And That's Why We Drink: Episode 457 – "Segway Fun Facts and Inflatable Birthday Tiaras"

Released: November 9, 2025
Hosts: Christine Schiefer & Em Schulz
Para Pods Production

Episode Overview

This episode features Christine and Em catching up on personal stories—ranging from haunted theater trips and birthday dog celebrations to serendipitous bookstore encounters—before diving into the chilling true crime of the newly identified "Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee" and the haunted history of Cincinnati's Music Hall. Blending warmth, wit, and a touch of melancholy, the episode traverses theatrical hauntings, unsolved mysteries, and the persistent need for whimsical comfort in challenging times.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Updates and Catching Up (04:00–25:00)

• Christine and Em’s Backs and Bodies (04:00–07:00)

  • Shared laments about physical aches—hip flexors, back pain, the realities of parenting and carrying kids and pets.
  • Christine jokes: "Welcome to our podcast. It's a medical show where we diagnose each other with no real medical expertise necessary." [03:35]

• Parenthood & Pet Stories

  • Em discusses the joys and woes of wrangling their dog, Hank, and Christine shares updates on her daughter Leona’s energetic habits.
  • Christine's daughter and Em's dog "are both in that phase where they'd rather be carried, but also want to zoom around knocking things over." [05:54–06:28]
  • "Weirdly, her and Hank are in the same place." – Emma [06:48]

• Travel & Listener Community (09:20–16:00)

  • Em recounts a whirlwind trip to Austin, TX, to attend an immersive theater production inspired by Em's multi-part Houdini episode—a play culminating in a live séance staged across rooms in a Victorian manor.
  • Major shout-outs to Trace, Cynthia, and the Bottle Alley Theater Company, their award-winning work, and their “obscenely kind” cast. [12:38]
  • Heartfelt stories of meeting long-time listeners and forming instant Instagram friendships.

• The Local Authors Encounter (17:32–21:54)

  • Christine describes the surreal experience of witnessing strangers pick up and use the "And That's Why We Drink" book at a local shop to plan a road trip—without knowing the author was sitting just feet away.
  • "She was flipping through the book... They literally started planning a road trip using our book. I was stunned." – Christine [18:57]

• Inflatable Birthday Tiaras and Family Lore (22:56–24:46)

  • Reminiscing about buying inflatable tiaras for their mothers (both of whom own actual jeweled tiaras), Em and Christine reflect on the oddities of family heirlooms and milestones.
  • "The only reason my mom doesn't wear the inflatable tiara is because she has two actual old tiaras." – Emma [23:21]

2. Dog Birthdays, Milestones, & Life Changes (24:55–36:37)

• Gio's (Christine's Dog) Birthday

  • Confusion over Gio’s age ("Is he 10 or 8?"—turns out he's 10), leading to nostalgic recollections of the podcast’s start and their early friendship. [25:19–25:59]
  • Christine details Gio’s favorite activities (stealing Leona’s socks, eating cat food, family snuggles) [26:49], and plans for birthday celebrations.

• Pet Health & Growing Up

  • Em shares Hank’s recent vaccination-induced swollen lymph node; Christine empathizes, underlining the challenges of pet parenting and loving their “good boys.” [29:55–30:14]

• Updates on Long-Distance & Life Contingencies (32:00–35:48)

  • Em updates listeners on partner Allison being away for family reasons, thoughts on contingency plans in light of sociopolitical instability ("planning to have to plan"), and considering potential relocation to Canada.
  • Em shares: "We're just trying to come up with plan B's and C's and D's if things are getting worse and worse for marginalized people. And I know queer people are on that list." [33:09]

3. Main Story 1: The Haunted Cincinnati Music Hall (39:06–92:29)

Background & Dark History (41:22–54:38)

• Built on a Potter’s Field

  • The Music Hall sits atop a massive unmarked graveyard (potter’s field) from the early 1800s, including victims of cholera outbreaks, lethal floods, and the catastrophic Moselle steamboat explosion—whose body parts "rained down through the roofs of houses." [50:06]
  • In total, up to 10,000 bodies estimated beneath the site. [52:06]

• Subsequent Institutions

  • After the potter's field: Cincinnati Orphan Asylum, hospital, Civil War military hospital, and "Pest House" (for quarantining the sick until death), all built atop the same ground.

• The German Singerbund and Sangerfest

  • Later, the property hosted a German-American singing society and the country's first Sangerfest musical festival—a nod to Cincinnati’s large German population and choral tradition. Christine and Em joke about local German family heritage and burst into German lullabies. [60:50]

Haunted Activity & Paranormal Reports (80:11–91:41)

• Hauntings Linked to the Dead

  • Cold chills, oppressive atmospheres, shadow people, mysterious music, whispers, giggling, heavy footsteps, flickering lights, and items (like a balloon) moving on their own.
  • "People feel a presence near the ballroom. They'll see shadows in photos, hear something being dragged through the halls, angry whispering, maniacal laughter... and phantom violin music." [82:15]

• Frequent Sightings:

  • The "Lady in White," children apparitions, people dressed in period clothing attending performances.
  • A child ghost warns visitors: "Don’t go in the basement—bad things happened there." [88:41]

• Creepy Specifics

  • Seats mysteriously staying down, as if an unseen presence is watching; the freight elevator moves on its own; security guards being freaked out by uncanny events.
  • One watchman: “I always knew when they were around by an icy chill, a thrill as of electricity...” [90:02]

• Christine’s Reflections

  • The combination of restless, unclaimed souls beneath a hub of artistic energy amplifies haunting activity.
  • "On top of that... people are getting emotional, theaters are already really active energetically... that would probably just mix it all up." [80:25]

Notable Quotes

• On the Moselle Explosion:
  "About a hundred skeletons had to be buried here at the Pottersfield when the steamer Moselle exploded and blew the skulls and limbs and blackened trunks of their passengers all over the... So that falling bodies fell through the roofs of houses and the remains of the victims were gathered together and buried in the potter's field." – Emma [50:06]
• On the Layered History:
  "It's like... should this be an orphanage? Maybe a hospital? Should we get a bunch of German men to sing hallelujah in here? Like, I don't know, whatever you want it to be. The world is your oyster, dude." – Emma [60:00]
• On Paranormal Activity:
  "I can get behind it being residual, but when you're intelligent and you acknowledge I'm looking for you... you stand up and literally put yourself in front of us... They're doing exactly what we want and they're probably making us so happy and we're just like, get away." – Emma [86:22]

4. Main Story 2: "Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee" Identified (95:21–114:46)

True Crime: Case Summary & Breakthrough

• Discovery of the Body (1971)

  • "Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee": Young woman's body found under a Florida bridge, strangled with a men's belt, wrapped in a blanket.
  • No missing persons reports, so she remained a Jane Doe for 54+ years.

• Forensic Attempts at Identification

  • Multiple exhumations for new forensic clues—dental work, birth history, and isotope analysis suggesting she may have immigrated from Greece (a result later proven incorrect due to contamination from embalming fluids).
  • The case even featured on Unsolved Mysteries (1992), tips from Greek TV, but all led to dead ends.

• Breakthrough (2025)

  • In October 2025, her fingerprints were finally run through Florida’s new STORM biometric system, yielding a match to a 1970 arrest record: Maureen "Cookie" L. Minor Rowan, age 21, of Tampa.
  • Cookie was never reported missing. Her estranged husband, Charles Rowan, told family she left voluntarily; her two children grew up never knowing her fate.
  • Sheriff Patrick Breeden: "This case has been a mystery in Sumter county for almost 55 years. Today, Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee finally has a name." [106:11]
  • Cookie’s children released a public statement: "She was a mother, a daughter, a sister, and a woman who deserved a full life. Now that she has been identified, our family can begin to heal." [111:48]

Investigation Status and Lingering Questions

• Person of interest: Estranged husband (deceased, never charged).
• Many questions remain: Timeline of last days, manner and location of murder, and why she wasn’t reported missing.
• Christine notes: "It’s just so suddenly relevant... We should talk about it now." [113:42]
• Listeners with information are encouraged to contact the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

5. Lighter Moments & Listener Life

• Christine opens up about the odd blend of personal humility and pride, seeing their impact in the wild; Em reflects on the power of community, spontaneous travel, and being vulnerable about current uncertainty in the world.
• Running jokes: Appalachian family tiaras, German singing societies, and the omnipresent “lady in white” ghost.
• The show’s tone deftly toggles between dark history, true crime, paranormal chills, self-deprecating humor, and sincere empathy.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “If you're connecting with something... or welcoming spirits in... It's just super haunted.” – Emma [81:11]
• “There's no missing persons report that matched her profile, so they buried her locally and she became known as Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee.” – Christine [97:19]
• “Happy B Day, Gio!... He doesn't look a day over five.” – Emma [28:31]
• “There's something going on where it's just like things are going faster and faster... Next month it's going to be where we don't even know the state of the world.” – Christine [109:33]
• “And that's why we drink.” – Christine & Emma [36:16]

Important Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | Notes | |---------------|----------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------| | 04:00–07:00 | Health woes & parenthood | Hip flexors, parenting, dog stories | | 09:20–16:00 | Austin, listener theater, Houdini play | Immersive theater experience | | 17:32–21:54 | Bookstore, book encounter | Road trip planning by strangers | | 39:06–92:29 | Main Paranormal Story – Cincinnati Music Hall| Extensive history + hauntings | | 95:21–114:46 | Main True Crime – Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee| Identification and family resolution |

Conclusion

This episode weaves humorous life storytelling with dark historical and true crime revelations, illustrating the emotional resonance of mystery, legacy, and community—both among the living and the dearly (or not so dearly) departed. Whether diving into haunted basements or unmasking forgotten identities, Christine and Em continue making the world a little less scary—and a little more bearable—one glass of wine (or milkshake) at a time.

And that’s why we drink.