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Ghost Walk
dredges up specters of newsmakers past - 20081103
By Robert Kelly-Goss
Albemarle Life Editor
Extra! Extra! Read all about it. Ghosts have
been spotted once again, haunting the downtown historic quarter
of Elizabeth City.
These ghosts are not ordinary specters, however.
These are the ghosts of newsmakers past. Yes, this year's
Ghost Walk is taken from the pages of newspapers past as "All
the old news that's fit to print" comes alive with the
likes of W.O. Saunders, The Daily Advance founder Herbert
Peele and the many folks their pens pointed toward during
Elizabeth City's days in the early 20th century.
This year's organizers, according to scriptwriter
Marjorie Berry, are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Saunders'
paper, The Independent. And to bring the event to life, this
year the Ghost Walk folks have commissioned the creation of
a special haunted edition of The Daily Advance, sold by young
newsboys throughout the walk.
The stories told in this special edition are
the stories that unfold as you walk through the past and experience
the early 20th century through the eyes of some the area’s
most infamous and well-respected citizenry.
Here's a breakdown of the specters and where
they can be spotted:
• At Cann Memorial Presbyterian Church,
311 West Main St., the social hall becomes a 1920s speakeasy.
A secret knock and secret code are necessary for entry. Your
guide will know the knock and code. Inside, Flossie the Flapper
and her boyfriend, Beau, dance the Charleston and sing several
favorites from the 20s including "Ain't she sweet,"
"Ma," "He's making eyes at me" and "Carolina
in the morning."
Keep an eye out while you're sipping "hooch"
from a teacup, the police could raid the joint!
• The W.C. Witherspoon Memorial Library
will host Columbia Saunders, wife of W.O. Saunders, editor
of The Independent newspaper. She tells about life with the
infamous W.O. He was sued for libel 50 times, had numerous
death threats, and narrowly escaped a tar and feather party.
She worked at The Independent as a proofreader. She was very
independent and worldly, a good match for her husband. She
tells how her husband died. She'll tell about W.O.'s dog,
Trey, which had his own charge account at a local store.
• W.O. Saunders will appear at the First
Baptist Cemetery at 300 W. Colonial Ave. He'll tell how he
stood up to corruption and injustice, even though it pitted
him against some wealthy and powerful people. His newspaper
career started with the Nell Cropsey trial, which he covered
for the Norfolk Dispatch. He'll talk about how he detested
revivalist The Rev. Mordecai Ham and ran him out of town.
Saunders believed Ham was taking money from gullible people.
He also gives his philosophy of life and religion. And talks
about why he believed Jim Wilcox was innocent of the Nell
Cropsey murder. Wilcox allegedly told him the truth about
who killed Nell. Saunders never revealed the secret.
• The Rev. Mordecai Ham will be at the
Banks-Scull House at 616 W. Main St. He's in town for a revival.
He tells how he came from eight generations of Baptist preachers,
what his career was before he heard the call to preach. He'll
tell about the world famous evangelist he converted in 1934.
He'll tell about his child bride, Annie Laurie, whom he married
when he was 31 and she was 15. They were married more than
50 years. He made a bitter enemy of W.O. Saunders, who slammed
him in his newspaper, and wrote a slanderous pamphlet called
"The Book of Ham," exposing the evangelist's lies.
He'll tell what religious sect he believed was going to hell.
• At the Hinton Pailin House, 202 W.
Main St., ghostly telephone operators from the 1940s entertain
visitors with a humorous skit. See how they cope with life
at the switchboard and their predictions for communications
of the future. Eavesdrop as they listen in on someone's telephone
call.
• The tragic recluse Jim Wilcox will
haunt the Dennis Jones house at 400 W. Main St. Accused of
killing Nell Cropsey in 1901, he'll tell about life in prison,
how he received a pardon from the governor, and his life afterwards.
He'll tell how people point and stare at him on the street,
and how difficult his last days were. He met with W.O. Saunders
33 years to the day of Nell's disappearance and told him whether
or not he killed Nell Cropsey. Wilcox took his own life soon
after in Tuttle's Garage, where the White and Bright Grocery
is now.
• Herbert Peele, founder of The Daily Advance
makes an appearance at the Charles-Harney House at 400 W. Main
St. Peele was known as "Mr. Albemarle" for his love
of and devotion to this area. He saw the Albemarle as a vast,
sparsely populated land of rivers and sounds, and he sought
to overcome the uncompromising geography with new roads and
bridges. He also founded the WGAI radio station, and was there,
at his desk, when he died in 1952. Be on the lookout, an unexpected
visitor might interrupt Mr. Peele at the Harney House.
• At the former Sisters of St. Dominic
Convent, at 910 W. Main St., the nuns are rather upset. Sister
Elizabeth, visiting from New Jersey, has collapsed on the
sidewalk. She had just left her 90th birthday party at St.
Elizabeth's Catholic Church, down the street. Does she live
or die? Come inside to find out.
The Ghost Walk is this Friday and Saturday
from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 pm. nightly. West Main Street will
be closed for the event from Dyer Street to Griffin Street.
Tickets are $12 and may be purchased at Mildred's
Florist, Muddy Waters, Page After Page, Puddleducks, and the
UPS Store.
Diana's Road Street Cafe, at 110 N. Road St.,
will serve a special dinner both nights for $6.50. Ghost Walk
headquaters will be located at Muddy Waters Coffeehouse on
the corner of Main and Road streets Friday and Saturday nights.
Complimentary transportation is available
from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. For more information, call 1-888-936-7387.
Ghost Walk scriptwriter Marjorie Berry contributed
to this story
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