ThisWeek CW 10/03/2013
Organizers of the eighth annual Canal Winchester Area Historical Society Ghost Tour hope to raise some money while raising specters from the past.
The nonprofit organization maintains several historic sites and depends on donations, according to trustee Joy Habegger. The annual Ghost Tour is the society’s largest fundraiser, with all proceeds going to cover operating expenses.
The walking tour takes place from 7 to 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Oct. 11 and 12. Tickets for the tour are $10 per adult, $5 for those age 6 to 18. There is no charge for children age 5 and younger.
Advance ticket purchases are recommended. Habegger said tickets can be bought by contacting the Canal Winchester Area Historical Society at 614-833-1846 or at cwhistory.org.
Tickets also will be available beginning at 6:30 p.m. the night of the event at the Railroad Depot on High Street in Canal Winchester.
“The ghosts on the tour are costumed actors playing the role of someone who lived or worked at each location,” Habegger said. “We have a wonderful, talented group of local volunteers.”
The first stop on this year’s tour will be the historic Prentiss School, where Habegger said a group of local children and a teacher from the Groveport Madison school district will perform.
“This is always a fun location to have on the tour, and the children and teacher are already hard at work, practicing every Wednesday evening leading up to the event,” she said.
The society has also recruited a group of behind-the-scenes local volunteers who find the actors, work on costumes and write the scripts, not to mention dealing with any last-minute help needed the night of the Ghost Tour.
“It is truly a community labor of love,” she said.
The tour will begin at the Historical Society’s complex at the corner of North High and Oak streets. For those who need a little help getting from site to site, Canal Winchester Human Services will provide a van on both evenings.
Other Ghost Tour stops this year include: the Philip Game home, 52 N. High St., built around 1880 for Mr. Game, who was a Civil War veteran and a local merchant; the office of Dr. Phillips, 33 N. High St., built in 1950; the Ehrenhart home and shop, 43-45 N. High St., built in 1865; the Phillip Weber home, 20 N. High St., built in 1890; and the Marion Corwin home, 63 N. High St., which was purchased in 1896 by Mr. Corwin, who operated an ice cream parlor on High Street.