As
most locals know, but usually don't discuss, the Jefferson municipal
swimming pool has been haunted off and on by a ghost since shortly after
its development. There were reports surfacing as early as the 1950's of
an apparition appearing near the locker rooms, always near the pool, and
usually wielding a shovel or axe. It was downplayed for many years as
nothing more than the ideas of imaginative children. However, slowly
over time, a few adults also admitted to seeing the ghostly figure.Jefferson Iowa News has been able to focus the efforts of our immense investigative staff on determining the source of this phantom. We have discovered that Hiram Jochims, a concrete worker, was killed during the construction of the pool, and is rumored to have been buried in concrete underneath the ten-foot end. Could this possibly be the ghost of Hiram?
Although sighted numerous times, the ghost has yet to cause any physical harm to pool-goers, and local swimmers are told not to be alarmed should they run into Hiram. They should just give him a wide berth and eventually he goes away. He apparently spends his hours pacing up and down the area between the locker rooms and the pool, looking for his buried body.
After digging deeply into our archives of old Jefferson photos, we were able to find one of the pool which, when enhanced, actually captures this remarkable ghost on film (see photo on left). JIN will be on hand this pool season hoping to catch another rare glimpse of Jefferson's most dependable ghost.
Submitted by Spencer Straight (04-01-11)