Timothy Freiss - Haunted Green Bay

Published by The History Press
Charleston, SC 29403
www.historypress.net

Copyright 2010 by Tim Freiss
All rights reserved

First published 2010
e-book edition 2011

ISBN 978.1.61423.008.3

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Freiss, Tim.
Haunted Green Bay / Tim Freiss.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ).
print edition: ISBN 978-1-59629-985-6
1. Ghosts--Wisconsin--Green Bay. 2. Haunted places--Wisconsin--Green Bay. I. Title.
BF1472.U6F76 2010
133.10975561--dc22
2010033588

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

I would like to dedicate this book to my wife, Cherri, and to my childrenTrevor, McKenna and Evanwho stuck by me through the continuous days and months to get this completed and who gave up their whole summer to let me pursue this adventure. To my daughter, Meredith, whom I wish lived closer and could see more often.
To my parents, Mae and Ken, whom I miss every day.

Heidi Gazza
Dale Johnson
Vickie Patterson
Gail Ives
On Broadway, Inc.
Neville Public Museum
University of WisconsinGreen Bay
White Pillars Historical Society
Brown County Public Library
McKenna Freiss

I n being an honorary part-time member of the SOS (Shadows of Spirits) paranormal investigation team of Green Bay, I am fortunate to have been invited along at times to help the team investigate some pretty cool and historical places. It was during one of these investigations I would have my very first personal paranormal experience. It involved an old 1800s jail located in the neighboring town of Kewaunee, just thirty minutes north of Green Bay. Kewaunee is surrounded by the blue water shores of Lake Michigan and is a hot spot both for tourism and commercial fishermen. It seems that Kewaunee is also a hot spot for ghosts. Many of the buildings in this area have had reports of paranormal activity. The one that I know for sure as being haunted is currently being used as a historical museum but at one time was a jail. My experience happened when I was investigating one of six jail cells. The cell was being used as a display room for tools that were used in the 1800s.

Since I dont have any investigative tools of my own other than a really cheap EMF (electric magnetic field) detector, which I didnt have with me that night, I was given a Maglite miniflashlightthe kind that you turn the handle to operate. These flashlights are often used by paranormal investigators as tools to communicate with a spirit or spirits. How it works is you ask the spirit to either turn on or off the flashlight in response to yes or no questions. I placed the flashlight down on a display table with it in the off position and began to ask questions to the spirit. The first question I asked was if anyone was with me in the cell. Slowly, but surely, the flashlight began to flicker and then turned on to a solid beam of light. At the same time that this was happening, my head started hurting and I felt a weak feeling coming over me, like my energy was being taken. The feeling subsided and I continued asking questions. Each time my questions were answered, the flashlight turned on and off, while at the same time I would receive the same headache and feeling of weakness. By the end of the investigation it was determined the spirit was a small boy around the age of five. He was possibly connected to the Indian burial ground that was in this area before the jail was built. After the investigation was complete, the historian who let us in the museum that night told us a story of an Indian childs skull and bones that were found when excavating the dirt for the basement of the building. The story reports that the construction workers who unearthed the remains were found kicking and passing the skull back and forth among each another. The bones were then gathered, put in a box and reburied in an unmarked grave somewhere on the property.

Along with many other varied interests, I have also always been a big fan of a good ghost story. My fascination with the paranormal has always been with me since I was a child. But my quest for answers for the unexplained started just eighteen years ago on February 19, 1992. It involved my oldest daughter Meredith and my father who died of cancer.

My father and daughter were very close. They spent many summer evenings together on the back porch talking and also watching old movies on the television while eating their favorite snack, popcorn. She loved her Papa and the feeling was mutual. During the time that my father was bedridden and dying, he would always state how bad he felt that he was unable to spend the time with my daughter like he had done prior to his sickness. He often said to me, Tell Meredith that I love her and that, when the time comes, Grandpa said good-bye. On the night that he died, he was finally able to deliver the message himself. The night of his death, my daughterwho was four years old at the timecame out of her bedroom saying that Papa was there as a bluish-white light. She stated that he told her he loved her and told her good-bye just as he had wanted. Now my father was never heard from in that way again, but I know sometimes I can still feel his spirit with us. So whether you are a true believer or not, one thing is for surethe love of our family carries on even after death.

T he first European explorer who was credited with discovering this great state of Wisconsin was a French man named Jean Nicolet from Quebec, Canada. In 1634, he landed on the shores of Red Banks, which is located on the northern outskirts of modern-day Green Bay. Nicolet was known for always dressing in bright-colored clothing and carrying two pistols with the intent to gain respect from the Indian tribes he would sometimes encounter on his travels.

Nicolet did gain the respect and friendship of the Winnebago tribe that was native to this area. The Winnebagos helped Nicolet in the exploration of the land and Fox River. He would travel the Fox River until it began to widen, which convinced him he had found a passage to the South Sea that led to China. Nicolet returned to Quebec, Canada, to inform the people of his amazing discovery. Of course, it wasnt the South Sea that Nicolet had discovered, but if only he would have traveled just a little bit farther he would have been credited for finding the upper Mississippi as well. Nicolet died by drowning in 1642 on the Sillary River.

One little-known fact about the state of Wisconsin is that it is considered the most haunted state in the nation, and Green Bay certainly has its fair share of spirits that want to stick around. Green Bay is often referred to as a big city with a small-town feel. It is the third-largest city in Wisconsin, right after Milwaukee and our state capital, Madison. When you visit Green Bay, you will notice there are no huge skyscrapers that cut the skyline or a Starbucks on every corner but rather a community that is friendly, generous and one with hometown pride. It is also a town that is steeped in tradition and, of course, football. Green Bay is often called by its nickname, Titletown. This nickname was acquired by the number of Super Bowl titles that the Packers earned. Green Bay has a population of 102,313 and is growing, both in the living and the dead.