The woman in the picture is obviously not a current resident. However, she has occupied the house longer than anyone else. In case you haven’t guessed, Emma is our beloved ghost. I am not sure what keeps her tied to Frederick Place. Perhaps she is keeping an eye on her house. We will never know for sure unless she starts talking instead of making her presence known in small ways and pranking us. So, in keeping with the Halloween spirit, I decided to share what I wrote about Emma in 2018 - in addition to a significant encounter one of our residents had not so long ago.
One morning Tony stopped in to do his morning check-in and shared an odd experience he had in the middle of the night. He claimed to have seen a woman’s image plain as day. He felt a little crazy for sharing this but when he was shown a picture of Emma, all the blood drained out of his face. Tony then confirmed that was who he saw in the dorm. That night Tony asked me if anyone else had an experience like his. I confirmed they had as I smiled and started sharing a few of the Emma encounters you're about to read. Most notably was the experience of a former resident who slept in the bed Tony was currently occupying. This man shared that he was lying in bed reading when he felt and saw the mattress move as if someone was sitting on the edge of his bed. He reported he was not at all frightened by this occurrence just as Tony was not. I reassured Tony, just as I did this man, that he did not need to be frightened by our Emma.
The personal experiences of staff and residents are not the types of events you would see in a horror flick. They range from subtle events one isn’t sure really happened, to events that have no explanation other than otherworldly involvement. I suspect some of you will be skeptical just as many of us have been and still are. It doesn’t matter to Emma if you believe in her or not. If she’s here, she’s here, and lack of belief doesn’t change her world. I should let you know that I am one who does believe Emma is real. I have had too many of my own experiences, and it is next to impossible for me to pretend she isn’t here, right now, looking over my shoulder as I type…..
Neither Tammy, Becca or I can remember how or when we found out about Emma. All we knew was that she died in the house and her name was Emma. I had my first encounter in 2012 in the kitchen around 3 am. Now nobody had been in the kitchen for well over an hour so imagine my surprise when I was greeted by three coffee mugs on the wooden mug tree swinging back and forth at distinctly different speeds. I stared at the swinging mugs for quite awhile. There was not one thing I could contribute to this movement so I found myself saying, “Ok, Emma, you can quit. I believe in you.” As soon as I said that, the mugs quit swinging as quickly as they had started. I found this odd, but it did not scare me. After the mug incident not a whole lot happened for a while. There were minor oddities we all noticed such as the radio in the office turning on all by itself, lights we knew we had shut off were turned on, and a weird knocking noise in the office that could not be attributed to anything structural. The next big event that we were aware of was the experience of the former resident I described in the first paragraph. I fully believe others have witnessed things they could not explain but kept quiet so as not to appear crazy.
Emma became real to us on the day her grandkids stopped by and gave us a picture of her. Knowing what she looked like made her more real and I happily shared stories of Emma encounters with the residents. I think Emma was pleased her grandkids visited because she became more and more active…..especially in the basement. The basement seems to creep everyone out besides me. To be fair to my “Fred Family”, the basement is quite creepy. If one lets their imagination run wild, one could conjure up all sorts of horror inducing scenarios. I rather like putzing in the basement, so I find myself working down there a lot after all are in bed at 11 pm. Countless times I have heard my name spoken and came upstairs to find...nobody. One night I went up and down six times, because I was sure I’d heard my name. Another frequent occurrence is the sudden smell of fresh cigarette smoke. Somewhere in my memory bank is the notion that Emma was a smoker. There have been numerous times I’ve been working away and suddenly it smells like someone is right next to me smoking away. When that happens I just tell Emma hello and keep working.
After quite a long stretch with no major events, Emma made her presence known with a vengeance. One morning after I had been home a bit, I received an “I’m freaking out text” from Jamie. After I left, she found herself drawn to the camera monitors in the office closet. While she was looking at them she saw one curtain, and only one, being pulled open like one would do if waiting for a ride. The next major paranormal event involved a resident who had been here once before and was well acquainted with the legend of Emma. When Dan arrived he had his own pillow which he loved. Well, one day his pillow was missing, and he enlisted Becca’s help in finding it. The two of them tore the dorm apart but it was nowhere to be found so Becca suggested that Dan ask for Emma’s help; which he did. The next day Dan’s prized pillow was sitting on his bed. It could be that another resident was just messing with Dan, or it could have been Emma. By far, the most disquieting occurrence happened to Jamie right before Christmas. As she walked through the Gathering Room she looked towards the window and saw a female silhouette sitting on the couch. That incident got to me more than anything else that I’ve witnessed. I am now incapable of walking through that room in the dark without looking towards the window. I have yet to see Emma, and I’m honestly not sure what I would do if I did.
Now that you know our secret I bet many of you are wondering who the heck Emma is/was. The easiest way to introduce you to this amazing lady is by sharing archived articles I discovered online. I italicized these sections and left the author’s words as they were originally printed. Some word choices are definitely not politically correct.
Julius F. Lassig, proprietor of Evergreen Hedge Farm in the town of Pelican, Oneida County, was born in Germany, February 28, 1862. Julius received his education in Germany and was engaged in market gardening there until 1881, when he came to the United States. He came to Oneida County in the summer of 1887. Here he first located in Rhinelander, where he helped to erect Oneida County’s first courthouse. In the summer of 1888 he took a homestead of 160 acres in the town of Pelican, and he set to work to carve a farm out of the wilderness, erecting a set of log buildings and proceeding to clear the land. The task was a formidable one, before which any but the stoutest of hearts would quail: Mr. Lassig, however, was of the stuff of the true pioneer, with the high courage and fortitude which marked that hardy race of men who built up the Northwest, and he was undaunted by the hardships which beset his path. Gradually the trees fell away before his axe and new buildings arose; he bought an adjoining 80-acre tract of land, bringing the total acreage of his farm to 240. Eighty acres of his land were cleared, and in 1920 he erected a new barn. He is carrying on general dairy farming, and truck gardening, and makes a specialty of raising strawberry plants, which he sells throughout the state. Mr. Lassig supplied logging camps with fresh produce and eventually dairy. Mr. Lassig donated land and built Ferndale School next to his farm so the children did not have to walk five miles for an education. He was an acquaintance of the prankster credited with creating the myth of the Hodag, Gene Shepherd. Mr. Lassig was married at Rhinelander on January 18, 1893 to Miss Mary Scheidegger. Mrs. Lassig’s parents were natives of Switzerland and her mother died in that country; the father came to America in the early 80’s and after living for a time in Ohio, went to Indiana, from which state he came to Wisconsin and settled in the town of Pelican, Oneida County, spending the remainder of his life here. Mary was an extremely hardworking woman and helped homestead the rough country. Fifteen children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Lassig, namely: Mary, Anna, Frieda, Helen, Beatrice, Emma, Carl, Herman, Everett, Harry, Gladys, Theodore, George, Erwin and Elaine (1924 by H.C. Cooper Jr. & Company, Minneapolis-Winona, Minnesota)
Emma Lassig married Charles DeCanter of Rhinelander and they had eight children; one son and seven daughters. Tragically one of their daughters died in an accidental drowning six months before her second birthday. Charles was in the Bayfield Sanitarium (presumably for tuberculosis) for four years prior to his death in 1942. Emma is not mentioned in his obituary at all. I could not find a definitive reason for this.
This remarkable woman raised their brood children while still managing to receive a college degree. Emma purchased the house which is now Frederick Place in 1956 and remained in it until her death on July1, 1976.
Mrs. Emma Lassig DeCanter was awarded a bachelor of science degree from Stout Institute on August 1, 1947. She has accepted a position as dietician and food supervisor at Principia College. It took Mrs. DeCanter 8 years to obtain her degree. She had attended State Teacher’s College before her marriage. This enabled her to teach rural education at Ferndale School. This was not enough for this ambitious mother of seven children-who later had to earn her own livelihood. She returned to Stevens Point College. Meanwhile, when working in the tea room at the Country Club here, someone suggested she attend Stout Institute. She did. She started at Stout in 1945 and last year served as house mother at one of the dormitories. Besides her seven children, Mrs. DeCanter has four grandchildren.
Mrs. Emma DeCanter, 78, of 204 West Frederick St., who spent most of her life as a teacher, died in her home Friday Evening. Born in 1898 in the town of Pelican, she was raised there. Surviving are her six daughters, one son, six sisters, five brothers, 17 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She graduated from Oneida County Normal School and Stout University. She taught classes for the mentally retarded in Rhinelander and did volunteer work at the Jolly Fisherman.She also did volunteer work at the Logging Museum and traveled extensively in the United States and Europe. She was a member of the national, state and local retired teachers associations. She was past noble grand of the Rebekah Lodge, Rhinelander, and she was active in the Christian Science Church.
Emma was very active in the community. Besides the above, she was a member of the Pelican Women’s Club, a wildlife association, and the VFW Auxiliary. She belonged to local, state, and national retired teachers’ associations, and gave lectures concerning the education of mentally handicapped children in the area.
I’ve truly enjoyed scouring the internet on Emma’s behalf. I hope she likes what I’ve shared. I’m thinking she approves, as I’ve not heard my name called, smelled smoke, or had an electronic device turn on or off by itself. I have yet to walk through the Gathering Room though….maybe I just won’t look towards the window.
