ThisWeek CW 09/25/2014
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2014/09/22/canal-winchester-citys-past-will-be-revealed-in-annual-ghost-tour.html
Canal Winchester’s ninth annual Historic Ghost Tour will conjure the spirits of the past, but organizers promise none of them will be frightening.
The Canal Winchester Area Historical Society will host its signature event, a tour of historically important buildings around downtown, with volunteer actors playing the roles of the original village residents who helped shape what the city is today.
Tours will begin at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 3 and 4, at Faith United Methodist Church, 15 W. Columbus St., with the last tour of the night leaving the church at 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 per student, ages 6-18; there is no charge for children age 5 and younger.
To purchase tickets ahead of time, call the historical society at 614-833-1846 or 614-837-8400.
Volunteers will lead the tours and Canal Winchester Human Services will provide free transportation for anyone needing assistance in getting to the tour sites.
“We’re bringing history to life and letting people learn from the individuals who lived it, making this much more of a personal experience than just what you read in a book,” organizer Jeanette Snyder said.
Fellow organizer Mike Ippoliti said the tour “will give a good history of our town from the people who lived it.”
“I’m looking forward to leading the tour on the bus provided by Human Services,” he said. “We have several people who take advantage of this so they don’t have to walk it.”
Over the years, the historical society has included a variety of locations on the Ghost Tour, rarely repeating the same one twice, and this year is no exception.
This year’s stops are:
* The Commercial Hotel, a stopping point for both the canal and stage coach line in town.
* The Helpman Home, built circa 1840, once occupied by John Helpman, who owned a lumber company that was first located on the site.
* The Bailey Home, built circa 1926 by Horace Bailey, and was the longtime home of his daughter, Mary Lucinda Bailey, who was an educator in Canal Winchester for many years.
* The Stradley Home, which contains the original Stradley log cabin from the 1830s on the left side of the first floor; it is one of the oldest homes in Canal Winchester.
* The O.P. Chaney Home, which was built in 1866 after the original tavern structure on the site burned to the ground.
The tour also will include a look at how the Interurban transportation system was built around the canal in the early 19th century and its impact on Canal Winchester.
All proceeds from the Ghost Tour benefit the operations of the nonprofit Canal Winchester Area Historical Society.