Memorial Park Investigation Road Trip

The Ghost Research Society was the first professional paranormal team to investigate Memorial Park!

The town of Blue Island was established in 1835 as a way station for Chicago travelers on the historic Vincennes Trail. Vincennes is one of many diagonal streets in Chicago and is an old Indian trail such as Archer Avenue. Many of the first settlers were tavern and general store keepers, blacksmiths and wagon builders. Blue Island's early industry was lodging and livestock trading. By 1858, German settlers had established four breweries in the growing city, and in the 1870s, the Rock Island Railroad marked the beginning of Blue Island's transformation into a trade hub.

The name Blue Island was derived from the fact that it is situated on a ridge of land that once was an island when the glacier Lake Chicago existed several thousand years ago. The name is also, believed by some, to be associated with a breed of blue flower that once covered the ridge, making it appear as a blue island from a distance. Bands of Ottawa's, Ojibwas and Potawatomie lived along the Little Calumet River and Stony Creek until around 1835 when the village was incorporated.

One of the first permanent structures was the old Rexford Tavern that once stood upon the southern point of the Blue Island ridge near the northwest corner of the block bounded by Western Avenue, Grove, Wexford and James streets. Old-timers remembered in written articles Indian mounds that were to be seen at the southwest corner of Grove and Ann streets. Civil engineer, A.I. Mathieson was quoted a saying, “From these mounds were taken the bones of a ‘giant’ exceeding in height the statue of the late Hon. John Wentworth; and were accompanied as mortuary offerings by an Egyptian vase, about fourteen inches in height; flanged, having two handles on the sides and decorated, also an Egyptian red clay pipe.”

As population grew, it soon became apparent that land would have to be acquired for a cemetery to bury the dead. An area was eventually chosen where the current Memorial Park is now located on Section 26, T37N and R13E. The earliest known land owners of that parcel of land were Catherine Clang and Catherine Clary. They together purchased 80 acres of Federal land on January 2, 1835 at $1.25 per acre for a total cost of $100.00.

Fever and ague swept through Blue Island in 1847 and 1849 and cholera spread from 1849 and again in 1853/54. Some entire families were wiped out and a desperate need for a cemetery once again came to a head. Up to around 1852 people generally buried their dead near their homes. Eventually 310 feet on Burr Oak Avenue and 335 feet on Elm Street were bought from Charles D. and Emily Robinson, however the newly formed cemetery committee selected 330 feet fronting Burr Oak Avenue and 310 feet on Highland Avenue and Old Blue Island Cemetery was founded in 1850.

The original deed was lost or misplaced and a new one issued in 1867 which indicated that on March 2, 1867 Robinson conveyed the old cemetery property to Hiram Squier, William Baumbach and Rodney N. Day, trustees of the cemetery. The cemetery was comprised of 126 lots, 20 feet by 20 feet in size with alleys and streets between the lots. With the later addition of more lots the number totaled 306 lots.

Subdivision of cemetery was filed for record on June 5, 1868 and incorporated as Blue Island Cemetery on July 20, 1889. According to oral records the first body implanted in the ground was probably Zachary Wilson who died in 1839 while building his home and was buried on top of the hill “behind the Rexford House”. This area continued as a public burying ground until August 5, 1898 when the village passed ordinance No. 335, “That no cemetery or place of burial of the dead shall be established within or adjacent to the City of Blue Island or within one mile of the corporate limits of said city.”

On October 29, 1898 a lawsuit was started by the Blue Island Cemetery against the City of Blue Island for the passing of ordinance No. 334. Nearby Mt. Greenwood Cemetery had already been established in 1879 and recorded their first burial on April 28, 1880. Efforts then began to notify family members and for the removal of bodies to other cemeteries and the task must have been enormous. Several thousand bodies had to be removed, the exact number was never truly known as all the records were destroyed during the great Chicago fire of 1871. No records were ever found as to who or how the relatives were contacted and many stones were never moved.

Some bodies might have been taken to Mt. Greenwood Cemetery however an newspaper article dated June 24, 1926 reports that some were taken to First Lutheran Cemetery in Blue Island.

The Blue Island Park Board instituted action to buy the cemetery land for a children’s park on March 7, 1921 and by March 17, 1921 the cemetery now belonged to Mt. Greenwood Cemetery but in November 1935 the Worker’s Progress Administration funded the establishment of a park district.

Human remains have been discovered during the construction of Memorial Park, the digging of the swimming pool, the discovery of infant graves near the stadium construction site and, as recently as May 2004, additional bodies were found near a running trail while installing some lighting. They were covered with dirt after the construction. Numerous coffin handles and bone fragments have been accidentally dug up throughout the years including tombstones that were below ground level. In September of 2011, more bones were found on the ridge that delayed the stadium being built.

There is a reported plane crash in the park, as of yet undocumented in the late 1920s or early 1930s with loss of life. In July of 2010, a 26-year-old man drowned in the swimming pool during an after-hours party in the park.

Address: 12804 Highland Ave, Blue Island, IL 60406

Phone: (708) 385-3304

Website: www.blueislandparks.org

Hauntings: People have been reporting balls of light floating throughout the park at night; ghost lights if you will. Residents just south of the park have had ghostly phenomenon happening within their houses. Sounds of footsteps, apparitions and other weird events are only some of the ghostly activity. At a past Blue Island Library lecture I presented, I actually met and talked to several people who told their stories of ghosts to the entire audience!

I also learned of yet another haunting told to me by a young man who once played football at the stadium there. He mentioned as he got up from the bench, all the equipment, water bottles and towels were quickly and swiftly swiped off the bench as though a big hand had just cleared the bench.

Fred Bilotto, past president of the Blue Island Park District, had also related an interesting encounter when he was cleaning up the Field House built in 1938. It seems that a former employee often encountered intense cold spots within the building that he couldn’t explain nor find anywhere that draft would have come from. Bilotto, earlier in his association with the park district, used to clean up the field house and he could distinctly hear the sounds of movement within the building, even though he knew that he was the only living person inside. The sounds resembled footsteps and movements of furniture or objects. The thing that made this a bit frightening at the time is that he would have to go in the direction of the sounds to exit the building. He never saw anything nor could come up with a reasonable explanation as to the cause and origin of the sounds.

Bones are still occasionally being dug up when new water fountains, electric lights, walking trails or other construction is undertaken. The current boundaries of Memorial Park is much smaller than the Old Blue Island Cemetery used to be and that is why perhaps neighbors who live to the east and south of the current park have sometimes reported strange paranormal activity in their homes. Their current homes probably rest on what used to be cemetery property and with so many bodies still in the ground, it’s no wonder people report ghosts in their homes.

Equipment setup: Digital cameras, recorders and camcorders were used as well as Melmeter’s and the Phasma Box.

Experiments performed: A single Phasma Box session was conducted under the shade of trees to the western end of the park between the stadium bleachers and some park benches.

Personal experiences:

Mike Rosario: Introduction: This was my very first field excursion with some of the GRS members in traveling the south side of Chicago, and partaking some ghost hunting activities! We traveled inside Dale's 15-passenger Club Wagon, and took an adventure through Chicago's sordid history on the far south side. Out of the many great locations that were investigated, Bachelor's Grove was a primary stop for us. And though I was hesitant on traveling to this location (because of personal reasons), I did feel at ease whilst during my time there that day.

Equipment used and Initial Investigation: Our investigations took off at approximately 8:45a.m with some members of the GRS team, Dale Kaczmarek, and I on Saturday, August 24, 2019. Weather was literally perfect; warm and with a nice breeze. Since we were traveling to multiple locations for this day, I decided to travel a bit light when it came to equipment. However, I did bring my K-II meter, a Sony Night Shot Handy-Cam DCR-TRV13 NTSC 560 Digital-8 20X Optical Zoom Video Camcorder, a Green Laser Grid (in case of a nighttime investigation), my Apple iPhone 8-Plus 256GB Smart phone, a Philips Voice Recorder, and a Police Security Elite Blackout 615 Lumen Hands-free Heavy-Duty Head Strap Flashlight (again, if we were to undergo a nighttime investigation).

For this excursion, we were guided by GRS President, Dale Kaczmarek, and ventured to many various haunted sites, including Bachelor's Grove, and even The Grimes Sisters murder scene on German Church Road in Willow Springs/Burr Ridge, Illinois. These were not 'set investigations,' per se. These were only short site visits to and from various haunted locations. Observing, and the reporting of evidence (if any), was the main objective of these trips.

Investigation/Excursion Wrap-Up: The excursion ended approximately around 5:45pm on Saturday, August 24, 2019.

Conclusion/Overall: This was a very cool ghost excursion! Again, this was my very first time riding along with the GRS family on a ghost van excursion to some amazing, and very notable haunted locations in the southern region of Chicagoland! Would definitely love to be on the north side GRS ghost excursion soon, though. I know it will definitely be a blast!

Charles Williams: After a quick stop to buy memory cards, we were onto Memorial Park. A park built over a cemetery that still has markers! We did a couple of EVP sessions with Phasma Box. The wind picked up at one point, and blew over my Go Pro camera, it had a light weight tripod, but I am unsure it was just the wind and not unseen forces. I would love to do a full blown investigation here. The most interesting evidence came out of the park.

Dale Kaczmarek: There were some amazing responses using the Phasma Box. This was the first time that this location had ever been investigated by any paranormal team. Almost every location we investigate, there seems to be a train crossing nearby and our EVP sessions are often interrupted by loud train whistles. In the middle of one such session, a train came by and loudly blew its horn. I asked, “What is that noise in the background?” and the device responded with “a train whistle.” This knocked my socks off. I thanked the spirits for this response and got an immediate “you’re welcome!”

I think a longer and more thorough nighttime investigation of the entire property and field house would be in order in the future providing I can get permission from the park district.

The Ghost Research Society investigated Memorial Park on August 24, 2019. Team members included: Kathi Para, Charles Williams, Mike Rosario, Ron & Laura
Lovatt and Dale Kaczmarek

Evidence collected:

A train whistle memorial.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the park, a train went past, loudly blowing its whistle. I asked the question, “What’s that noise in the background?” The device responded with, “A train whistle.”

Camera fall memorial.MP4 – during our EVP session, the wind dramatically picks up, a tapping noise is heard and then the camera hits the ground.

Chuck memorial.MP4 – while talking amongst ourselves, a background voice sounds like it says, “Chuck.”

Got a thing in a memorial.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the park, directly after the sound of a train whistle at the beginning of the clip, an EVP was picked up that says, “Got a thing in a…”

I’m very sorry for you is he dead memorial.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the park, a question was asked, “How do you feel today?” The device responded with, “I’m very sorry for you” followed by, “Is he dead?”

My name is Agnes memorial.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the park, the device suddenly said, “My name is Agnes.”

Yeah memorial.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the park, a question was asked, “Is anyone here with us?” The device responds with what sounds like, “Yeah.”

You’re welcome memorial.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session in the park and after the response, “A train whistle”, I commented, “Thank you for that response!” The device replied, “You’re welcome.”

Conclusions: A very interesting short investigation of this former cemetery now turned into a city park! Pretty much everywhere we walked that afternoon; there were most likely bodies underfoot. So many still remain in the ground today due in part that some of the families had died out and therefore could not give permission to move their loved ones to other neighboring cemeteries. Others had no markers and still other family members simply refused to have their loved ones disturbed.

This is still of one Chicagoland’s largest unmarked burial grounds and perhaps those forgotten souls are trying to be recognized the best that they can through hauntings and communication sessions. This is a very haunted location!

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Memorial Park Investigation 9-6-19

Date: September 6, 2019

Address: 12804 Highland Ave, Blue Island, IL 60406

Phone: (708) 385-3304

Website: www.blueislandparks.org

GRS members present: Mike Rosario and Dale Kaczmarek

History: (see above)

Hauntings: (see above)

Equipment setup: Digital cameras, recorders and camcorders were used as well as Melmeter’s, Ovilus X and the Phasma Box.

Experiments performed: A single Phasma Box and Ovilus X session was conducted under the shade of trees to the western end of the park between the stadium bleachers and some park benches.

Personal experiences:

Dale Kaczmarek: A nighttime investigation of the park was conducted with Jason Snider’s group, Crawford County Illinois Ghost Hunters Society. This was the very first nighttime investigation of this park by any paranormal team.

Very little was collected via the Ovilus X but there were some interesting and sometimes direct responses captured by the Phasma Box. There was a little contamination from some people walking, talking and laughing in the park as well as a distant train whistle but besides that, it was pretty quiet.

I felt nothing unusual while there that evening.

Evidence collected:

Children playing ball memorial.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the west end of the park, the device blurted out, “Children playing ball.”

Me George memorial.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the west end of the park, a question was asked, “My name is Dale. What’s yours?” The device responded with, “Me George.”

My Richard does chanting memorial.MP4 – while conducting a Phasma Box session near the west end of the park, a question was asked, “Who are we talking to?” The device said what sounds like, “My Richard does chanting.”

Words spoken by the Ovilus X in dictionary mode: P, let, answer, five and jade.

Phasma Box words or phrases spoken: public radio.

Conclusions: This was the second such investigation of the park in the past two months and both of the visits produced some interesting results and answers to questions posed.

I believe a much longer session perhaps at various spots in the park coupled with an investigation of the Field House would be in order and should be pursued. Since so many bodies are probably still in the ground, it would make this location one of the biggest unmarked cemeteries in the Chicagoland area.