By By JOHN EBY / Niles Daily Star
Indiana Ghost Trackers' new Michiana Chapter converges on Vandalia Saturday, Dec. 20, to help save a deteriorating piece of Underground Railroad history, the Bonine mansion on the corner of M-60 and Calvin Center.
Director Wendy Wood said Friday that Ghost Trackers is looking to local communities for volunteers to assist in cleaning up the historic home as a first step to restoring this 19th century gem.
Volunteers are needed between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
For more information, contact them by e-mail at igtmichiana@gmail.com or leave a message at (574) 226-1455.
Indiana Ghost Trackers Inc. officially formed in July 2000 and is now a statewide non-profit organization.
"We go out to haunted places once or twice a month and do ghost hunts" using group-owned equipment to track anything unusual, take pictures, video, sound recordings (EVP) and see what we end up with," Wood said. "We invesigate homes and businesses free of charge. We have monthly meetings where we talk about local hauntings, look at video, photos and listen to recordings. We do historic landmark and cemetery restoration. We cover the state of Indiana" with more than 500 members in a dozen chapters, plus Chicago.
The Michiana Chapter, which first met in March with 44 present, reaches into southern Michigan. She said one member lives in Edwardsburg.
"Our goal," said Wood, who works for a hospital, "is to take the first steps to help restore this part of history. As part of the Indiana Ghost Trackers, we take a huge interest in both the history and the landmarks of our communities.
"We chose the Bonine Mansion for our project because it is in desperate need of some attention. We feel by volunteering and getting the communities involved that we can make a big difference in what the future brings for this landmark," she said.
Wood, whose mother's interest got her involved in Ghost Trackers, said several chapters focus on cemetery restoration, so they decided to emphasize historic landmarks.
"We're not all scary stuff," Wood said. "We want to give back to the community. We're not some weird underground group," just folks fascinated by the paranormal. She's not even sure whether Bonine Mansion is haunted, though she's heard that about Dowagiac's Olympia Books and Beckwith Theatre.