Kenton Ghost Hunt

I’m sure that everyone is aware of the multiple spellings of many surnames.  While researching the surname Langston I came across a gentleman named Langton, in the Oregonian newspaper out of Portland, Oregon dated Sunday, January 5, 1913. The title of the article sparked my curiosity and just to verify if this was another spelling of Langston I had to check it out.  I got excited thinking that Langton could be a ghost hunter. Turns out he saw a ghost and decided to change his direction of travel and went the other direction. It might not be the correct surname but it’s still an interesting article for this time of year. 

‘KENTON GHOST’ HUNTED

PHANTOM-LIKE VISITOR DIS-

TURBS PENINSULA.

Mysterious Creation Lurks Along

Patton Road by Night and Van-

ishes by day, Is Report. 

  The “Kenton ghost,” if there is one

in that section of the city, had better

take to the cemetery if he wants to

enjoy life, for last night W. M. Kil-

ingsworth, Percy Conger and Dalles

M. Simonsen inaugurated the first of

a series of “ghost hunts” in hopes that

they may catch it, or lay it.

  William Adams and Jack Langton,

of the Peninsula district, say they saw

a ghost, or a mysterious person.

Wednesday evening as they drove

along Patton Road near Lombard

Street. The “ghost” was seated on a

stump, and Adams, to make sure he

was there, spoke to “the ghost,”

who is a smooth personage, glided

away. Adams and Langton took the

opposite course.

  “The ghost” was seen by Thomas

O’Rourke, of Derby and Kilpatrick

streets, a week ago. Mr. O’Rourke de-

scribes it as six feet high, so thin that

his bones show through his skin, and

pale as whitewash.

  “I came along the other evening,”

said Mr. O’Rourke, “and right before

me, near a tree, was this peculiar ob-

ject. I would have spoken to it, but

didn’t care to get into an argument

so said nothing.

  “Just then he vanished. I didn’t have

a gun with me, but I spoke to Police-

man Dick Stewart, whom I met 13

blocks away, a minute later. Stewart

said that he’d get him, and hurried

off.”

  Mrs. W. A. Willis, wife of Secretary

Willis, of the Portland Cattle Loan

Company, who lives in Kenton, told

her husband that she had seen a tall,

fat man three months ago. His actions

were such that she now knows that he

was a ghost, and thinks perhaps the

Kenton ghost is the same one, starving.

  Neil O’Hare, proprietor of the Ken-

ton salon, when asked for information

said: “Divil a bit do I know about any

ghost. Men came to my place and tell

 me about things they have seen the

 night before and they are such a va-

riety of everything that seeing ghosts

is tame in comparison.”

  J. H. Nolta, a member of the Inter-

state Bridge Commission, is said to

have seen the ghost. Mr. Nolta told

a friend that he had seen a most pe-

culiar being in a shanty some time ago,

and he is not over sorry that he did

not investigate.

  People in Kenton, now keep their

doors tightly locked at night, and or-

ders are said to be issued calling for

the capture of the intruder, dead or

alive. To see a ghost is one thing,

but to capture a ghost is another; per-

haps that is why those who have seen

Kenton’s mysterious visitor have been

unable to bring about his capture.

Matrilineal Monday–Martha Colleen CLINTON

     Martha Colleen CLINTON is the next lady I would like to introduce you to. Colleen as she was often referred to was my maternal grandmother and she had a wonderful, fun filled, interesting and active life. She was born on 26 February 1922, in Matthews, New Madrid, Missouri; her parents were Edd CLINTON and Essie Mae STEWART. She had two sisters, Nellie Elizabeth CLINTON and Edra Mae CLINTON. There were four brothers in that house Kenneth Clair CLINTON, Ora Hilton CLINTON, Frank Stewart Clinton and Clarence Eldon CLINTON. She grew up on the farm and lived a simple life like most families did then.

     She married Fred Henry ELFRANK on 3 August 1940 while living in Missouri. They had two great kids, the oldest being Fred Leroy ELFRANK and the youngest Deborah Sue ELFRANK. The lived in Cape Girardeau, Missouri throughout the greater part of their marriage and raised both children while there. As you’ve noticed I'm speaking in past tense, we lost my grandmother on the 3 August 1995.

     Grandma was known as a very strong minded lady that had a point to prove and wouldn't stop till you either truly agreed or just agreed so you could move on. She had a knack with crafts and decorating that was passed on to my mom and me. I forget to mention the strong minded characteristics were also passed on to me. Thank you grandma!
     I know in the past post that I’ve done on Mater Women I’ve always gone to my mom or my dad for their input. I’m changing this up some only because I’m not sure if they are aware of how much of an impact she made with me. When I started this post I couldn't help but cry, I miss so much of my grandma. I wish so much she was here with us to see what a wonderful family I have and to get that stinging love pat we, the grand kids  always got when she was happy. It doesn't matter if we were sitting around playing card games or out back hitting the wiffle ball. Whenever she would give us a hug we would always get a strong loving pat on our legs or on our backs.
     Playing cards was always something we did with grandma. We would sit around this little breakfast bar style table and start dealing the deck, for games like spite and malice or even slap jack. My brothers and I had small hands and couldn't hold the cards so grandma let us lay them out on chairs next to us. The came couldn't start of course until we, the kids, had our soda and pretzels, while grandma would have her cigarettes, and a “Pabst Blue Ribbon,” her beer of choice. We would stay up for hour’s playing cards and no matter what we would never admit we were tired.
     I mentioned that my grandmother was very crafty and she taught me a few things. Needle point is one of the many crafts, I have two pillow cases one with kitty cats playing with a ball of yarn and another one with a princess. Funny thing is I don’t really remember making these with my grandma but I still have them and keep them close. I do however remember us making a trashcan together, strange I know but that was the coolest trashcan. She and grandpa grabbed a couple of those large, cylinder ice cream tubs from “Basket Robbins”, along with some Sears and JcPenny catalogs. We sat in her black and gold craft room and we would rip each page out of those catalogs. Then place a toothpick in one corner and roll to the other, attach a small piece of tape then lay in a pile. I don’t remember how many of those we rolled but we rolled a ton, we carried our rolls and ice cream containers to the kitchen table then began gluing each one on the outside all the way around the container. Then voila we had our new crafty trash cans ready to take home.
     It was always a treat watching grandma play wiffle ball with my brothers and I. Let’s just say, you had better use the restroom before you begin to play or you’re likely to have an accident from laughing so hard. She would grab that bat, step up to the plate, stick her butt out, do a full 360 spin with that bat, chant her batter- batter-swing; while all of this was going on she would shake her butt. You just had to see her; she was so serious about making us laugh.
     No matter how old you were or what you’ve done you could always count on grandma to love you. She might not agree with some of the choices you have made but you were always right there in her thoughts and heart.

I love you and miss you grandma……