The "Gold Bob", The "Ghost" and "Poddy" Sappy Saturday Stories

Pleasant Hill community has been the birthplace of many humorous tales involving local residents of the past.  The stories are so amusing they live on and on and when repeated are enjoyed by the listeners as much as when the events occurred years ago.  One tale, judging from the number of times it has been told, deserves an academy award as the "cream of the crop".  This particular story is the ghost story of W.H. Barnes, better known in this locality as "Poddy", a familiar figure on the streets of Pleasant Hill until his death in 1944.

Slight variations have been noted in the story from time to time but the basic facts simmer down as follows.  The all-star cast involved consisted of George Moore, Cleve Windmiller, Bert Hoover, Jim Youngblood and W.H. (Poddy) Barnes and they will be herein-after referred to as Churney Moore, Cleve Windmiller, Shad Hoover, Youngblood and Poddy.  The setting for the event was on what is known as the Bybee Farm at the north edge of Pleasant Hill along the ridge to the north of Crescent Heights Cemetery.  The farm is now owned by Bob Webster.  The time was about 11 o'clock on a very dark night around the turn of the century.

First, it is necessary to explain the "gold-bob" craze that was an important topic of conversation in the community at that time.  The said gold-bob was a small metal gadget suspended on the end of a buckskin cord and when in presence of metal, especially gold it gyrated in a manner as if to say "It's Here! Keep Looking!"  Churney was the owner of a gold-bob and it was reported the ingredients placed in the "bob" were supplied and mixed by S.H Clare, a druggist in Pleasant Hill for many years.  "Churney stated he had forgotten the secret formula but recalled experimenting with the "gold-bob" and the uncanny manner it located gold.  He reported on one occasion he and Price Hosford were giving it a test and under one cup he placed a gold coin.  Churney had no trouble locating the cup hiding the gold with the use of his gold-bob.  One time, however, it failed to settle on any of the cups and Churney was beginning to wonder what went wrong.  Finally Price admitted there was no gold under the cups, he had the gold coin in his hand.

Several years previous to the ghost episode another story had been handed down by an old eccentric fellow named McDonald who resided in the old shack that stood along the ridge on Bybee Farm.  According to McDonald he heard his dogs viciously barking one night but never left his bed to determine the reason.  The next morning though there was evidence someone had dug a hole near the house and unearthed a pot.  The pot was still there and marks inside indicated it had been filled with gold coins.

For several years afterwards Pleasant Hill people wondered if other pots of gold remained buried near the site of the dwelling.  Churney was hoping the gold-bob would lead him to a hidden treasure somewhere in that area.  He often talked with Poddy about the supposed buried gold at the McDonald homestead and the possibility of finding more with the gold-bob.  From this background of circumstances Churney, Cleve and Youngblood conceived the idea of working a ghost hoax on Poddy and Shad.  Poddy and Shad knew the story and were easily convinced to join in the dig to find gold on the old McDonald property with the use of the gold-bob.

Churney and Cleve developed a plan of action and Youngblood, who was to be the ghost, was the unknown member of the party.  Poddy and Shad  were convinced only four men in the entire community knew about the proposed search.  The plans were discussed (probably over a bottle of White Lightning) by the men and solemn obligations taken to not divulge the secret mission to anyone.  The big night came and the party of four men, with the gold-bob, quietly slipped out of town to the Bybee Farm with tools to dig near the site of the old cabin.  Youngblood had previously arrived at the scene and was hidden nearby in brush awaiting their arrival.  He was wearing a white sheet over his clothes and over the sheet an overcoat.  When the treasure hunters arrived they selected a spot and started digging. It wasn't long until they had excavated a hole five feet deep the approximate size of a grave.

They talked softly and made little noise as they worked.  They thought someone might be spying on their project.  Occasionally they would hear a noise in the brush and all would stop working and listen intently.  Churney would usually ask if the rest thought someone was watching them.  (The said noise was being made by either Churney or Cleve throwing a clod of dirt into the brush when Poddy or Shad were not looking.)  Finally after hearing another rustle in the brush they decided to investigate to determine if there was someone actually spying on them.  This departure from the open grave gave Youngblood the opportunity to leave his place of hiding and drop into the hole with the black overcoat over him.  The two men, Churney and Cleve had also dug a hole near the bottom along one side and Youngblood was able to crawl in the niche and was completely hidden.

After the four men made a thorough investigation and were positive no one was near, they returned to the hole and all they could see in the hole was complete darkness below.  The hour was late and a storm was approaching in the west when Churney suggested returning to town.  Cleve at this point reported he had the power to call the spirits of the the dead, had done it many times before and believed he could do it again.  He wanted to contact Mr. McDonald to ask about the more gold.  There was considerable doubt about his ability to do this so they insisted he prove it.  Cleve agreed to try.  First he had the group join hands and remain very quiet, and after several moments of silence, reported he wasn't able to make contact in that manner.  He then had the four men gather around him and place their hands on the wooden spade handle.  This, he said, was necessary if the spirit was to be contacted.

In a loud but slow voice he called out into the darkness of the night:  "McDonald, if your soul is in hell come out and show it!"  At that instant the "spirit" robed in white, began to appear in the bottom of the hole and started to arise toward them.  Variation in the story appear from here on.  One report stated Shad made a quick jump away from the side of the open grave, broke both the she-strings, then fell to the ground.

When he saw Churney and Cleve start to run he got up and left the scene, destination Pleasant Hill.  Poddy, they reported, didn't waste any time in getting into motion.  Nearby was a four foot woven wire fence with two barb wires on the top and he cleared the fence with ease.  Further facts, as told , were Poddy crossed a freshly plowed field and the only visible tracks were occasional marks as if something floating across the field.  There was some doubt about Poddy carrying a rock in each hand when he reached Pleasant Hill with moisture dripping from the stones.  There are two things all participants agreed on, first: Poddy and Shad were really frightened and second, the departing speed was quite fast.  Poddy and Shad attested to both facts many times.  It was several days before the two men were convinced the ghost experience was a hoax and was many more days before they felt at ease after dark.

This is one of my mother's stories as told to her by her mother, Nina Dennis.