Voices to Visions July 2011 __________________________________________________________________ There are four burials on the property, John May, Marena May Saxon, the little boy Frankland and Jesse May, the exact location of these burials are still unknown today. Frank remarried three years after Jesse May passed away to a woman named Tululu Hope. She did not want to live in the house because she wanted a grander house, so Frank Saxon built another house called the Saxon House, which still stands today. Tululu gave Frank six sons during their marriage. Franks daughters from his previous marriage stayed in the May-Stringer house until the daughters were married. 1880, Dr. Shelton Stringer bought the house from Frank Saxon, he was a doctor and started building on to the house piece by piece to customize to accommodate both his business and living areas. There
is
more
information
about
Stringer:
http://www.pascocemeteries.org/bio_stringer_sheldon.html
Time line 1949, Shelton Stringer’s granddaughter sold the house out of the family 1950-1974 was a single family home 1974-1980 the house was abandoned and the county wanted it torn down. The Historical Association bought the house and restored the house. Through the labor of love, the house was breathing again. Bonnie was drawn on a whim to visit the museum nine years ago with her mom. Once she was inside, she knew this is where she wanted to be. She joined that day and the next week she was a member and a tour guide.
The paranormal craze The first request of a paranormal investigation was approached to Bonnie, and she took it all in. After a paranormal group showed Bonnie conclusive evidence of paranormal activity, the Ghost Tours began. There are personal experiences from hearing a child crying out to her mother, objects moving, and footsteps to a solider being seen in the upstairs window. Are these the
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spirits of the ones that passed on within the house or the energy from the past objects that occupy the space? Although the volunteers of the May-Stringer house come and go after experiencing some type of paranormal activity, Bonnie is there to stay, and to protect them.
The Ghost Tour The opportunity for the May-Stringer house to conduct ghost tours is the greatest contribution asset to keep this house still standing. The Museum depends on donations to keep things running on a day-to-day basis. I encourage you, if you are interested in maybe experiencing something paranormal, this is the place to go. Nevertheless, let me forewarn you, Bonnie will not tolerate any disrespect towards the sprits and the surrounding objects within this house, she will ask you to leave. However, if you would like to learn more about the fantastic history of the oldest standing house in Hernando County, please take a day to enjoy a tour. Just on our tour, Bonnie was extremely educational about the history of the house and goes more into detail about the history then I have in this article. We were amazed about the footsteps that walked the hallways and the occupations that the owners held. We all left there feeling overwhelmed by the history and what transpired over the years.
Bonnie Le Toureau There is one thing that makes this Museum extremely different, and that would be Bonnie. During our interview the passion, love and dedication that Bonnie has to this house is clearly known. She has pride, and a real home connection to this house and you do anything to upset that, well you will hear about it. She is respectful to all assets of this house, from the aged dated objects to the spirits that still reside in the house. In addition, we now can verify that there are a couple of spirits that still live within the space of this amazing house. Bonnie is a member of the board of trustees. The most important issue she wants people to know is that this house deserves preservation and recognition. This house is a huge responsibility and with the dedication of each volunteer and the donations received keeps the history alive. Without people like Bonnie that keep the last breath of history alive within each location deserves to survives another day.