Every small town has its share of local characters. One of these
"characters" who is well-known in my family is Guy White, who lived
next door to the Tumble Inn.
"Guy White nice to everyone" P.V. Sheridan: Guy White was the next door neighbor of my mom and dad. He was an
ex-professional baseball player, real estate man, handy-man, carpenter,
fisherman, trapper, and honestly, a ne’er do well. Guy White was anything but
scary. Guy White was kind to all kids; all the kids liked him; he always had
something to give them; he had one of the first TV’s up at the lakes; he loved
baseball; and yours truly, from the time I was about five years old to the time
I was about twelve years, old every Saturday, watched the baseball game with Guy
(after his wife, Fern, died). He knew all the local lore. He always sat in the
front of his house in an overstuffed chair reading the paper.
Guy White
sitting in front of his house.
P.V.:
And every time you
would go by his house, he would be there reading the paper with the light on and
his TV on in the background. I would suspect his spirit hasn’t left that chair
in the front room, to be quite honest with you. And I suspect that if you would
run into him today in that chair in the front room, he’d ask "P.V."
if he "wanted to watch the Yankees and the White Sox."
"Guy White still sits in chair" Bob Sheridan: I know you’ve heard the true story about old Guy White. Everyone who went
to the lakes knew Guy White; he was the nicest man in the world. He never went
to bed; he always slept sitting up in the chair near the window. And then he
died; he was ninety-something when he died. People who even didn’t know him to
this day would say that in the evening on the way to the grocery store, they’d
see a man sitting in that chair, sleeping. That’s true. Your Aunt Meng and
Uncle Danny saw Guy sitting by the window. But when they told us, we laughed,
and they got mad at us. They were serious.
Guy White's house today. It is
located next door to the Tumble Inn.
"Guy White sits in upstairs Meng Sheridan: Yes, I saw Guy White sitting in the window --this is before I had heard all
of the stories. However, I saw him sitting in the upstairs window--and remember,
I had been drinking a few alcoholic beverages right before this time. That
might explain why he was upstairs, eh?
"Charlie Koon predicts own death" P.V.: A little "ghost story" from my past. Charlie Koon, brother of
legendary trapper and bait seller Eddie Koon, was a notorious drunk and
basically a very mean person. Every night in my early childhood he would walk by
the Tumble Inn but the recommendation was to stay away from him! However that
warning only made him more appealing.
Anyway, one summer night a long time ago, Charlie warned me that if I ever saw
the "old Potawatomi chiefs watering their horses in Barbee Lake something
bad was bound to happen." After that night a funny thing happened! I never
saw Charlie again and despite my constant questioning no grown-up would ever
give me an answer.
Later I found out that the very night I talked to Charlie he was found
hanging from an oak tree...dead! Did he see the old chiefs that night? However,
the story goes that on nights when the "moon is full" and has a ring
around it you might see Charlie swaying from that old oak tree on Barbee Lane.
The tree still exists to this day and I can point it out to you, but I have
never tested the tale...too afraid!
Can Charlie still be seen hanging from
the oak tree?
"Charlie Stoover
hangs self from oak tree" Betty Sheridan: It was Charlie Stoover who hung himself from the tree down on Barbee Lane.
Charlie Stoover was Mr. Stoover (that owned the grocery)’s brother. He was an
alcoholic. And that was a true story.
