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"The way I see it, having a paranormal encounter like seeing a ghost is kind of like winning the creepiest lottery imaginable." - David Godwin
Well, we're going into Spring, and Summer is going to be just around the corner. The Grove is on the Pilgrimage Tour of Homes this year, the first weekend in May, so I hope that you'll stop by if you get a chance. I'll also be playing the character of Sheriff John Vines in the "Diamond Bessie Murder Trial Play," something that I always look forward to. Oh - one more thing. Don't forget to check out www.VisitJefferson.com for some fun little videos about this wonderful, old city. Meanwhile, I'll talk to you in the next GroveZine!
Here's what's coming up around Jefferson...
4/29-5/2/2021 - Diamond Bessie Murder Trial Play
This is a free subscription ezine for friends of The Grove - in other words, we NEVER arbitrarily add email addresses. We also NEVER sell or share email addresses with anyone else. Feel free to pass the GroveZine on to your friends - all I ask is that if you forward it, please include the header, trailer and everything. Thanks! To subscribe, just go to The Grove's Website and put your email in the blank at the left bottom of the page. To unsubscribe, although we'd sincerely hate to lose you, simply follow the directions at the bottom of the this email. |
Hello from Jefferson, Texas! Well, now that Spring has arrived, we're just starting to see how much damage the -4 degree winter storm that hit use back at the first of the year really did. You may recall years past when I've posted photos of the house with beautiful azaleas that seemed to be an explosion of pink all across the front of the house. This year, after snowmaggedon, you can see what they look like. Unfortunately the azaleas weren't the only casualties, so we're trying to re-group, garden-wise.
First, a bit of sad news. If you've been on the tour, chances are that you were greeted out front by our cat Elsie. She seemed to be able to tell time, and know exactly when people were gathering for the tours. It's with a very heavy heart that I report her passing. It was quick and easy; I came home and found here sitting on the back porch, surveying her domain like she often did, quite content and happy. About an hour later I went outside and it looked like she had just fallen over. Seemingly no struggling or stress, it's like she just went to sleep. We had her sixteen years, longer than we've had any other pet, and she will be missed. Rest in peace, Elsie.
One of the things that I find fascinating about The Grove is that some things happen that, not only can we not explain, but we can't even understand. Case in point - we were sitting in the den this month, and from there the bedroom is visible. As we were quietly watching TV, there were suddenly two bright flashes of light from the bedroom, which of course made us look. Something quickly sailed over the bed... it was fast and we couldn't see anything but a blur. Our cat was in the den with us, and both of our dogs are old and can barely climb stairs. There was nothing in the bedroom when we went to investigate, and we have no explanation. Yet, it definitely happened!
If you've never been to the History, Haunts & Legends Paranormal Conference here in Jefferson, I can't recommend it enough. It's a day full of interesting speakers, and then a night-time investigation of several places around town that have supernatural activity. Different paranormal teams lead the investigations at each location, and it's a very interesting time - plus, you get to go some places that you might not normally have access to. At the last HHL, for example, not only did we get to investigate the Jefferson Hotel, but we were able to get access to a secret room in the attic that they discovered while remodeling the hotel (that's it with the red light). While in the attic, we saw a lot of movement in the shadows, and heard knocking in response to our questions. We also got to spend time in the Doll Room, and in notorious Room 19. You should definitely plan on attending the Fall History, Haunts & Legends conference on November 6.
One of the other investigation sites was an old house here in town, a place where friends of ours lived for years (they sold it a year ago). We were in the parlor where an investigator was listening to a ghost box kind of thing (I don't know exactly what it was). She was asking questions out to the room, and listening for any kind of response on the device. She asked, "Do you want to talk to anyone in this room?" The voice in the box said "MitchelWhitington" - my name, but said together as one word. There were a number of people in the room, all who heard it. Everyone looked at me, and I explained that the former owners of the house were very good friends, and I'd therefore been at the house many, many times when they owned it. The investigator asked, "Do you want to talk to Mitchel?" The voice replied, "Mitchel." She asked, "What color is Mitchel's shirt?" (I was wearing a black t-shirt with a gray long-sleeve shirt over it). The voice replied, "All of them." The investigator asked again, "Can you tell us what color Mitchel's shirt is?" The voice said, "I did" through the device. She asked, "Is Mitchel's shirt black?" The voice simply said, "Goodbye." I'd never seen anything like that - a very interactive session with a spirit that actually knew who I was! It may be hard to believe, but it happened in front of everyone in the room.
