Ep 6: Reincarnation

Previously on our U-Captain Purple.

>> Everybody in debt for it always has to bring up.

Hey, Captain Purple, you're Captain Purple. That right, you know Captain Purple is there. He just hasn't died, has he? It wasn't me, I'm not going up. I just, if it was, I wouldn't say nothing.

“My husband and I believe that Captain Purple is very coached.”

>> Are you Captain Purple? >> Yeah, no, no, no, no, I wouldn't leave my own footprints out there. It's been like I'm chasing myself, but it's still there. There's a bad way, here's the letter I left. >> From Hillier House Productions, this is, are you Captain Purple?

I'm Nick Storm. [MUSIC] >> You're listening to Episode 6, reincarnation. We left the previous episode on a down-note. Derek and I had been sure we were closing in on the man behind the mask and on Taylor,

the former Bedford cop, and we assumed he would deny being Captain Purple. And he did, but after talking with Don, we don't believe he's the Captain Purple. Derek and I see the good things that are happening in Bedford during that time in 1983, and in our search, we want to more than just out this guy. We want to touch the place where we can take care of one another, show up for one another,

and better understand how one person really did that. >> Even closer to Captain Purple is as much an inner journey as it is this outer experience. With that in mind, we refreshed our search, zeroed in on other leads, including Gary Goche, the runner and sports rider for the newspaper. Gary also denied being Captain Purple, something rose Marie Sylvester, the lead reporter

at the time, agreed with. After all, she spoke with the captain, and we spoke with Gary again, he had an idea of who he thought we might want to talk to next. >> If Sylvester is a runner, I mean, people think it was a race for Agsdale, people told me that.

“>> You'll remember we had a list of people who fit the description of Captain Purple,”

and one of those is Maurice. Derek even mentioned Maurice when he heard blonde hair blue eyes, and a runner. What's more, since it's a small community, Derek knows Maurice. He coached him in high school, and they stayed in touch. Or at least the way people do in a small town there, a step away.

So we call Maurice. >> Oddly enough, your name has come up three or four times, because this person had outruned, do you remember Gary Goche by a chance? >> Yeah, very Goche. >> Yeah.

>> Well, he chased the guy, the captain Purple guy, from the time's mail one night. And besides you, I don't know if there's anyone running faster in town than Gary at that time.

“Anyway, he said, "Well, I don't know who could have outrun me, maybe Maurice Ragsdale."”

And then we had, we had another person that we interviewed, because I always heard it was

that runner, that Maurice Ragsdale guy that was out doing that, because he was so fast he could outrun the police and everybody else. >> Well, I wasn't mad. >> Well, I don't recall that, you know, I would have been, you know, I was coaching mailmars that loop, you know, I mean, the injuries are seen in here, we'll have a quick

and a couple of hours then, but, uh, gosh, I, I've never heard of that, a guy who had a purple pencil out was doing stuff, huh? >> I don't know about you, but Derek has convinced it's not him, and neither agree. If we're just naming people who are fast, then, blonde, I'm sure we can come up with some other names, but I suspect that won't get the story tied up.

And often, we're moving on other leads without knowing those facts, first have to get to the source to find out. Then we do have some other leads, anytime we hear so-and-so could be Captain Purple, we spend the time running to ground. We heard on the Lawrence County Facebook page of someone saying, "Her father was Captain

Purple." So, of course, we check it out, in 2021, Rhonda Baker went on the page and announced her father, Donnie Dean Baker, was Captain Purple. And she offered her story for the town that, he painted his motorcycle purple, adding

he admitted it was him to their family, so here's what's odd.

A lot of the people who say this person is the Captain Purple online, they shift or wither

We initially tried connecting with Rhonda online after all.

She said it's him, right there, here it is, it was my dad. And when we reach out, she just doesn't respond or says, "She's think about it." Derek gets bogged down in this search for some time, so, we cold-coller, we now, after all practically everyone's information is online. Hey, Rhonda, my name's Nick Storm.

Working on a story and one of dad talked to you about your dad who might be Captain Purple.

All that's what he claimed.

So, we're working on a podcast and I came across your Facebook post from a few years ago and talked to probably 30 other people and and Poland stories about Captain Purple. And, you know, he just touched so many different lives and was hoping to, you'd be okay with the interview to just right here on the phone for the story we're putting together. Yeah, I've gotten, you know, your message is, I just don't know the, I mean, I don't mind,

but I don't know that I have anything that interesting for you, but you sure.

“Okay. Well, I know, you know, like I think just the story itself is fascinating.”

So, what, what old did you dad say? I remember we at Newt from Bedford to Mitchell and, I don't know, he suddenly got into wearing like purple, purple, purple, purple, purple, purple, purple, purple, or a pants. He bought a motorcycle, a painted purple, which is very interesting and then I remember the purple footprints and he would just kind of get this sheepish grin on his face and laugh

and giggle and when Mom saw the article and in the paper, she flat out asked him and I remember him saying yes. Did he deliver groceries to people on the on the motorcycle? He would go out, yes, to answer that question has been, been, we had a, he got really heavily into CB, you know, talking on the CB radio at home and he would create an altar, he created an alternate identification on their cult, sex, cigarette, power, sweating, grandpa, I think it

was sexy grandpa and he would talk and sound like an old man and he would get people to kind of talk to him and tell him their stories and then around the community and then he would randomly go out and I grow three knees or he had firewood deliver to a lady I

“remember that very specifically. If it just do random, random things like that, absolutely.”

Was he, was he fast, was he a runner? No. Okay. The Captain Purple could have been multiple people because we had one police officer tell us that he chased Captain Purple and Captain Purple left him like he was sitting still. Do you think that could have been your dad? Well, I mean, you know, a 46 years old, he didn't go out and do a lot of athletics. He wasn't a huge man, but he definitely did not have a runners body or anything like that.

Round his dad was born in 1937. By the time in 1983, that would put him at 46 years old, this just can't be the guy. It doesn't match up. None of it does, but it doesn't mean he didn't get into the spirit and decided to do good things, which is real magic.

“There's something special with people taking part. I mean, after all, that's what we're”

following. This spiritual awakening. And who ever he was, you know, whether it was my

dad or somebody else, it's amazing. Really, you know, for that many years, you know, I don't

know. I mean, I really don't know. I would like to believe, you know, but I don't really know. Well, that's what makes this special, right? That we don't know. And so we've got, we've got the stories and we've got the acts of kindness and that's something that can live forever regardless of who Captain Purple really is. We all get to personify that. We can

all choose to put on the metaphorical cape or purple, quarter-oiz and purple motorcycle.

I'll put our brothers, you know, our brothers and our sisters.

Talk to 50 people and you'll have 50 theories. That is, if they remember, we get a lot of this kind of thing. Someone goes online and says, for sure. I don't know who it is. And then you get them on the phone or in-person and a crumbles. Well, I was on your playing 6 degrees at Kevin Bacon and it's their sister's brother's cousin and who's the one who shared the information. Or in this case, the information she shares

doesn't match. There's even this case where Derek Chase to lead, where the big tell was someone saw Purple paint and someone else's garage and there you go. The mask man is everywhere. Maybe this is where we should stop. Perhaps we're all Captain Purple. That's the point

“after all, right? That's why this person never came forward.”

Captain Purple stopped by fall of 1983. There are some other blips from him in the years to follow. A couple of letters, some footprints, a monetary drive to help a local girl with a kidney transplant. But it felt different. At least from our view. Some of that magic was gone and we suspect, at least, some of these appearances and a couple of years that follow, they're not the original. There is a signature unique to Captain Purple. It's

missing in those sporadic visits in 1984 and '85. Some of the details are wrong. Footprints are sprayed on cardboard and sometimes scattered outside or in a store. And I won't even get into all of those occurrences because they do deviate. We're interested in the original. And in our story, time goes by. A lot of time. More than 30 years pass. And for people in Bedford, things go back to normal. And most people forget about Captain

Purple. Life goes on in a sleepy and often odd town. Then all of a sudden, in December 2016, Captain Purple reemerges. So to be quite honest with you, it didn't mean a lot to me until it resurfaced. And that

was then going to say December of 2016. In late January of 2024, Derek Ingerson, who first

came across Captain Purple as an eight-year-old, then I, along with our mutual friend Stan met new Albany Indiana, just across the river from Louisville, Kentucky, at a busy barbecue restaurant with Roger Moon, who was a newspaper reporter for the Bedford Times mail. It would be our first interview for this podcast. I started at the paper in 1987, which would have been after the Captain Purple phenomenon

“began, which I think was around 1983. So I started there in '87 and retired in 2018.”

And there was a resurgence of, exactly. So I missed the first chapter in this. Well, I shouldn't say entirely missed it. I mean, I would pick up the paper, living in Pailley, not that far south of that,ford. Yeah. And Roger, he has this southern Indiana Germanic look. He has slightly wild silver thinning hair,

tearful smile, and semithic caterpillar mustache that covers his upper lip, and just meets beyond the corners of his mouth. No, I'd go into work. It was, I think Christmas Eve. So a lot of us, we went in really early because it's daily paper. We were in the deadline. And so we ran early. And somebody came from the press room or the mail room or one of the other departments and brought in

a bag of things. And I said, I found this out on the dock, as I recall. And he said, well,

“there was a note. It's not Captain Purple. So we looked in the bag. I think it was a paper bag.”

I'm not sure. And it was coats and hats to boggins and gloves. They're made up in coats, but to boggins and gloves. And I think, as I recall, Captain Purple's instructions were to get those to children who needed them. I got excited about it. Another focus on the news room did too. We quickly put together a front page story that they about Captain Purple have him resurfaced.

It's done like Christmas Eve. I believe it was Christmas Eve. Yeah. The boggins are what people in Southern Indiana call netted ski caps. And it's recent

visit to the Times mail. Well, it wasn't the first sign that the captain had reappeared.

Earlier that month, the large hand-painted banner with purple footprints was hung off of a large natural limestone wall. Near the same location of the original banner in 1983.

of them was found at St. Vincent Church. A hit at the Times mail, a large banner, donations

“at a local church, was the captain back. This time, the town, the jumped right up, and”

decided they'd get in on whatever was happening. Call it nostalgia or just the right thing to do or the season of caring, but they deliver. That was interesting. What followed after that. Because it was one little bag of a few items. And how many kids are in Lines County? A lot. Yeah. So we built on that over the next few weeks. And the Times mail established what we called the Purple Challenge. Because we thought

we can take this bag of items to school, have them distribute them as, and to back up a minute. The schools see those kinds of needs. Kids will come in. They need glove. They need to need a hat or they'll lose their gloves or whatever. So we could take that one bag to one school. But I don't know how many elementary schools are wearing Mars County at the time. There have been some consolidations on its fewer now. So there were several elementary

schools, and maybe even junior highs that we took into. We established the Purple Challenge and just encouraged people to come into our office and bring had some gloves and winter items for kids. And people responded, they were bringing in the things. Because everybody

was fascinated by it. I mean, particularly those who live through it the first time. If I

say, live through it, it sounds like a negative. It's not. And so people brought, they brought the items in. And then one day there, and I mean, one of the more open areas of the newspaper one morning, a bunch of just stop what we were doing for the paper. After deadline and assembled all those into packets, their packages, I should say. And a few of us took them out to the elementary schools and left them and everybody was grateful because all the schools

are saying we do see this need. We can use these. I presume they did. And that was the end of the Purple Challenge. And I would have liked for us to have maybe done more, but it didn't happen. You know, it just didn't didn't do a lot more with it after that. Now, after reporting in Bedford for the better part of a year in person by phone, it's

“an open secret we're working on this story. And we meet with the source from one of these”

reporting visits who promises to put us in touch with Captain Purple. We form a list of questions and leave them. And wait. And then just one day, we open our email and receive this letter. We've had someone read this missive. The captain who appeared in 2016 to 2017 is not the same captain from the 1980s, nor do they know who originated the idea or said it in motion all those years ago. This captain

discovered the original story as a child, through the pages of their mother's scrapbook. And she had been compiling since her teenage years, during the time of the original appearance. To them, it was a fascinating story, a do-gooder, a undercover of night, running through the streets of their home county, hanging banners, asking people to love one another, and leaving resources for those who needed the most.

It reflected so much that hechings they were learning as a child in Sunday school. A small let down that the two kept her purples are not the same, but not a major surprise. In a matter of minutes, I can identify the actual person who wrote this letter, using metadata. We've already promised not to share a name and we'll honor that it's moot to know this person, but if I'm honest with myself, I'm curious. There's some connection

“between this person and the original captain Purple. You have to stop myself from running”

down this rabbit hole and turn back to the letter. That describes the first actions that

initially went unnoticed in 2016, following at first a familiar script from the original. The news of the banner did not break for a few days and neither one of the monetary drops had been reported as found. They turned to an old ally of Captain Purple's, the Times Mail. This drop would require them to leave the warm clothes at the Times Mail, with a note in purple footprints. In their research, they found an old letter from the Captain and

copied it. I am here to protect and serve my brethren. Please acknowledge me as your friend and help me reach out to others and make them believe in the magic of giving instead of wanting to be given more. I come with a quiet piece. You can believe in me and trust me. Please help me create a new and safe world for giving. They drafted the same letter and added a note from the newspaper. Please alert North Lawrence Community Schools to keep an eye

of them warm this season. The signature was also important, it mirrored the original

citation from decades before. Those who look for help will find it. It is time to give again. Yours for truth, justice, and the American way. Sign Captain Purple and Cryola Purple Marker. PS, my footprints are washable. A note meant to calm and evangelism concerns from decades prior. For Derek this time in 2016 was a reminder. After successful career as a musician, Derek was returning to a childhood mystery. It would take a few years, but

this curiosity was once it can peaked. During 2020, Derek had time. He turned back to this story. He spent hours going through my graffiti, shin with the dull dyes, began to assemble

“some idea of what had happened those many years ago. If you're old enough to remember”

my graffiti, she understand how painstaking it can be to find what feels like a needle in a haystack. But no police file or timeline. You just have to search. Every day, every page. And you may have tried googling Captain Purple. Like we said, this story went national. But in a way, much like Captain Purple himself, the news of Captain Purple, well, it eventually went back underground. Most local papers have been uploaded to national

databases, making them easily searchable by keyword. But not the Times Mail. At least not when we were making this podcast. At the very end of our production is when the Times Mail uploaded years of articles. So for us, all we could really find were single articles of Rose Marie's, at least in a digital format online. Those day-to-day reportings and

“chronicles of that hot summer in 1983 from the Times Mail, they were nowhere to be found”

when we started, except on Microphiche. And I'm sure you've searched online and found Donny Osmons Captain Purple character from the 70s TV show, Donny and Marie. We don't know if it inspired Captain Purple or not. It's a hanging question that probably doesn't matter. But we do know the 1983 Captain inspired the 2016-2017 Captain. And whether digging through Microphiche or his mother's crap book, there's a completed request from

1983 that this later imitator fulfills. Captain Purple has been called a superhero. But superheroes have superpowers and Captain Purple has none. The only power they held was inspiring a community to do what they already had the power to do at any time in any month on any day, at any moment, to give. In the spring of 2017, it was time for the Captain to vanish again. That was the impetus for the final letter. Back at school, the Captain pondered what

that meant in how this chapter should close. From the newspaper archives, they found a request from the original captain for the Times Mail to establish a fund that would support due goodders. To their knowledge and research, they could not find that any such fund had ever been created. That would become the book end of this reiteration. The final letter, Red. Recently, I asked the community to help me reach out to others and make them believe in the magic of giving again.

The response has been overwhelming. From the faithful discovery of gifts to the good deeds provoked by the Purple Challenge. To the due getters of Lawrence County, thank you. You are the

true superheroes. My time has been and always will be short. I have come with a quiet piece and hope

that this community may continue to give and love one another. Many years ago, I suggested a fund be established to supply for those who need help. I now propose a new challenge and call it down the bedford in Mitchell Chambers of Commerce. I charge these entities with the task of creating a fund that would be sustainable for years to come, ensuring that those who look for help will find it. Every day is a new day to give, a new day to share hope and a new day to help your brothers and sisters.

Let us now give to one another freely, without expectations of prizes in return, but with expectations

“of creating a new and better world for all of us, may we remember to always love one another.”

Yours in truth, justice, and the American way, Captain Purple. In an additional note from the editor, it was revealed but by coincidence, the Times Mail had created an internal fundraiser to add to their endowment with the Lawrence County Community Foundation. This endowment was renamed, the Captain Purple Fund.

After 34 years, the fund that had been requested was finally established and is now held by the Lawrence

who experienced this story. Real magic, and as the later imitators journey, wraps up, ours,

“it's just beginning. I first met Derek at Stan's house. He would college with Stan and lives”

in the same neighborhood. Oddly, me, Derek and Stan, we all lived a few blocks from one another, but didn't meet until I left that area. I was at that barbecue, sharing stories. The Derek and I discovered we lived in the same area, that Mitchell Bedford Lawrence County thing, and close to the

same time, and it's where I first heard the story of Captain Purple. Call it whatever you want,

serendipity, magic, gods plan, the universe, whatever, but it's gotten us to this moment. I want to make sure we stand track, because you've noticed there are other Captain Purple's popping

“up. Again, we're interested in the first, the original. This first and then 2016 and 2017”

is directly inspired by the Captain. And for a moment, Bedford returned to that special place, but by the time we truly get into the telling of this story in 2025, again, many have already

forgotten about what was going on. And as if we're guided by some hidden hand, we get another

break in the case. As we were going back searching for names, we could have missed. Roger mentioned Jeff Rouse. We also heard Jeff's name from Lisa Webb, the daughter of former Mayor John Williams. Keep in mind, we heard dozens of people who said they know who it is. But it turns out, this wouldn't may have some teeth. I'm going to say this, but when you talk to Jeff Rouse, you'll see what Jeff Rouse has to say. Don't preface it with anything this is her.

Jeff said, "I know it was." And he told me the shares were gone.

Here's if you know you know, by quiet confidence. Hopefully this time, he really does know. But we assume that was the police file that they'd kept all the stuff they'd had no need for it, so they brought it to the time's mail. Until next time, for truth, Justice in the American Way, I'm Nick Storm. Are you Captain Purple as a Hilared House production? It's produced and reported by Derrick

Intersoul and Main extorms. It's edited by Hilared House Studios, sound mixing by Derrick Intersoul and Owen Beverly, mastered by Owen Beverly. Original music in this episode by Owen Beverly,

“if you know then you know, by quiet confidence. Do you have a hometown mystery?”

Let us know. Captain Purple.com. You can all be here right there. So believe it, I know that it's stolen. Is it all the records? I don't even think you can. Gotta get you with you. I think that it goes in it. Give me one of the people here right there. If you go.

Love, love, love, love, love. Then you will know. You know. You know. You know.

You know. You know.