Hollywood couldn’t have scripted it any better

We get around our town so much after a while we become immune to what’s around us. Just trekking through town onto the next chore or activity it’s easy not to be mindful of our town’s great history.

On a bright autumn morning a few weeks ago Ann Hellman who resides in the borough at 9th and Mill was kind enough to show me around her home and let me in on the great history of the family property that at one point she claims played host to an uninvited guest and possibly former owner. The now Hellman home in the family name since May of 1977 dates back to circa 1800.

Its first owners, The Hager family did what many families do when aging relatives pass or move on and sold the home to Alverta and Harriet Nicholas. An exquisite and detailed diary kept by one of the Nicholas sisters shows their being in the home in the 30’s to the early 70’s when the aging sisters moved onto quarters where they could be cared for. At this point in time the Nicholas sisters having no children placed their home in the care of an extended family member. For many years Ann relates the story of growing up in the neighborhood noticing the home’s haunting demeanor. Many kids would purposely cross the street away from the home given its eerie tone. Count Ann as a child in that crowd, never expecting at some point that she and her family would own and live there.

The mid 70’s while the house lay vacant it fell into great disrepair. Overgrown foliage, boarded up windows, tattered and fallen down shutters all made this already haunted looking house now appear so genuine it should have been the backdrop to a Hitchcock thriller. Some time after November of 1974 when the Quakertown borough council declared the property an ‘eyesore’ it was sold at public auction to Roland Reith. Reith’s benevolence to buy the home may have saved it from demolition. Reith, a local painter was figuring the property would give his crew work to do in the winter months and act as an investment property for resale. That resale came in May of 1977 when The Hellman’s made settlement on the former Nicholas and Hager home.

Today, nearly 30 years later the home is far from the ‘eyesore’ it once was. It’s important to note here that Ann explained to me that just at or after settlement on their new home one of the Nicholas sisters had passed away. After a night of a false scare everyone started to get used to the house, now their home, and were settling in nicely.

Here’s Ann’s account describing one significant night early in their residency of the property. Ann says everyone was fast asleep when all of a sudden she sat straight up in her bed, certain she was awake Ann explains she saw the figure of a women in a dark brown or black dress adorned with pink flowers hovering bedside. Confused but not afraid, Ann laid back down and a moment later looked to see if the apparition had moved on. It did and to the best of anyone’s knowledge at the Hellman home, this was a one show only appearance. There haven’t been repeat performances. The story doesn’t end here. A few weeks after this sighting rummaging through the attic Ann takes note of an old diary extremely detailing each day in 1934. It was written by one of the Nicholas sisters. Reading like a great history book, Ann poured over the diary of the now deceased Nicholas sisters when all of a sudden a particular day’s entry jumped at her. There’s an entry about a day of dress making. This particular day, the making of a dark brown dress with pink flowers. That’s too close for comfort for this columnist to call a coincidence. You decide for yourself as Ann has that one of the Nicholas sisters was just checking in one last time to see their former home of many years being dutifully cared for by its new residents, The Hellman’s. Paging through the days as Ann explained you can’t help but think how lucky most of us are that didn’t have to suffer through the great depression.

Going back further in time, across town along Main Street is a structure we all pass but probably don’t give much thought. McCoole’s Red Lion Inn dates back to Mr. McCoole who first opened the doors to the place circa 1750. Since then it’s got plenty of history to report all of which you can investigate over a meal and drinks at the Inn which is open daily. Jan Hench has owned the landmark structure since 2002. Jan explained to me that there were several owners prior to her taking over the place most notable to mention is the Donzi family. Lots of changes, significant renovations and a beautiful décor await patrons today as they visit the Red Lion Inn. Jan tells me the bar used to be where the entertainment area now sits just off the dining room. Jan knows the former proprietor and resident Donzi family. Jan explained that one of the Donzi clan used to see shadows on bathroom mirrors in their residence quarters atop the restaurant. In the basement near a crawl space is what once was a tunnel for slaves moving south to north along the underground railroad. Tom Donzi quipped according to Jan that he was told those who ‘didn’t make it’ are buried within the tunnel. That must put your mind at ease as you go downstairs to retrieve something. Leave the light on, in fact don’t turn it off, ever. Jan told met the Donzi children weren’t ones to enjoy heading into the cellar, can’t say I blame them.

Finally Jan explained that one patron in using the back bathroom off the bar explained one night about the lights going out in the bathroom and in that room only. Shadows and trouble with the lock in the bathroom further detail this patron’s account.

So with Halloween fast approaching you may not have been so aware that our Quakertown has such a rich history which apparently has at least a few times come to life. Whether you believe or not is your choice, the stories are priceless and fascinating. Besides the mysterious and spooky details learning about the many different places in town that have a rich history is a good thing. If we forget our past we’ll all be no good for the present or future. And it appears that once in the while when we forget about the past, we all might wind up knowing someone whose gotten a reminder.

See ‘ya around town, Happy Halloween!