the newspaper owner's wife

the newspaper owner's wife

fiction
edward w pritchard

The newspaper owners wife was very wealthy, had a good heart and liked to keep busy. Her charity work expanded as her fortune multiplied following her husband's death and to separate her time in her gardens and with her dogs from the day to day business of her charities and foundations she bought a building to house her charitable offices and staffs in. Being a good local booster she bought a white elephant style building that had been listed a long time and wouldn't sell. It was on campus but even the university wouldn't buy it with endowment funds. It was an old building previously owned by a 19th century fraternal civic group, who were a little eccentric in their time, and the building was now said to be haunted; at least that is what the listing agents said who couldn't sell it for so so long. If it was haunted it was the pipes and the electrical wiring for they were in sorry shape. The building did have it's amenities and one was a stage on the third floor previously used for initiation ceremonies by the fraternal organization.

In time spirits began to read newspaper clippings to the foundation founder as she watched the stage from the comfortable seats in the audience. Each ghost of the dead members of the long gone fraternal organization would enthusiastically but soto voce recite the news of one day from the long life of the founder, as she sat comfortably in the audience. Since she was nearly seventy there were a variety of newspaper clippings to hear and the actors on the stage although long dead, would each day give a spirited performance. Despite her attachment to her gardens and her dogs at home the wealthy woman enjoyed going to work every day and was sad when the readings from the stage ended for the day for the troupe of dead members of the fraternal organization were strict followers of the rules of the actors guild and only gave one performance per day.
end part 1