Halloween tradition: Ghost tour brings Canal Winchester’s past to life
Thanks to a longstanding Halloween tradition, Grey Lynsky knows a little bit more about the Canal Wigwam, a restaurant and gathering place in downtown Canal Winchester.
“I just thought it popped up one day, but it has a long history,” said the Canal Winchester High School sophomore, who will portray one of the business’s founders, David E. Alspaugh, who opened the combination restaurant and bakery in 1899 with his brother-in-law, H.E. Floor.
The Canal Winchester Historical Society again is partnering with members of high school’s after-school drama club to bring the city’s historical figures to life during the 16th annual Haunted History Walking Ghost Tour on Oct. 21-22.
“He sounded like a very colorful man and a great family man,” Lynsky said of Alspaugh.
Last year, Lynsky played the part of Jeff Hockman at the Hockman Mill.
He and more than a dozen other drama club students are performing at tour stops and places in between, according to Abbey Phillips, the school’s drama director.
The one-mile tour last approximately 90 minutes and begin at 7 p.m. both days, with a new tour departing every 15 minutes from the historical complex at 10 W. Oak St.
Tickets can be purchased at the Queen of the Line Train Depot beginning at 6:30 p.m. with the last tour departing at 7:30 p.m. Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for students age 6-18. There is no charge for children younger than 5. Proceeds benefit the historical society and drama club.
Tickets must be purchased in advance for a bus tour, which has limited seating, on Oct. 21.
More information is available at visit cwhistory.org.
A new stop on the tour is the Caslow Pharmacy, where CWHS senior Olivia Hunley will portray one of the Caslow sisters, Mary. The drug store was opened by R.C. Caslow in the late 1800s and closed in 1942.
“I found out that she and her sister were very close, and they ended up living together for a time,” Hunley said. “Me and my partner, Amie Roth, we are portraying the Caslow sisters, Mary and Virginia Caslow.”
Students have been rehearsing weekly for the tours and also helped with research about their characters.
In between stops on the tour, students will use improv to bring imaginary characters to life.
One student is playing a runaway bride at Hope United Methodist Church, Phillips said.
"I really like standing up in front of people and performing and bringing a smile to someone's face," Lynsky said.
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Halloween tradition: Ghost Tour brings Canal Winchester’s past to life
