Pennsylvania
Conspiracy-Ridden Notes Found In Food Packages, PA Parks
PENNSYLVANIA — A series of bizarre, conspiracy-riddled notes have been discovered in food packages and parks across Pennsylvania, leaving many wondering who is behind the notes and what they mean.
The messages, dubbed the “Schuylkill Notes” by amateur web investigators, have been found in recent years tucked into cereal boxes and pinned to trees in state parks, according to a Philadelphia Inquirer report.
While mostly indecipherable, some of the notes contain coded sentences mentioning secret societies, Nazis, and names including Bill Gates and Oprah, according to reports and posts on the Reddit group r/schuylkillnotes.
According to the Inquirer, the notes were initially found in Schuylkill and surrounding counties. Others have been found in Huntingdon and Lycoming counties. One Reddit user also created a map containing dozens of locations where notes were found.
One person discovered a note in a box of Belvita biscuits at a store in Luzerne County, the Coal Region Canary reported. Two others reported finding notes in boxes of Milk Duds and Hot Tamales.
“Super creepy and sad to see so many people receiving these,” one reader told the Canary.
In December, a Luzerne County man found one of the notes in a box of Lucky Charm’s cereal.
“It just bothers me, the note really it’s the note that really bothers me. These notes are found inside food like kids food,” Joe Miller told WBRE.
Zachary Zimmerman was hiking in Swatara State Park in Lebanon County when he discovered a handful of notes attached to trees and wrapped around stones, the Inquirer reported.
“I picked it up and read it and it really doesn’t make any sense to me,” Zimmerman told the publication.
Last year, the Coal Region Canary analyzed one of the messages using ChatGPT.
“This message appears to reference various ideas often associated with secretive societies and symbol interpretation. It seems to argue that secret societies (abbreviated as “SS”) are orchestrating world events and are linked with multiple institutions and symbols across society, ranging from corporations, educational organizations, to religious groups. The societies are implicated in everything from riots to terrorism,” ChatGPT’s analysis read.
When contacted by the Inquirer, an FBI spokesperson could not confirm or deny an investigation into the notes.
According to the FDA, tampering with food products is a federal crime. A spokesperson said the agency is aware of the notes, the Inquirer reported.
ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP, Pa. (KDKA/CNN NEWSOURCE/WKRC) — Residents of a western Pennsylvania neighborhood say they are battling a growing rat infestation that they believe originated from a condemned property where more than 100 pigs and other animals were recently removed.
Neighbors along Adams Drive in Rostraver Township say they have trapped and killed dozens of rats in recent weeks but continue to see large numbers of rodents around their homes.
Residents of a western Pennsylvania neighborhood say they are battling a growing rat infestation that they believe originated from a condemned property where more than 100 pigs and other animals were recently removed. (KDKA/CNN NEWSOURCE)
“The smell’s better, but the rats are worse,” resident Erin McCay told KDKA.
Earlier this month, authorities and animal rescue groups removed dogs, cats and more than 100 pigs from the property. Investigators described conditions at the site as deplorable.
According to Pittsburgh Squealers Rescue, 105 pigs were removed from the property, and several later died due to alleged neglect.
The property, which operated as an animal sanctuary, has since been condemned and listed for sale.
Township officials said they have contracted with a pest control company in an effort to eliminate the infestation. The one-year agreement is valued at approximately $12,000 and includes placing traps throughout the affected neighborhood.
Residents say the infestation has become a public safety concern, especially after dark.
“It’s definitely a public safety issue,” McCay said. “I want to feel safe being able to go in our yard and walk into the house.”
Township officials said they hope the rat population will begin to decline in the coming weeks.
Police said the investigation into conditions at the property remains active.
Pennsylvania
6abc Loves the Arts: Historical Society of Pennsylvania Presents “Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” through Sept. 18
PHLADELPHIA (WPVI) — The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is celebrating the semi-quincentennial with a new exhibition that shows off some very rare documents that date to the founding of our nation.
“Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” documents America’s origin story in two parts.
“The exhibition looks at the decade of controversies and conflicts leading up to the Declaration of Independence,” says David Brigham, Librarian & CEO of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. “Why did we feel as American colonies that we needed to separate from Great Britain?”
And then the 11 years between the signing of the Declaration and the adoption of the Constitution.
“The colonies have a lot of work to do,” says Brigham.
There are 141 pieces on view.
“They include original letters, journals, newspapers, broadsides,” he says. “And an incredible oil painting of a tea protest event that happened in Annapolis, Maryland in October of 1774.”
The artwork depicts the burning of the tea ship, Peggy Stewart.
“It’s been in a private home for generations,” he says. “This painting has not been seen in public possibly for 170 years.”
Items are on display in seven cases.
“This case focuses on the Stamp Act, which is passed in the spring of 1765 by Parliament,” he says.
There’s a section on rising tensions in the 1770s, which includes the Battle of Lexington and Concord and the Boston Tea Party.
You can see what’s known as the Dunlap Broadside.
“This is an original printing of the Declaration of Independence,” he says.
Just 200 were printed and only 26 survive.
Brigham says the one on display at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania is unique.
“We think it was Jefferson’s proof copy,” he says. “He would mark his speeches out with quotation marks where he intended to emphasize a phrase.”
Another case includes a first draft of the Articles of Confederation, which Brigham says is “the first attempt by Congress to write a Constitution of the United States.”
There is also a first newspaper printing of the Constitution of the United States. It was someone’s personal copy, complete with notes in the margin of the newspaper.
Brigham says people of different social statuses and religions found their way to independence “for different reasons.”
“Sometimes the story’s flattened out into ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys.’ That’s way too simple,” he says. “There was a lot of complexity and even in that 20-year period a lot of attitudes changed.”
“Paths to Independence: 1765 to 1787” is on view through September 18 at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. This exhibition is free and open to the public during regular library hours, but visitors must check in at the front desk.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania’s library hours:
Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Closed Saturday – Monday
Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP)
1300 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
Pennsylvania
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