Former Governor John A. Burns is one of the most beloved spirits to supposedly inhabit the State Capitol. He passed away while still in office in 1975, so there are folks at the Capitol who may have worked for Governor Burns or met him in person. Shortly after he died, staff and security guards began to smell cigar smoke in the evening, on the lanai fronting the Governor's office on the fifth floor of the Capitol. Mysteriously, there were never any cigar butts in the sand ash receptacles or on the ground. The staff began to suspect that the cigar smoke was coming from the spirit of the late governor whose habit was to go outside to smoke his cigar, not wanting to bother his staff inside. (These were the days when you could smoke inside public buildings.) The staff came up with a solution to the cigar smoke mystery. When they smelled the smoke, they would say, "Good evening, Governor", and the smoke immediately cleared. His staff knew that the Governor was sensitive to others and would not want to smoke around a person who might be offended. The legend has grown over the years, so whenever people smell cigar smoke here, they believe it's Governor Burns watching over us at the Capitol.
1 comment:
I worked as an Admin. Asst. in reception at the Lt. Gov's office from 2003 to 2007. Several times during my time there I noticed the smell of cigar smoke in the Lt. Gov's front office. It was strong or bothersome but you could definately smell it. We would also feel something playing with our hair when we smelled the smoke. Nothing bad, just tickling, like there was someone behind you brushing a feather over the top of your head. I would try to brush it away but it would continue. Nothing spooky, just wierd.
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