4

jean francois champollion is the most famous historical charecter

Answer 5

Go to www.ask.com or www.yahoo.com You can find all your questions there.

Answer 6

try google or yahoo search bar