Lettie Mills



Lettie Mills Diner on the 500 block of Eaton Drive was a popular hangout spot among the youth of town as well as families from it’s opening in 1949 to it’s eventual untimely and horrific demise in the winter of 1955. The wholesome nature of the spot was held in high regard. The wide selection of food and family entertainment made it a highly frequented spot.

The photo to the right was taken in the fall of 1955. Its relevance is major.

The man looking at the camera (Peter Cole) to the left of the pole and the man looking at the camera on the far right (Stanley Taylor) were both believed to be involved in the disappearance of Karen Shelly Green – bottom center sipping a drink.

Green went missing shortly after this photo was taken and her whereabouts are to this day unknown. Her car was found by police near the Oakdale Marshes - a small amount of blood and hair was found on the steering wheel, but no other signs of damage or traces of Green were found.

Peter Cole surfaced one week later. He said that he was fishing and had not known Karen Shelly Green. No witnesses could corroborate his story.

Stanley Taylor did not have a strong alibi either, stating that he was ill and on the mend in his studio apartment during the time of Green’s disappearance.

Extensive searches of their residences revealed nothing.

In November of 1955, Lettie Mills Diner exploded due to what investigators thought to be faulty gas lines. The fireball could be seen for blocks and the damage of the surrounding area was extensive.

Cole and Taylor were both pronounced dead at the scene. “KSG” was scratched into the steel, walk in freezer door.