This is part of a continuing series in which one person from each of the 50 states will be interviewed about their lives, community and state of the union.
Richard T. Crowe, the "Chicagoland Ghosthunter," has lived in Illinois all his life and feels the state, and nation's, most substantial problem is a lack of command over history.
"Indian burial mounds are destroyed so rural areas can be converted to housing," he said. "Neighborhoods are destroyed for yuppification, to make way for a quick buck."
In many historically significant places, such as the site of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, he said, no markers or brackets exist to mark the spot.
That's where his Chicago Supernatural Ghost Tours come in-the first of its kind, created in the 1970s when Crowe, now 58, was a college student at DePaul University assigned to create a tour of historically meaningful sites for a class.
His flair for storytelling and history is what makes the tours so special, he said. Whether or not his fellow travelers spot a specter is secondary to the lessons learned about sites which are often just empty lots now. Crowe's job is to resurrect the past. He doesn't dress in costume or employ any theatrical gags to make his point, but rather dazzles with folklore.
Are ghosts truly manifestations of those who once roamed the earth, or a subconscious desire in the minds of those who want to believe that life continues after death?
"The world is constantly changed by disasters, which bend and twist our destiny," said Crowe, who lives with his cat, Emily, and thousands of books.
One of the catastrophes that left a mark on Crowe's mind was the sinking of the excursion ship Eastland, which took place in 1915. 2,500 "blue collar types" were on board, and 835 who had been enjoying music, beer and sandwiches were crushed to death. The plaque for that disaster didn't go up, he said, until 1989.
In 1979, 273 people perished when Flight 191, headed to Los Angeles International Airport, "blew up in a fireball."
That hallowed ground is now a training ground for police dogs, Crowe said, and there's no plaque to mark the tragedy.
From his perspective, ghosts often leave an olfactory trace.
He said he can sometimes smell them.
"I've got a nose for ghosts," he said.
Captain Herman Schuenemann, who died in 1912 delivering a shipment of Christmas trees, is buried in Chicago's Acacia Cemetery.
"He would rather sail in a storm than disappoint people," said Crowe, who detected the scent of pine while visiting the grave of the captain's widow.
At the grave of a girl named Mary Alice Quinn, who died in 1935 after a sickly life and a vow to return and help those in need, Crowe picked up the scent of roses. Finding her grave would have otherwise been a "search for a needle in a haystack," he said.
Crowe, who is also an author and lecturer, grew up on the south side of Chicago in the "pre-Vatican II days when nuns and priests still talked about haunted churches." His grandmother, from Budapest, told stories about ghosts, gypsies and spirits which further piqued his interest in the paranormal. In college, he and his friends visited "cheap date locations," such as old cemeteries, where crumbling stones spelled the stories of lives long past.
While many are quick to nail down a version of the afterlife that suits the human desire for continued existence in a recognizable form, Crowe offers his customers no such panacea.
"There are so many possibilities in the universe," he said. "We just don't know how it works."
For three years, he was a seminary student planning to become a priest, and his Latin professor was the advisor for the film The Exorcist.
"I don't remember much Latin," Crowe admitted, "but I sure remember the stories he told about diabolical possessions."
While he grew up Catholic, Crowe said he came to feel that religion is best expressed through actions, not "by joining any particular church group." He felt the church was becoming a "social club," and losing touch with history.
"I'm an independent thinker," he said. "I love doing it my own way. I don't need the bureaucracy."
Crowe fears a dirty bomb going off in downtown Chicago.
"I don't think either party has a handle on the potential problems we're facing in this country," he said. "We have real concerns. It would be so easy to ruin the infrastructure here. If there was ever a real problem that created a need to evacuate, forget it. Rush hour traffic is bad enough."
Back during the World War II era, he said, volunteers banded together to help protect national security.
"Now, we're too well-fed," Crowe said. "We have a false sense of security. We've been invaded before, during the War of 1812, by paid agents of England. Many people are into the idea of freedom but not liberty. It's not just a handout."
We just don't know our history.
Source: http://www.northcountynews.com/view.asp ... ations.htm
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