History
The Restless General
Halloween is when supernatural creatures, as well as a large group of still living humans, get ready for their respective annual outing. However, although inhabitants of both worlds are obviously out at the same time, it has proven amazingly difficult to actually meet each other.
Somebody still checking on
those old stairs?
By all accounts, Gabriel Colvin Wharton was a man that one wouldn’t address with, “Hey, Gabe!”. Throughout his life he was known as “the General” and didn’t hesitate to speak his mind. He lived in Glencoe for almost 40 years until his death in 1906.
Maybe it was because he liked the house and was dismayed that it fell into disrepair, or maybe he was just reenergized by the reconstruction efforts, but when construction workers started to restore the house in the 1990s, they started hearing footsteps.
The man who supervised the operation for Lucas Construction said he had encountered the building’s original architect. “I’ve heard the General,” said Bruce Schaefer. “He’s walking.”
Schaefer and another member of the crew first encountered the concerned homeowner late one afternoon while working upstairs. Suddenly, the sound of the downstairs door opening echoed through the house, followed by distinct footsteps, climbing the 14 stairs to the second floor.
Both reached for their hard hats, thinking it might be a surprise inspection, but there was no one. Nobody answered their calls and no car was in the driveway. They were alone – or not?
From that time on, Shaffer started carrying a large flashlight but was never able to put it to good use, even though they heard the mysterious walking several times that summer.
Bob Asbury, City Manager and a frequent visitor at the time, never heard or saw anything out of the ordinary and assumed that the General approved of the restoration. In the seven months I have been working here as the museum director, I too have never had the pleasure to meet or hear our prominent guest. Apparently, he still likes what he sees.
However, several times in the past months, the motion-control alarm system went off in the middle of the night. Checking all the rooms, no (living human) intruder or other irregularity was found. Maybe he is just more of a night person.
by Hanns-Peter Nagel
