This is as good a time as any to admit I am afraid of elevators. Let me re-state that. I am terrified of elevators. I have Otis-O-Phobia. All elevators give me the creeps. But an aged Otis in my freshman dormitory served to sever all my willing contacts with elevators.

My freshman dorm, Whiting Hall on the Knox College campus in Galesburg, IL, was built in 1857. Legends held that the basement was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Quite possibly true. The college was established in 1837 by Abolitionists. And Edward Beecher, the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, was the pastor of First Congregational Church which was out the back door and across the lawn from Whiting Hall.

Our third floor resident advisor’s Ouija board swore the legend was true. Actually, our resident advisor’s Ouija boa

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