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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781626194373 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Arcadia Publishing SC |
| Publication date: | 09/19/2016 |
| Series: | Haunted America |
| Pages: | 112 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
The simple truth is that you can understand a town. You can know and love and hate it. You can blame it, resent it, and nothing changes. In the end, you're just another part of it.
— Brenna Yovanoff
Some people say that you are a product of either your generation or where you grew up. Here in the Midwest, there are small rural communities scattered just about everywhere, and like the quote by Brenna Yovanoff, sometimes you love it and sometimes you hate it. When it comes to the old Lamont Mansion — or, as locals in the Land O' Lakes area like to call it, "the haunted house" — townsfolk are most likely split down the middle about the reported lore: some embrace it; others denounce it and pretend it doesn't exist.
The town of Land O' Lakes was formerly known as Stateline and Donaldson and is an unincorporated town within Vilas County. The community is located along the state line of Michigan, so I had to chuckle when I read about its former name. I think Stateline was quite fitting, actually. I found the following historical information on the official Land O' Lakes Historical Society website: "The economic origins of the town of Land O' Lakes (originally Stateline) go back to the 1870s when the Rudolf Otto mill, one of the best single-rotary mills in Northern Wisconsin, was built. It was succeeded by the Mason- Donaldson Co. Mill formed in 1905. The Mason-Donaldson Mill gave its name to the town of Donaldson, located along highway B just west of the town of Land O' Lakes." The town of Donaldson had a school and a community building that also served as a church and meeting hall, as well as several homes. Many of these homes were later moved closer to the railroad tracks as the town of Stateline became more prosperous. When the Donaldson Mill burned down in 1908, townspeople decided not to rebuild their community; instead, they moved the town east to its present location under the name of Stateline, due to the fact that it rested right on the line between Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
A school was built in the town of Land O' Lakes around the turn of the century, and then in 1931 a more modern school was built near the Land O' Lakes Town Hall. This town was originally part of Lincoln County in 1882, but in 1885, it became part of Oneida County. In 1893, it was included in Vilas County. According to the Land O' Lakes Historical Society website, "At one time it was said that Highway B went through timber so thick that one '40' (forty-acre parcel) produced one million board feet of lumber. This rich resource led to the development of area logging camps, including Bent's Camp, located on Mamie Lake, established in 1893; the Presque Isle logging camp located 15 miles North of Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, established in 1914." In fact, there were several logging camps and tourist retreats there as well, and many flocked to the area not only to make a living but to also get away from their busy lives in the city. The lush landscape and bountiful wildlife made this area very attractive to a variety of people over the years.
A perfect example of this is Robert Patterson Lamont. He was a wealthy man who resided in Chicago. He and his wife were attracted to the Land O' Lakes area because of its beauty and the calmness it had to offer. So, Lamont decided to construct a summer retreat home and set about making plans. But I feel as though I'm getting ahead of myself here.
CHAPTER 2ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
I first heard about Summerwind when I saw a rerun episode from the Discovery Channel show called A Haunting. Like many of you, I was totally enamored of this place, even though it has since burned to the ground. I didn't care. My curiosity grabbed me by the shoulders and wouldn't let go.
First, I'd like to give you readers a little back story on my husband and me. In 2008, I got my husband, Tony, into legend-tripping. From there, we purchased an audio recorder and started visiting locations and taking audio or EVPs (electronic voice phenomenon). Tony had always been interested in film and had always wanted to make video. We decided to combine our interest of the paranormal with film, and the end result was the Haunting Experiments. Starting in 2009, we launched our film group and started to visit various locations, filming short documentaries for which I wrote narrations. We showed the reportedly haunted spots, talked a bit about them and on certain occasions had reenactments as well. Then in 2010, we decided to make a web series that was to consist of about nine to ten episodes that ranged from five to ten minutes apiece. I was struggling with our season finale for the first season because I wanted it to be a popular place that would really make for a fitting close to our first season. Then I thought of the old ruins up north and smiled to myself. Summerwind!
I contacted a friend and obtained the then owners' phone number. Tony called the owners and spoke with them, asking permission so that we could not only visit but also film the grounds for our short documentary. They were very nice people and agreed right away. They even said that if they were going to be up in the area when we were going, they would have met us. However, it was off season for them to be there, so we never got to meet face to face. It was September 15, 2010, when we piled into friend Jesse's white Oldsmobile Alero. The weather was cold and damp, with the changing of the seasons coming up fast. It's typical in the month of September to have chilly, rainy days here in northern Wisconsin. Our group consisted of Jesse (the driver and road-tripping extraordinaire!), friend and intuitive Wendy, Tony and myself. We left very early in the morning and started off eagerly on the four-hour trip up through the Northwoods. Halfway through the trip, I started getting a bit restless and turned to look outside as the water slowly drizzled in zigzag patterns down the side of the passenger window. I blew out a frustrated breath and turned to Wendy as we started to again make conversation.
The drive up went smoothly, but finding the mansion was a different story. The reports I read online and in books from different people who have visited the ruins of the old mansion all pretty much state the same thing: they got lost trying to find the place. It's off a dirt road, and there are many cabins back in the woods, so it's confusing. It was the last road on our checklist that we hadn't driven down, and we had driven too far to give up! As Jesse slowly made his way down the dirt drive, all of a sudden quite quickly I was able to make out the two tall skeletal arms of the old chimneys that used to be a part of the house. I inhaled sharply and pushed my right foot down, pressing it to the floor of the car as if I was trying to slam on the brakes. I can honestly say that the sight took my breath away and terrorized me at the same time.
Jesse pulled the car to a stop, and both he and Tony practically tumbled out of the car, so eager to go explore. I stretched, giving myself a minute to take everything in, and then turned to Wendy, who was sitting next to me in the backseat. I have only seen one person in my life get that lifeless gray color, but now I can say I have seen two. There was a horrible gray hue to her skin, and I asked her if she was okay. She then said to me that I should get out and go take a look around. She mentioned she felt sick to her stomach and that sometimes certain locations gave her that feeling. She hesitated, and after she reassured me that she was all right, I got out of the car. I was dying to go run around and start snapping photos with my camera. I found Jesse, and together we walked to the back terrace, where there is a stone wall with pavement. I couldn't find Tony for the longest time because he was off trying to figure out which angles would be perfect to film, and once he's in that zone, I know to just leave him be. A few minutes after we stood on the back deck, Wendy slowly made her way over to us. Her color was looking much better, and she went off to do some exploring of her own.
I recently found a blog online by "Savannah Rayne," who knows Wendy and interviewed her about her trip and experiences at the Summerwind site. I remember talking to her about everything once we got in the car to leave but never wrote anything down. So I want to quote Wendy from this blog, where she was asked about her Northwoods adventure. The blog is dated October 17, 2011: "I was invited to Summerwind for a day and couldn't say no. Who could, I mean it's the most haunted place in Wisconsin, come on ... I'm so there! When we turned the car down the driveway I began to feel flu like sick. I had to jump out of the car right away to ground and shake off the sick feeling. As soon as I got out and took a few steps from the car, as the team walked away to find a place to set up for filming, I heard a male voice say, 'The deed is not here.' So I called out to Devon and said, 'Hey, what does "the deed isn't here" mean?"' I then explained to Wendy a bit about this infamous deed that belonged to British explorer Jonathan Carver and the rumors that the deed was buried in the foundation of Summerwind. Wendy also went on to state on the blog, "While we were there we had a few experiences of communicating with ghosts. A few weird smells going on and a few strange sounds were heard." When we first arrived, Wendy put her hands out in front of one of the old fireplaces and stated that she felt warmth emanating from it. Her hands even started to thaw from the cold.
She also stated that when we walked into the basement area, she saw a little girl playing. Wendy noted the young girl didn't say much and didn't stay around that long. Then, later, when we were all up standing on the patio, Wendy told me that she talked to a woman that presented herself as the governess of the mansion. This spirit woman offered no name but did go into detail about doors opening and closing and a bad energy about the place. According to Wendy, the spirit of the governess stated, "You are of the light, child. Your vibrations are too high for that which is here. It will not show itself to you, you are of the light." What was "it?" An angry spirit or some source of negative energy that this ghostly governess knew would upset or overwhelm Wendy? Wendy also saw a brief vision of Native Americans and the land being important to them. On that same note, I have often wondered if the negative energy or spirits connected to the spot Summerwind stood are possibly older than we all realize. Perhaps they date back to when the Native Americans inhabited the land, before early white settlers came.
I remember having a really good conversation with our friend Jesse. We were discussing old buildings and how it's a shame that so many are left abandoned; they end up falling down or are leveled. Until I had that talk with him, I never knew that he had an interest in that sort of thing. One of the other conversations I had was on my cellphone while standing on the back terrace. Unbelievably, I had signal there that day. My dad has a cabin up north, not quite that far but probably within an hour's drive from the ruins. I recall telling him that I would call once we got there. I stood there surrounded by the death and decay of a former mansion. Some viewed it as almost a living monster, some were enticed and some were even driven to madness by this very place. As I stood on the wreckage and talked to my dad about the fall colors, the damp cold, how peaceful it was, he started telling me about an old retro table he had found at an estate sale that he thought Tony would like. I look back on that and laugh now. How odd that conversation was, but at the same time, I learned that if you let the aura and enigma of Summerwind hold you by its powerful grasp, it will definitely get to you. The mind plays tricks and can make us see or feel what is not really there. Make no mistake: I am not saying that the land that once held Summerwind isn't haunted. I felt something there that rainy day in 2010, but I can't say for sure what it was. Then again, the paranormal is also the unexplained, so I learned to embrace the fact that I will probably never know what it truly was.
Even more odd than the phone call to my dad was the visitor we had that day. Tony and I have another friend named Jesse, and he was in search of the ruins that day as well, but for different reasons. He found out a few days before we left where we were going and called Tony immediately. He stated that he had a friend who had visited the old mansion ruins months ago and had taken a brick home from the foundation as a souvenir. Shortly after she arrived home with it, she started having bad luck. He didn't go into detail, but from what I remember him telling me, she gave the brick to him because he is a total skeptic when it comes to the paranormal. So he took the brick and thought nothing of it. Then he started having bad luck, like problems in a relationship, issues with where he lived and just feeling as if a black cloud was constantly over his head. He told his friend about it, and she said that was part of the lore attached to Summerwind Mansion. In the past, people have taken something like a brick from the site; when they got home with it, bad things begin to happen. She told him that he needed to take the brick back to its home. After learning that we were venturing that way, he suggested he meet us there. However, he didn't show up in a car; he showed up in his kayak. He decided to kayak all the way across West Bay Lake and then hoofed it up the tall hill, where he met us at the site. I took one look at him and shook my head, laughing. He then pulled out the "bad omen" from his backpack and held it out, asking me where he should put it. I told him that since he didn't know exactly where it came from, he should just throw it into the "bowel" of the ruins, which was the center and had originally been the basement. So, with a quick throw, the brick went tumbling into the abyss of ferns and weeds. That Pink Floyd song "Another Brick in the Wall" was playing in my head awhile after he tossed the souvenir away. Let this be a warning to all who think to visit the ruins: you might not want to take anything like Jesse's friend did if you are feeling a bit superstitious. I imagine that the old crumbling remains do not like being robbed and are fiercely protective over what is left of the old estate.
I want to end the retelling of my adventure to Summerwind with one last experience. First, I want to state that I never saw a spirit, was attacked or was even playfully shoved. That day at Summerwind, I felt something. I was near Wendy when she was exploring one of the old chimneys and felt a few light tugs on the back of my necklace. I actually had on a necklace that I was told had protective stones, and even though I am not a very superstitious person, I went ahead and put it around my neck before leaving that day. I wonder if it was the spirit of the little girl seeking out my attention or if it was an angry spirit telling me it was offended by my necklace. I have to admit, that day the chilly weather didn't get to me, but the restlessness of the Summerwind site turned my blood ice cold.
After a few hours of visiting, our time came to an end. I felt a sense of loneliness there — maybe pain or longing. Reflecting on my experience visiting the site, I am honestly split down the middle. On one hand, I felt excited and the rush of adrenaline because it was the deserted and creepy ruins that made the atmosphere spookier, which was perfect for legend-tripping. On the other hand, I truly felt sorry for the ruins. It almost appeared as though it was sad and forlorn, having to rot away year after year in utter isolation. It stands as a shell of what it once was, with no life except for the occasional wildlife, vandal, legend-tripper or paranormal investigator. There's no one there to care for the grounds, and it's all overgrown. It sort of reminded me of a lost kitten; it couldn't seem to find its place in this world now. Sometimes I wonder if Summerwind, be it mansion or ruins, took on a real human spirit. So many people state that they feel strong human emotions for it, and I can understand where they are coming from. In my opinion, that's the strongest hold that anything, living or dead, can possess.
CHAPTER 3THE MAN BEHIND THE HOUSE
Washington, D.C. February 27, 1929
Robert P. Lamont 30 Church Street New York City
I have concluded that it is necessary in national interest to draft you into the Cabinet. I understand through Mr. Shaw that this is agreeable to you and I have decided to present your name as Secretary of Commerce STCP. I wish to express my deep appreciation for your willingness to enter national service.
— Herbert Hoover
This letter was sent by Mr. Herbert Hoover to Mr. Robert P. Lamont via Western Union on February 27, 1929. How proud and excited Mr. Lamont had to have been to receive such wonderful news. He was stepping into the next chapter of his already accomplished life.
In 1916, Robert Patterson Lamont, who was later to become the secretary of commerce under President Herbert Hoover, was looking for the perfect location to build a summer retreat home for his family to escape to every year. Once his eyes beheld the West Bay Lake Resort, he was smitten. Perhaps this area had a strong hold on Lamont, as it has for dozens of others over the years. I don't blame him for falling in love with the area, for it was nestled on the shores of West Bay Lake, and he could only imagine his future summer home catching the smooth, cool breeze from the lake and the scenic, serene views from all angles. At the time, Mr. Lamont was working in Washington, D.C., and this home would be a perfect haven to escape his very stressful life.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Haunted Summerwind"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Devon Bell.
Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Foreword, by Adam Bauer,
"Summerwind," by Wolffgang Von Bober,
Acknowledgements,
Preface,
Introduction,
From Humble Beginnings,
Another Brick in the Wall,
The Man Behind the House,
The Birth of Summerwind,
Should I Stay or Should I Go?,
Love It or List It?,
Skeletons in the Closet,
Sympathy for the Devil,
You're My Obsession,
Dark Tales of Lilac Hills,
This Old House,
The Death of Summerwind,
Summerwind in the Media,
Rise from the Ashes,
Bibliography,
About the Author,