The Diary of General Beadle: Part 1
William Henry Harrison Beadle
Recently, Dr. Nelson bestowed a couple of students with a century old journal that he discovered shortly after moving into his office in Beadle Hall. Having seen it as inconsequential (and very difficult to read), he put it aside and let it drift from his memory. However, it was brought to his attention that Friday, November 15 was the anniversary of General Beadle’s death. As the journal belonged to the General, Dr. Nelson saw fit to share his findings. Students jumped at the opportunity to get their hands on such an old script and have been attempting to decipher it ever since. Here is some of what they were able to gather from the first entry:
21 January 1901
Many a memoir I have writ and many still I have had published. I am a well received opinion among the masses and yet…
Here there is a lot of scratched out text that we couldn’t make out, but it soon picks up again:
I my self did not more than a fortnight ago catch a very plain discourse of evil powers* in the building from which I run my school. It is the duty of an educator compelling me to seek the truth…
*Note: perhaps we’re being paranoid; these two words were difficult to read.
More scratches and then:
Oft my memory fails me in my old age. Such a journal as this exists for documentation. I choose not to regurgitate my discoveries TO ANYONE until my work is finished.
It’s difficult to decipher what exactly was going on in the General’s life at this time. The only background information that we’ve collected is as follows:
He was our University’s President until 1906.
He was a history professor until 1912.
We’ll be posting more entries as we sift through the journal and find more relevant information.
Ciao, all!
-Anonymous
Maybe this has something to do with why Beadle Hall is haunted!!
Interesting: General Beadle felt that he had unfinished work.
That fits with my own experiences, staying late in my second-floor office in Beadle Hall, grading student papers and sensing that I was not alone in that historic building, not the only one with work that had no end in sight.