Mr. and Mrs. James Steel with their fireplace made from stones from the Vicary House Mausoleum.
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Mr. and Mrs. James Steel live near the Vicary House in Freedom. Their living room fireplace was built with stones from the old Vicary mausoleum. Here is Jim's story of his encounter with the supernatural.
"We moved into what some people referred to as the "ghost house" in the year 1957. 1 had heard rumors of ghost tales since this home was built next to the mausoleum in which the Robinson family was buried. (Dr. T. F. Robinson and wife Hanna, a daughter, Lenora, and their dog.) Dr. Robinson was Captain Vicary's son-in-law. He and his family lived in the Vicary house.
"My experience occurred one evening while I was asleep on the sofa (facing the fireplace). I was awakened as I felt a scratching or pawing on my arm. I looked around, and there was no one in the room but me. So I went back to sleep. Soon I felt the same scratching on my arm. I sat up and noticed a bright light surrounding the fireplace. in the midst of this light there appeared the image of a small girl.,,
"At this time, I was not aware of who was buried in the old mausoleum. So I decided to call my neighbor, Hazel Narmah, who lived in the Vicary house with her father, Joseph Nannah.
She informed me that the Robinson family was buried in the vault. She said that later the family had been moved from the vault to the Oak Grove Cemetery. Hazel didn't mention a dog, so I asked her, "How about the dog?" She laughed and wondered how I knew there was a dog in the family. Then I told her what I had seen.
"Some time later, I had occasion to visit Oak Grove Cemetery, so I looked for the Robinson family graves. I then learned that the daughter Lenora had been buried 100 years from the date when I saw her image by the fireplace. That was the last time I had any vision of her. So, I feel she is at peace."