Dance The Night Away: Undead Emily

This is a different kind of story. There are ghosts and adventures, but it's not really my story. It's my son's. And that's why it's also got kids, and dancing, and when he tells it in the future, hopefully, a caring father who is proud of him.

The Lancaster hotel was just off Route 30, a pleasant little place with an Amish feel to it. I dropped my bag on the floor by the bed. Paul was on the phone with his friend, who was staying in the same hotel.

"I'm going to go find Emma," he announced.

There are like fifteen girls in his class named Emma. I'd pretty much considered them interchangeable, and begun referring to them that way. ("Paul's on the phone with an Emma.") I said,"Think I'll check for ghosts. Don't stray far."

"I won't," he assured me, and went off.

I was wearing my "paranormal investigator" sweatshirt and a green bandanna---Green is the color of Paul's dance studio. I dug in my pack and got out my travel pouch, a smaller version of the ghost-hunting bandolier. I slung it over my shoulder and walked out into the hallway.

When I'm staying somewhere, I always try to familiarize myself with the place. I also try to talk to locals if I can, and see what they can tell me. It doesn't always pay off---The week before, in Scranton, nobody knew nothing---But sometimes you find a prize.

OUr room was near the end of a long hallway that turned the corner into another long hallway, and led down to he lobby. I walked down, checking around with my EMF detector. When I got to the lobby, I poured myself a cup of free hotel coffee and looked around.

They'd tried to make it look as quaint and homey as they possibly could, playing up the Amish theme. It was Amish in the same way Star Trek conventions are in space, but it was a nice place. Two guys were on the desk, and I walked over.

One of the employees was white, and one was Asian. I leaned on the counter and said,"Okay, weird question. You guys know of any interesting haunted places around here? Ghost stories, old legends?"
Was a time I'd felt stupid saying things like that, but that was long in my past. I'd gotten used to it by now.

The white guy shook his head. "I don't really know any....Maybe down in Strasburg."

"Well, I haven't seen anything myself, but they say this place was built on top of a graveyard," said the Asian guy. "It was from the 1800s, I think."

"Really? Now, that's interesting," I said. Sometimes you hit pay dirt. "I'm going to look into that."

I topped off my coffee and wandered over to the little nook with the hotel computer in it. Usually you can trust a hungry wendigo more than you can trust a hotel computer, but I could get away with a little research. I searched up some old maps of Lancaster and found a good one from 1854. I looked it over---It can be tricky to work out where the current roads would have led on some of these old maps, but this one was easy enough. I found it---On the site of the hotel now, there was a small graveyard listed there back then.

My part in the dance competition had just gotten a lot more interesting.

I was sitting in the room reading a book when Paul walked back in from hanging around with the Emma. I said,"Been waiting up for you, kiddo. We should get some sleep now. Big day tomorrow."

I changed into my new Bigfoot pajamas and climbed into bed. Paul never had seen much difference between regular clothes and pajamas, and he just laid down in his sweatsuit, looking at his phone, on the other bed. He said,"Dad? Can we get me a soda tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Okay."

"Hey, kid, I found out something neat tonight. You want to hear it?"

"Sure."

"This hotel was built on top of an old graveyard."
"Oh. Cool. Did you check that out?"

"Yeah, it's on an old map. It's accurate."

"Cool."
"Get some sleep, little man. See you tomorrow."
"Okay."

"Love you."

"Love you, too."

Most of the time, when we stay in hotels, I'm the first one up. There are very few things that will wake up Paul and Michelle if they don't want to get up. I got a shower and got dressed, debated a moment, then pulled my travel bandolier back on, and walked down to the loby for breakfast.

The hotel had what is called a "continental breakfast." The word "continental" in this context means "probably not enough, but better than nothing." I got a bagel and some coffee, and sat down at one of the small tables.

I turned on my EMF detector and set it on the table while I ate my bagel. I saw it rise---Not a quick flicker, but a weird rise to red, hold for a moment, and then back again. I picked it up and moved it around a bit, held it up against the wall, looking for some reason for the activity.

Nothing came up. I couldn't replicate it. Then I looked over---There was a small refrigerator on the counter, in the corner, holding some milk and fruit. Nobody was near it. For no reason, I saw the door open a few inches, and then swing closed again.

I had some more coffee. Things were looking up.

"You got everything, buddy?" I asked as we walked into the big hotel.

"I have it under control, Dad," said Paul, and jetted off to the dressing room.

Studio policy is to have the dancers at the venue two hours before the dance. That way they can get into costume, do their makeup, and everything else. And it gave me time to walk around and look for ghosts or whatever.

I roamed the hotel a bit---Same hotel the competition had been in last year, when I'd looked into the Augusta Bitner grave. I found Tall Addie and her mom, Carrie, in the lobby.

"Hi, guys," I said. "How's it going?"

"Addie's having a rough day," said Carrie. "We accidentally hurt her ear getting her hair right."
"I'm still mad at you for that," said Addie.

"You're gonna do great, kiddo," I said. "Can I give you a hug?"

She smiled and hugged me. I said,"This will cheer you up. I found out last night that the hotel we're staying in is built on top of a graveyard. I'm checking it for ghosts."

Her eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yep. And the theater we're in next month, the Stanley in Utica, is said to be highly haunted. So I'm putting you guys to work. I need you to keep an eye open for ghosts, and I'll have my equipment with me the whole time."
She smiled and held up one thumb. I said,"Knew I could count on you."

"First things first....Start the scene in reverse...."

I stood in the back of the auditorium, watching the kids. Paul was up there dancing with Juliet, Tall Addie, Short Addie, Georgie, Lilly, Eloise, and all the others I can never remember. And they were a team. I loved that.

"If I could take us back....If I could just do that...."

I have my team. My son has his. The way I work with Ashlin, Chloe, Jay, and Lex, that's the way he works with these girls. I'd seen them together, and I loved watching how supportive they all were to each other. The way they all came together....I never got tired of seeing it.

I was in the hotel bar with some of the other dance dads when Michelle found me. She said,"Paul just won a scholarship."

"What?"

"And he wants to know if you can get his costume."
I left the beer and went backstage, where Paul was with his teachers and some of the kids, holding up a  certificate and grinning. I hugged him, and whispered,"I'm so proud of you, little man."

"He won it for showmanship on the stage," said Rachel, the owner of the dance studio. "We're all so proud of him."

"Me, too," I said. "I love you, buddy."

"Do you want a picture together?" Rachel asked.

"Yes."
I stood with my son, and we got a photo, holding his award.

I found Amanda, little Juliet's mom, in the lobby. She said,"Congratulations for Paul! We're all so happy for him!"

"I can't say enough how proud I am of him," I said. 

"This morning was a rough morning," she said. "Addie hurt her ear getting her hair together, Juliet forgot her shoes....Everyone was stressed....But now, everyone is happy and things are going well. Paul fixed everything."

"I'm going to the pool with Emma," announced Paul, gathering his towel and heading for the door.

"Allright, kiddo," I said. "Have fun. Think I might go check the hotel for ghosts again."

I put on my bandolier---The real one this time---And walked down the hotel, checking around with the EMF detector. I got a couple of flashes. There was a young woman working the desk when I reached the lobby.

"So," I said,"Working night shift?"
She nodded. "Yeah. It pays for college."

"What're you studying?"

"Graphic design."

"I work with a couple of graphic designers," I said. "My day job is in a small print shop."

"And your night job?..."

"Paranormal investigator."

She smiled. "And do you have one of those meter things?"

I held up the EMF detector. "Funny you should ask. My name is Lou."

"Emily."
"You ever encounter anything in here, Emily?"

"Occasionally weird things happen. Usually late at night. Things occasionally appear on the security cameras."

"I've found out the hotel was built on top of a graveyard."

"I'd heard that."

"I was able to verify it with some old maps. It's true."

"That's pretty cool.....Hey, look! There!"

I leaned over the counter. "What?"

"Do you see that, on the camera? There's a sort of misty shape by the pool. See it?"

I looked at the screen, and I could make out a moving, swirling sort of smoky shape in the room that I couldn't immediately identify. I said,"I see it. I'll be back."

Ans I turned and bolted down the hall.

The pool room was all the way on the other side of the hotel. I ran down the hall, turning the corner into the next hallway, and continued racing. Nobody was out in the hall, which made it easier. I slammed my way through the doors and into the pool room, waving around the EMF detector.

I didn't see the shape now---But the EMF detector went off. All the way to red for a moment, and then dropped back down to green.

As I stood and watched the detector, Paul looked up from the pool, where he was splashing around with the Emma. "Oh, hi, Dad," he said.

"Hi, buiddy," I said. "You having fun?"

"Mhmm. You find any ghosts?"

"I may have."

"You want to hang out and watch us swim?"

I sat down in a pool chair. "Yeah, kiddo. Yeah, I want to spend some time with you."

Dance The Night Away: Mister Electric Boo

This is a different kind of story. It's more Paul's story than mine. I'm with him doing the paranormal investigation, and I suppose parenting. But I wouldn't be there if it weren't for him, Paul and his dance class, supporting his little friends. 

"Can we go look for ghosts?"
I looked up at the kids. Paul and some of his little dance friends were standing there, during the fundraising Bingo game on the third floor of the Piper Museum. Lilly, Kendra, Tall Addie, Short Addie, Georgie, all wanting me to go and distract them.

Well, hell. It's better than Bingo.

"Let me bring my stuff," I said. I grabbed my small travel bag from my backpack and hung it over my shoulder. "Come on, let's go check out the west side of the building."
We walked across the hall and into the big meeting room. Lilly said,"What if we get caught in here?"

"Just play innocent. They can't be too uptight about it; they didn't even lock the door. Who wants to hold the EMF detector?"

Several hands went up. I handed it to Short Addie and said,"Everyone take turns."

They began taking readings with the detector. Kendra said,"Hey! There's candy on this desk over here!"

"Can we steal some?" asked Tall Addie.

"I should be a good example, but there's peanut butter cups. One each."

We ate someone else's candy. I said,"Wait until the competitions, guys. We're gonna be in Scranton, Lancaster, and Utica, and I've already got some of the good ghost stories researched out. In fact, the theater we'll be in up in Utica is said to be haunted."

"Can we help investigate?" asked Lilly.

"Of course you can," I said. "I'll bring extra equipment."

I watched the numbers tick down on my GPS, and said,"Coming up on the overpass, kiddo. That's the one just outside of Scranton where the Suscon Screamer is said to haunt. Oh, and there are Squonk sightings, too, so keep your eyes open."

"Bet that," said Paul, in the back of the jeep.

I'd bought the GPS from Chris, and programmed in the coordinates for the overpass. As we approached, I got out my camera and turned on the EMF detector. It showed nothing as we passed under the overpass, and I didn't see anything worth noting.

Michelle glanced over from the driver's seat. "How's it going?"

"Well, that was anticlimactic."

"That didn't look too hard."

"That's what she said. Of course, the Suscon Screamer may just be an urban legend anyway. There's still stuff to check out in Scranton. There's a UFO sighting near there, a UFO that was said to have crashed in Carbondale back in 1974. It landed in a pond, and people said they saw a green light for days afterward."

"How much longer until Scranton?" asked Paul.

"About ten minutes or so. We're almost there now, buddy. Did you know that Scranton had the first electric cable cars? That's why it's called the Electric City."
"Nope, didn't know that," said Paul, texting someone.

"So you guys will be dancing Mister Electric Blue in the Electric City."

"Cool. Can we stop at Dave's Hot Chicken?"

"Are you really a paranormal investigator?" asked the guy at the hotel desk.

I'd forgotten I was wearing the shirt that said that. "Funny you should ask. I really am."

"What's the scariest thing you've ever encountered?"

"That'd be my sister-in-law. You aware of any interesting ghost stories or old legends around here?"

He thought it over. "Not really. My stepsister thinks her dad is still haunting her."

I usually ask around a little, and try to talk to some locals. Sometimes it pays off, and sometimes it doesn't. This was looking like it was going to be that second one.

"Bigfoot, UFO sightings?"

"No, but we have a woman who works breakfast in the morning. She might know something."
"Okay, thanks." I carried the luggage up to the room.

Paul was practicing one of the dance routines in the bedroom. I said,"You make sure you get sleep tonight, little man. You're not on until Sunday, but we can go tomorrow and you can support your friends, if you like."

"Yeah," he said. "I want to."

I was standing at the breakfast counter, getting some more coffee. The woman working asked me,"Are you really a paranormal investigator?"

I was still wearing the same shirt from the night before. I said,"I am. Are you familiar with any interesting haunted places around here?"

"No, not really," she said. "I'm a spiritualist, but I don't know of anything too close."

Some days it be like that. I said,"Do you know of the Carbondale sighting? A UFO crashed into a pond in 1974?"

"No, I've never heard of that one. I'd believe it, though."

I walked outside and strolled around the hotel property. I walked past the Triple-A office next door, making a note to come back when it was open and check for maps. I walked down the hill to the Sam's Club parking lot, and checked around with the EMF detector. Nothing. The strip of forest land between the hotel and the highway was covered with litter, and therefore not likely to be any sort of a harbor for the local Bigfoot sightings. Scranton, so far, was turning out to be a bust, paranormal-wise.

I looked up the hill at the hotel, through the strip of trees. If I hiked up the hill, I could use it as a shortcut to get back. I walked up, and found a stone wall with a fence atop it blocking my way.

I stopped and calculated a bit. I could climb the wall easily enough. Then maybe I could make my way along the fence until it ended, and be back on hotel lawn in a moment. I grabbed a handhold and began climbing.

There were plenty of handholds, and I got to the top and found myself standing on a very thin strip of grass on top of a ten-foot drop. With branches and obstacles in the way. It occurred to me how easily this could go wrong, and how badly hurt I could be if it did.

I grabbed the fence and braced myself, and began carefully working my way along the top of the wall. I wouldn't have thought twice about all this when I was sixteen. Of course, I got injured a lot more often back then.

In a few minutes, I'd made it to the edge of the fence, and with some relief I stepped onto the safe grass. Already risked a serious injury once today, and it was just now ten AM.

I made my way back to the Triple-A office. They wound up light on local maps, though apparently if I wanted one of Ontario I could have my pick. I did find an interesting catalogue about Lackawanna County, and took that. I walked back to the hotel, sat down in the lobby area, and began paging through.

Now, this was worth it. Pages on Bigfoot and Squonks, haunted spots, UFOs. There was a full page on the Carbondale sighting. And I found a photo that looked awfully familiar.

I got out my cell phone and called my friend Dani. Dani is a performer who does acrobatics and stilts; I'd known her for thirteen years.

"Dani, it's Lou."

"Hey! How are you doing? How's your family?"

"We're all good! Paul is in a dance competition in Scranton. Butters is doing good; he needs a haircut." We'd gotten our dog from Dani. "Dani, have you ever performed up in Lackawanna County?"

"Quite a bit!"

"I think your photo appears in a local catalogue up here. You're wearing a fedora with feathers, holding up two hoops, and standing about four feet taller than everyone else."

"That would be me, alright."

"I'll send you a copy."
"Thanks! I keep a scrapbook."

Over the years I've met some interesting people.

I went back to the hotel and sat down on the stairs, taking a moment to text Chloe and let her know how thing were going. I barely text, but Chloe is one of my few exceptions. I'd gotten used to having her as my lifeline when I was away, and she was reporting back to the rest of the team.

I took the catalogue back to the hotel room. Paul was on the bed, watching his cell phone. He looked up at me. "Can we have Dave's Hot Chicken for lunch?"

"Maybe," I said,"Hey, little man, check this out."

I showed him the picture of the Squonk. He said,"Awwww."

We walked up to the Scranton High School together, the whole family. Until Paul saw the first friend of the afternoon, said."I'm good now, Dad," and peeled off.

"Well, we used to have a kid," I commented.

Michelle and I walked through the door, and there was a line going through security. They were scanning people with metal detectors. I swear, it's easier to get into the goddamned Pentagon than your average school. The security guard stopped me and said,"Do you have anything in your pockets, sir?"

I sighed. "I have a pocketknife."

"You can't bring that in here," he said. "You'll have to leave that in your car."

I held my hand out to Michelle. "Gimmie the keys. I'll meet you."

I walked back out to the car, dropped off my knife, and started walking back. Jason, the studio owner's husband, caught me and said,"Lou! If I bring the truck around, can you help me unload that window for the act and wheel it in?"

"Oh, sure, absolutely. I'll wait here for you."

Five minutes later, he was back with his big panel truck and we unloaded one of the set pieces. It was a big window on wheels; I'd helped paint it. I wheeled it into the door, where I encountered the same security guard.

"You didn't have that before," he commented.

"I figured," I said,"If I have anything else I shouldn't, I'll just throw it out the window."

To give him credit, he laughed pretty hard at that.

I rolled the window across the floor and turned it over to Miss Nikki, one of the teachers. I walked around the lobby for a while, and spotted Paul with a whole gaggle of his little teammates, gathered in their costumes.

Miss Rachel, the studio owner, joined me. "I'm glad you guys made it," she said. "The girls didn't want to get ready without Paul. They demanded to come out here and wait for him."

I smiled. "I love what a cohesive team they are. I have my team, and Paul has his. It's always nice to see what a great group they make."

With Paul secured and everything done for the moment, I walked around the lobby a while more. I wound up back near the door, and nodded at the security guard.

"You really a paranormal investigator?" he asked.

"I'm getting a lot of that this weekend," I said. "I really am. Lock Haven Paranormal Seekers, out in Clinton County."
"That's really cool, man. Have any good stories?"

"We just recently had a pretty active investigation at an abandoned funeral home."

"Cool."

"Been looking into the UFO crash landing in Carbondale. You happen to know anything about that?"

"Oh, sure, I worked the festival once," he said. "They have a big thing up there. There's one guy who says he caused it all, though---Threw a lantern into the pond as a teenager, and then just never said anything when everyone thought it was a UFO."
"I'd heard that," I said.

"I actually talked to the guy," he told me. "He sounded pretty convincing."

I knew how that went. I'd spoken to some people who have given me the real story on paranormal events over the years. I'd also seen how something simple, like a lantern thrown into a pond, could fly completely off the rails and become a huge legend.

"I suppose I can cross that one off my list," I said. "Every once in a while, I find something like that. I had a field day with Raystown Ray a couple of years ago."

I circulated some more, watching the kids. They were sitting by one wall, and they'd get up and practice for a while, three or four of them. They'd take some photos, and laugh together, and it wasn't the first time I'd thought of it....What an amazing team they'd all become. I had Jay, Lex, Chloe, and Ashlin. Paul had Team Edge and all the other dancers.

"He was a stranger....He walked in looking for danger...."

I stood backstage, watching Paul and his team dance. Mister Electric Blue. I was always amazed at how professional they looked, in their costumes, doing their thing on stage.

"And I said, oooh! Mister Electric Blue....I believe in you....."

I ended up in the audience, with Michelle, as they brought all the kids out to sit on the stage for the awards. The announcer came out and said,"Okay, before we start, we're going to need a couple of volunteers. We need some of the dads to come up here. We're going to have a dad dance-off."

The girls all called out. From the stage, Paul glanced at me.

I stood up.

"We have our first volunteer! Come on up! What dance studio do you represent?"

"Rachel's Dance Unlimited," I said.

Three other dads joined me on the stage. The music began to play. I haven't danced since I was seventeen. I wasn't all that good at it then, and being middle-aged hasn't helped that any. But I did a little of what I remembered, and incorporated a high kick, which I knew from karate.

The kids all cheered. Paul's friends were delighted. One of the other dads won the contest, but they gave me a pair of sunglasses for my kid.

I handed them to Paul. He grinned.

"You came in second, Dad!" he said. "Can we get Dave's Hot Chicken?"

Return To Fort Reed (2006-2026)

 Every now and again, Tif and I tried to have breakfast together, as if we were a normal family. I sat at the table and sipped my coffee.

"This month is twenty years since I started in local history," I commented.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was hired at the museum in March of 2006. They hired me based on my research into the Tiadaghton Declaration of Independence....I never really did wrap that up."

"Oh, god, Dad, you're not going to get into that again, are you?"

"Well, it's still out there."

"Every time. Every time this comes up, you start all over again. And out come the maps and the newspaper articles...."

"I might reopen this one. It's my anniversary. And the document is still out there."

"How do you figure you're going to get all the way to McElhattan?"

I smiled.

"I have partners."

"Are you guys familiar with the Tiadaghton Declaration of Independence?" I asked from the back of the car.

"Not yet," commented Jay.

It was raining. We were riding around in Jay's car---Jay and Lex up front, me in the back. We did this some nights, ride around and explore. Like that scene from Wayne's World, except with ghosts.

"The Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia is not the only one," I explained. "There were seven others signed within a two-year period, all in Pennsylvania. One of them was right here in Clinton County. On the same day, July fourth, 1776, a group called the Fair Play Men at Fort Horn met and signed this document. They took it to be sent to King George, but in a very Monty Python moment, they were told that one had already been sent. So they brought it back and buried it somewhere on or near the grounds of the fort."

"No kidding," commented Lex.

"It was buried in a metal box. It's never been found. The military brought a mine detector in 1949, and never did find the thing. Way back when I was first hired in local history, I was researching this. My theory....I think one of the signers had it buried with him. And I think we're heading to it."

"Which way?" asked Jay.

"Turn left."

She pulled down the snaky S-turn of Spook Hollow Road. I said,"The fort was up at this bend---There's a monument to it. I'll show you."

She pulled off at the bend, and we got out of the car. Lightning flashed in the sky. Jay said nervously,"Is it okay with our equipment out here?"

"You mean, will it hurt the equipment?"

"I mean, will we get hit with lightning?"

"Should be okay," said Lex.

"Yeah, it's not likely we get struck," I agreed. "We're not at any more risk here than we would be anyplace else."

We walked down the path, and the monument was there, just like I remembered it. Fort Horn. 1776.

"Here it is," I said. "This is where they signed a declaration of independence, almost two and half centuries ago."

"See, I'm just saying," I explained,"Your lease doesn't specifically state you can't have a pet Squonk."

"This is true," admitted Lex.

We sat in the parking area in Wayne Township, by the Susquehanna River. It was still pouring out, and we'd decided to wait a while until the rain slowed down a bit. 

"Twenty years ago, I was researching the Tiadaghton Declaration," I said. "I walked into the local historical society with a theory that one of the Fair Play Men had it buried with him. On the strength of that theory, they hired me as a curator. I didn't know just how much this was going to escalate into a career."

Jay grinned. "It really did, didn't it? Everyone who needs to know about Lock Haven comes to you."

"You did."

"I'm glad I did."

"Me too. Now, over the years I've learned a lot more about all this, but the document is still out there. It was said to be buried somewhere on the fort, but I've always thought it was possible that they later dug it up, and the last one had it buried with him. And that would be Robert Love, who is in Quiggle Cemetery just up the hill. Now, me actually digging it up would be the tiniest bit illegal, but it's enough for me to know it's there."

"How did you find the grave?" asked Jay.

"You can find any grave in the county with the genealogical society records. Speaking of, you guys still want to come to the genealogical society meeting on Tuesday?"

"I want to, but I have to work," said Jay.

"I'll be there," said Lex.

"It's in a haunted church, if that helps."

"So how do you find out if the metal box is buried there?" Jay asked.

"In all this time, I've never taken my metal detector and checked," I said. "It's been a possibility, but there's always other ghosts and mysteries getting in the way. You know how it goes. So that would be one method worth trying."

She grinned. "So that's why you brought the metal detector along tonight."

"That's why." I glanced out the window. "Looks like the rain's easing up. Want to do this?"

"Yes," said Jay. "Let's."

We got out of the car and started walking up the hill. The rain almost immediately started up again, but I figured we're paranormal investigators. Adventurers. We're tough; we can take a little rain.

"This is going to ruin my hair," said Jay.

"It's harder to look badass when you say stuff like that," I said.

We walked up and over the railroad tracks. We walked up the path, and there was Quiggle Cemetery.

"Robert Love," I said. "We want Robert Love."
The grave was one of the first rows when we got into the cemetery. I found the marker in about ten seconds. I turned on the metal detector and lowered it to the ground.

"The document was  buried in a metal box," I said. "Now, let's see if there's metal down----"

Beeep.

Lex and Jay lit up. I moved the detector around a bit more, getting a very consistent signal at the foot of the grave. I grinned at them.

"Looks like there's something," I said. "We'll have to look into this more this summer, during the 250th anniversary."

"Is there any way to get the actual shape of the thing underground?"

"Well, ground-penetrating radar. But I'll never be able to afford that. The cheapest ones start at fourteen thousand or so. I'll have to stick with my ninety-dollar detector."

"This is amazing," said Jay.

"You want to get back to the car?"

"Yeah."

I was waiting outside the haunted church when Lex arrived, walking down Water Street. I said,"Thanks for coming. You want to do a little trespassing before the meeting?"

"Of course I do."

I was glad to have some time with Lex. Out of all my teammates, she was the one that I'd so far spent the least one-on-one time with. I hung out with Ashlin and Chloe all the time, and I'd done some exploring with Jay. So it was nice to have some time with Lex, just the two of us.

She followed me across the alley to the museum---The same museum I used to work at. I opened the gate and said,"I haven't set foot on this property since 2012."

She followed me in, and we walked back to the pavilion that covered an archaeological dig. And it all came back to me.

"Wow," I said. "They've really let this place go to hell. These people don't know what the hell they're doing. They once hired a curator who unleashed a curse on the whole building."

"I'm going to go out on a limb here, and guess that was you," she said.

"The specifics aren't important."

Lex leaned over the fence. "Cool," she said.

The pavilion protected a stone foundation that was in a rectangular pit. The foundation was a couple of feet underneath where ground level would have been. One side of the pit was collapsing, and the fence around the whole thing was falling apart.

"We found this during a day camp dig in the summer of 2006," I said. "I did the research, and we figured out it may have been the foundation to Fort Reed. That was connected with Fort Horn; they were both along the Susquehanna Line, and some of the same people were at both. We did a whole dig, and found a lot of stuff. I remember going through a lot of the old documents and reporting to my boss every day."

It all was coming back to me, from twenty years ago---How I'd been the young new guy on the scene, instead of the authority I'd later grown into. And I looked at Lex, who is about the age I was then, and thought about all my teammates, and hoped I was encouraging them, helping them to become what they would one day be.

2006: In Anne's office, I explained my findings to her. She'd been in the phone, threatening to send me down to Northumberland County to check land grants.

"So I went into the Grafius Building---Yes, I trespassed, you can bitch me out for it later---And found that it was built in 1843. It's pretty safe to say William Reed didn't built it, as he died in 1808."

"Wait....You entered the Grafius House?"

"It's all offices now. I went in the front hall. I'm part Irish. Nobody told me to go away; that's what we consider an invitation."

"What else have you found?"

"The DAR put the monument up in 1899. They have the date wrong; they claim it's 1775 when it was actually 1777. I'd like to look into that, and find out what their thought process was when they established that. I want to see what documentation they had."

"Okay," said Anne. "Because if we can document this as Fort Reed, the Channel Sixteen guy said he'd come back with a news crew and give us a story."

"You mind if I leave early?....I want to run to the library, and see what I can dig up there."

"Go."

I walked with Lex around the other side of the dig. I was somewhat cheered to see that the sign we'd designed was still in place, showing the process of the dig.

"What if you went further?" asked Lex. "Keep digging along the foundation going that way?"

"We decided  not to do that," I said. "We could only go just so far. Besides, that's an actual outhouse. When they built it, they would have cut through the foundation on that side."
"Wow. An outhouse from the old days?"

"I climbed down the pit on a ladder once."

"Why would you---"

"Wanted to see how far it went down, and if I could find signs of the foundation from that side. We spent a whole summer working on this dig. Found a lot of artifacts. One of them was a lid to a teapot belonging to Jennie Reed."

"Jennie Reed lived here....?"

"Jennie Reed was the closest thing Clinton County ever had to a Disney Princess. She was about Chloe's age when her father built Fort Reed, and she lived on the frontier. She negotiated with the Native Americans and gave them milk and butter. When the Great Runaway happened in 1778, and everyone left the valley to avoid an attack, she buried her clay teapot and dug it up later. We found a lid that we could identify as probably hers."
"That's so cool."

"Now that I think about it...."

Lex watched me expectantly, "Yes?"
"The Tiadaghton Declaration. I always had a little trouble working out the timeline on this one. They signed it and took it to Philadelphia, but then brought it back. It's pretty well documented that it was buried, but the question would have been when they dug it back up. It never made any sense to bury it and then just dig it up again. But if they did it during the Great Runaway....."

"It makes sense, doesn't it?"

"It does. They buried it when they returned to Fort Horn, but dug it up either just before or just after the Great Runaway. And then one of them, probably Robert Love, had it buried with him. Where we may have found it the other night."

Lex grinned. "I can't believe all this is within walking distance of my place. I never knew any of this until I met you."

"I've always said that this stuff is in every community. But the thing Lock Haven has that other places don't is me, discovering and promoting this stuff." I looked at my watch. "Ready for the meeting?"

"I love this city," Lex said as I walked her home.

"I always have," I agreed. I looked out at the street lights along Main Street. "I give tours, I write about it....This is my place. I belong here."

"And you've been at it twenty years now."

"Twenty years since I started in local history. I got hired at the museum in 2006, joined LHPS when it was created in 2007, started writing for the newspapers in 2008. I was already researching the forts when I got hired; they hired me based on my research. Back in the beginning, I was also working on the Underground Railroad, the ghost in my house, and the Colebrook Cairns."

"I assume we'll be getting to all these adventures sometime."

"We will. There's always more adventures out there."

We stopped in front of her place. Lex said,"Thanks for giving me something to do while Jay was out. I'll be back for the next meeting."
I smiled.

"Thanks for coming, Lex. Have a nice night."