One Last Visit Home

It was raining on a dark, dreary night in mid-December when Nell was awakened at 1:30 by the doorbell in a familiar ringing pattern. She wasn't upset though as there was only one person who always used that particular pattern of ringing, her son, Jim. Nell knew this meant Jim had come home for the holidays!

Before she could jump out of bed to let Jim in though, her husband Charles told her to stop. "Hold on a second and let me check first," he said. After putting on his robe, he left the room headed toward the front door.

Charles was Jim's stepfather, not his real father. His real father had been killed while saving a wounded comrade in Vietnam when Jim was still young. Charles never took to Jim and Jim never seemed to accept Charles. It's hard raising another man's son, especially when that man died an almost mythical-sized hero in the son's eyes. The two had argued often and as soon as he graduated high school, Jim had left their home in that small Texas town for a college in a big northern city over 900 miles away.

Nell lay there in bed waiting for the angry voices to start. Charles would be upset at being awakened in the middle of the night and Jim would be tired and short-tempered after driving such a long distance only to be harshly greeted. For several minutes though, there was only the sound of the rain. When Charles finally returned, he said, "There was nobody there," as he got back into bed. Nell was sure her husband was lying. She couldn't understand how he could be so cruel as to turn away her son in the middle of the night in such a rain storm. She lay there fuming until the sun peeked over the horizon.

That morning, the rain had stopped and the clouds had gone away, but Nell was still furious with her husband. She burnt his breakfast toast, but he just left it untouched on his plate and didn't say a word before leaving for work. As soon as he was gone, she went to the front porch looking for proof that Jim had been there last night. She saw no muddy footprints on the clean boards around the door, but that didn't change her mind. Jim was the only person who ever rang the doorbell in such a rhythmic pattern so she knew he must have been there. She prayed he would not be so mad at the way Charles had treated him that he wouldn't return again later that day.

She had begun to clean the house when the phone rang. She hoped it was Jim calling from wherever he had spent the night to let her know he was on his way to visit. When she answered the phone however, she was stunned to discover it wasn't Jim on the line, but a police officer from the large city 50 miles away. He was sorry to tell her, Jim had been killed in an auto accident there and she was needed to come identify the body.

Nell's knee's went weak and she sank to the floor. Shakily she asked, "What time did this happen?"

"At 1:30 this morning, Ma'am," the officer replied.

It was the exact time the door bell had rang with Jim's special rhythm. And Nell knew for sure, it had been Jim after all, home for one last visit.

Hiram's House

Hiram Martin Chittenden

One of Yellowstone National Park's important early figures was Hiram M. Chittenden. Working for the Army Corps of Engineers, he spent two extended tours of duty in the park. A West Point graduate, he first came to Yellowstone as a lieutenant in 1891 and for the next 4 years was in charge of maintenance and construction of the roads and bridges. Like so many others, he fell in love with the clean air, beautiful scenery and wondrous sites he was exposed to every day. After 4 years there, he requested to remain, but it was not to be and he had to report to a post in the northwest.

In 1899, his request to return to Yellowstone was successful and he was overjoyed that spring when he was able to return. His return came with a promotion and he was assigned to the post of Engineer Officer. In 1902, the government gave him a larger budget and Hiram was able to turn his attention to new buildings and offices, including a badly needed new mess hall.  Later that year, with the planned arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad to Gardiner, Montana at the park's northern border, he was able to convince Washington, D.C. of the need for a magnificent entrance to the park. 

Historical picture of the Roosevelt Arch at Yellowstone

On February 19, 1903, under Hiram's supervision, construction on what has come to be known as the Roosevelt Arch at the north entrance was begun. President Roosevelt was visiting the park when construction on the arch itself was started so he was asked to place the cornerstone. The stone he laid covered a time capsule containing a picture of himself, a bible, several local newspapers and a few other mementos of the time. The arch was completed on August 15, 1903 at a cost of $10,000. 

Roosevelt Arch as it looks today.

With the larger budget, Hiram was also able to have a new home constructed for himself. He personally oversaw the construction of his house which was located just east of the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel. The house was a rather simple design and built of wood, but it fit him perfectly and was large enough to accommodate his family on their frequent visits. His wife Nettie and their children Eleanor, Hiram Jr., and Teddy remained at the family home in St. Louis during most of his various posts, but often came to stay with Hiram at Yellowstone for extended periods of time. He had one of the rooms in the house built as his office and he spent many hours at his desk smoking his cigars while reading, writing, and making plans for the future of the park.

The Chittenden home now serve as offices for several
park organizations.

In late 1905, he was given orders to a post in Seattle, Washington. After a total of ten years in his beloved Yellowstone, he was loath to leave, but he answered the call of duty and left behind his park and his home. He and his wife planned to return to Yellowstone in retirement to live out their lives, but in 1917 at the age of 58, Hiram contracted an illness and passed away without ever seeing the park again. At least not while he was alive.

The original Chittenden home is currently occupied by the offices of the Yellowstone Association and the Yellowstone Institute. The employees are sure old Hiram returned here after his death. Computers in the office sometimes shut down and then turn themselves back on while an employee is working on them. Repairmen cannot explain it because they can find nothing wrong with the equipment and when removed from the premises, they work perfectly. Overhead lights flicker on and off. Electricians have been summoned numerous times, but can find nothing wrong with the wiring. The employees are convinced Hiram doesn't like his home having electricity and is trying to let them know of his displeasure.

Could Hiram's spirit still be staying here?

Other than the annoying, but harmless pranks with electrical items, the employees consider Hiram to be friendly and even helpful at times. Doors often open and close by themselves. Upon entering in the morning, the employees will find doors that were left open will be closed even though the building was locked and no one had entry during the night. One of the managers tells how once he had forgotten a report he needed so he returned that evening to retrieve it. Upon entering the front door, he saw the door to his office, which he had definitely left open, was closed. As he crossed the room, his office door slowly swung open for him. After looking around to make sure nobody else was there, he retrieved the needed report and left, making sure to lock the front door behind him. He was the first to arrive the next morning and found his office door to be closed once again.

Hiram, Nettie, Hiram Jr., Eleanor, & Teddy

The conclusive evidence of Hiram's presence though is the aroma of his cigar. Smoking in public buildings has been prohibited for a number of years now, yet the smell of cigar smoke is often present in the room which used to be Hiram's office as well as a room upstairs which used to be his bedroom.

Shortly before he died, Hiram confided to a friend that his only regret was not accomplishing more while in Yellowstone. Evidently he has returned to spend eternity in the place he loved the most and perhaps to help guide those who are today working on the park and its future.

Maybe Henry Wordsworth Longfellow had Hiram in mind when he wrote, "All houses in which men lived and died are haunted houses. Through the open doors the harmless phantoms on their errands glide with feet that make no sound upon the floors."