By Jay Ledbetter

There are many fascinating cultural differences between you humans and us worms. I have had many debates with coworkers about topics of this nature, such as “Are apples food or shelter?”, “Does the phrase ‘down to earth’ hold any meaning?” and worst of all: “Why must the early bird get the worm?” One such discussion that always resurfaces in the DiG Manor this time of year is the matter of hauntings. Living in the ground, worms are constantly encountering specters and spirits of all sorts of creatures. It wasn’t until I began my column with the DiG that I heard the human term “haunted” for a place where ghosts can be found. So naturally, the DiG team had to do some digging to see whether or not our manor was one such place

The DiG Manor was built in the early 1900s, when Lovick Martin and Mary Cornelia Hoyt moved from Buford to Lawrenceville. Martin had been mayor of Buford in his time there, and would go on to hold the same position in Lawrenceville in 1910 with a re-election in 1912. In addition to his community leadership, he owned the Allen Manufacturing Company, which produced horse collars, an essential tool at the time. He was active in the community, being a member of a social club called the Knights of Pythias.

Tragically, Mary passed away in the manor in 1913. She was buried less than a mile away from home at Shadowlawn Cemetery. The DiG team did some investigating, and it seems Mary’s spirit still roams the manor, tending to the home she and her husband built over a century ago. I wasn’t able to fog up the bathroom mirror with my tiny breaths enough to write her a message, but I think this friendly ghost appreciates that her home is still being used to uplift the community.