I’m hesitant to use the word “haunted” because (to me) it conjures up synonyms like evil, wicked, possessed, cursed, and jinxed. Throughout all my discussions with locals, not one experience ever seemed evil. Mischievous is the term everyone refers to. Helpful or prankster could be other adjectives to describe.
Prior to my last article regarding paranormal activity along Boyertown’s Philadelphia Avenue corridor, I sat down and chatted with Christina Marshall, general manager of The Other Farm and The Ironstone, both located only a few doors from where the Rhoads Opera House existed.
The Ironstone, 120 E. Philadelphia Ave., is formerly known to us older locals as The Mansion House, then Durangos, and is situated next to the Colebrookdale Railroad tracks. It was originally known as the Wm. Penn Hotel. She and a few of her employees and co-workers shared stories of mischievous goings-on inside both establishments.
Doors opening, doors closing, lights dimming, turning on or turning off, banging on doors. Nothing evil, just something attempting to make its presence known to whoever happened to be there at the time.
Christina shared that she had been told of a spirit or spirits hanging around there, but really did not believe any of these stories until the night she was there alone. She heard the back door open, footsteps and kitchen utensils rattling as if someone was setting up for the next day. She discovered the room was dark and no one was there. On the way home after interviewing Christina, the first song that came on my car radio was “Ghost Riders in the Sky!”
Danette, one of the staff, shared with me how at night before closing, they organize and put the bar stools in line. There have been times when they come in for work the next day that the two front corner stools are pulled out as if two buddies were just hanging out there for the night.
And then there’s the door on the floor that leads to the basement (storage). Danette was standing on it, working, when knocking was heard and felt under her feet. Thinking another employee had been in the basement, they lifted the door to discover… absolutely nothing, no one! (While my husband, son, daughter-in-law and I were dining at the Ironstone a few weeks ago, that story was verified by the bartender, and shortly after that, the lights inside ever-so-slightly flickered.)
Factual: there was a tunnel that ran from the former Mansion House under the railroad tracks to the current Carmello’s Pizza. It’s been filled in and closed off, but the door leading to it can still be seen. In the basement, there are stairs that lead to nowhere. Factual: there is an actual railroad tanker car buried underground between The Other Farm and The Ironstone. Perhaps another story for another issue.
Bryant who works there and lives upstairs told me about the time a crew came in after midnight to attempt to record and film paranormal activity. They use an SLS camera which records stick figure-type images. Downstairs there is a huge mixer used for mixing their pizza dough. And there, sitting on top of the mixer was a full stick-figure image. Yes, he has that actual image on his phone! Other things such as the LED color changer or the TV input will just change for no apparent or logical reason.
In the far corner of The Other Farm is a door with a frosted glass window. At times Christina has noticed the light has been turned on behind that door and she can make out an image of someone just standing there. In fun, she occasionally places shiny pennies on the steps behind that door, and guess what, those pennies disappear.
Nothing evil, just mischievous! Do I believe in ghosts? Let it be known that I am not saying I do or I do not. I am merely reporting the facts and stories as told to me about the famous Philadelphia Avenue corridor.
Perhaps we’ll “stroll down Philadelphia Avenue” in the next issue. Stay tuned!
Column submitted by Sandra Moser of Boyertown who researched and wrote a four-part series on paranormal activities on the Philadelphia Avenue corridor in Boyertown related to the 1908 Rhoads Opera House fire, stories that she claims are factual, not made up for publicity.
Source: Berkshire mont
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