FROM THE STUMP
Put-in-Bay haunt boasts of eerie visitor
JOHN SWITZER

My wife and I drove up to Lake Erie the other day to enjoy Ohio's
hottest tourist destination.
We visited Marblehead and its famous lighthouse, the shops and
restaurants along the shore. We bought some Red Haven peaches grown
there.
The back bays were choked with lily pads and beautiful, yellow
American lotus flowers, Ohio's largest wildflower.

One day, we took a ferry to Put-in-Bay to experience that place of
merriment. While on the island, I learned about "Dashing Tom" Alexander,
who keeps popping up at a tavern in the village even though he has been
dead since 1936.
I was told that the Crescent Tavern, which was built in 1871 and is
the oldest commercial building on the island, is haunted by Thomas
Benton Alexander, who once owned the place.

When he operated it during the first third of the last century, it was
both a hotel and restaurant. Now it is a beautiful watering hole and
restaurant.
Alexander, who was born in 1866, was a stage actor of some fame in
his earlier days. He traveled about the nation until he married John
Brown Jr.'s daughter, Edith, and settled on the island. John Brown Jr.
is buried on the island. He came there to escape the fuss after his
father's capture at Harpers Ferry and subsequent hanging.

Alexander took over the operation of the Crescent in 1910 and later was
elected mayor of the village.
Bret Klun, the general manager of the Crescent, said Alexander is
credited with being the "father of tourism" for the island. "He worked
to help the island become a tourists' destination by getting steamships
from Cleveland, Detroit and Toledo to stop there."

Alexander apparently still is overseeing the operation of the beautiful,
old tavern because he frequently makes his presence known. Klun said
Dashing Tom is a friendly, yet mischievous, ghost.
Many new employees who know nothing of the ghost have come to Klun
and told him of the strange things they've heard or seen.

One time, an employee was mopping behind the bar about 3 or 4 in the
morning. He was the only person in the place. He glanced up at the
mirror behind the bar and saw the reflection of an older man, dressed in
a dark suit, sitting at the bar.
The employee declared, "I'm sorry, we're closed. No one is allowed in
here."
When the employee turned around to face the stranger, no one was
there.
Klun said he has never seen the ghost, but he has heard him on many
occasions.

When Klun has been alone in his second-floor office, he has heard
footsteps outside along the hallway. He also has heard footsteps on the
stairway. "Someone definitely went up and down those stairs. All the
doors were locked," he said.
Then, there was the tapping on window glass and the television that
was turned on and off and the furniture that was tipped over or moved.

One employee took some trash outside and, as he was returning, saw
Alexander watching him from an upstairs window.
Folks passing by the Crescent late at night also have seen Alexander
peering out of an upstairs window.
Klun said he thinks Alexander stays around because "he just loves
this place."
"I'm here in the winter, and nothing ever happens. Maybe he goes to
Florida," Klun said.
One time, some paranormal investigators from Philadelphia came to search
for Alexander. The ghost didn't materialize, but the investigating crew
detected sudden temperature changes and saw "a weird, blue light."
"They figured something was definitely going on here," Klun said.
Retired weather columnist John Switzer writes a weekly Metro column.