The legacy of Bowers Harbor
Inn captures a time of leisure and grace. The historic Inn was
built in the 1880’s as a family retreat for Chicago lumber
baron J.W. Stickney and his wife, Genevive. Genevive preserved
peaches and made jams, wines and brandies on the estate. An
eccentric and mysterious character, Mrs. Stickney lived in
such fear of having her precious brandies stolen that she kept
them buried on the property. She was an obese and jealous
woman. Extremely self-conscious, she had a gilt-edged trick
mirror in her bedroom that made her appear thinner as she
approached it.
As Genevive advanced in years it became
necessary to install an elevator so that she could move between
floors. Near this time Mr. Stickney engaged the service of a nurse.
Perhaps sensing opportunity, the nurse also became his mistress.
Genevive detested the woman. Growing estranged, Mrs. Stickney
developed a paralyzing fear that her husband would bequeath his
riches to his mistress. Her premonition came true: he left his
money to his lover, and only the summer retreat to his devoted
wife. The situation drove Mrs. Stickney into a severe depression
that eventually led her to hanging herself from the rafters of the
elevator shaft. The history of the Inn was infused with ghostly
stories from that moment on. Clairvoyants, and even disbelievers,
describe the apprehensive chills of Mrs. Stickney’s presence.
Lights suddenly turned on, mirrors and paintings toppled to the
ground. An unnoticed blurry figure has appeared suddenly in
photographs when developed.
During one bizarre episode, Audrey
Scharling, former owner of the Inn, was going over her bills
downstairs in the bar. The elevator began to move and, thinking one
of her children was awake, she ran upstairs to investigate. Bruce
Towner, friend of Scharling, also witnessed the elevator going up
and down. Yet, they found all the children asleep and the elevator
empty.
In 1964 a patron rushed downstairs shaken,
her face ashen. She had been standing before Genevive’s gilt-edged
mirror. “I was alone in the hallway and noticed another woman
looking in the mirror too.” Her hair was pulled back in a tightly
fit bun, just as Genevive had worn hers. Audrey Scharling stated “I
assume this must be Mrs. Stickney. The image in the mirror fits the
tintypes we have of her.”
Sally Jidge, former resident, recalled
when patrons were gathered in the dining room, but no one was
standing near the salad bar. “Suddenly,” she said, “a bowl of food
flew off the table and shattered, exactly as though it had been
thrown deliberately.” Former manager, and a disbeliever in ghosts,
Ernest Hall had an eerie experience. “I finished checking the
women’s restroom, turned off the light and started toward the door,
when it slammed shut. What’s odd about this specific door is that
opening it had been very difficult, since it stuck to the new
carpeting. It also had a self-adjusting arm, the kind found on a
screen door. There is no way a human could slam that door
shut.”
Many believe Genevive’s restless spirit
still walks the halls of her beloved home in search of her
husband’s lost love. If you ever visit the Bowers Harbor in, you
will feel her presence, so be kind, for she has surrendered to an
eternity of discontent and sorrow.
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