Picture
taken June, 2002
NOTE:
The following story was posted with permission from the Idaho
State Journal
Warehouse
owner hopes to put ghost story to rest
10/30/00
By
Kurt Friedemann Journal Writer POCATELLO
In
the years since it was abandoned, the Kraft House has become
woven into local legend. Surrounded by a wood reminiscent
of the The Blair Witch Project and solidly encased in local
spook lore, the former Kraft Foods Inc. warehouse has become
a place where adventure seekers test their mettle on Halloween
night. The former factory and warehouse was built in 1924
by Kraft Foods. The three-story building operated as a plant
until 1955, when Kraft production began to scale down. By
1967 the large foods producer had begun construction on
a 450,000 square foot plant north of Pocatello and abandoned
its old site along Kraft Road. After Kraft Foods left, the
building stored everything from fruit to rail cars and even,
some believe, ghosts. An Internet site recounts the most
common tale related to the old building: In 1984 a girl
was taken to the Kraft house after being drugged by a jealous
man at a party. She was raped in a chair in the middle of
a warehouse room and in the process the man’s gun went
off, killing her. Ten years later at 3:59 a.m. 15 calls
were made to 911 from phone lines in the warehouse. Operators
reported hearing a woman cry please help me. When police
arrived they found a chair in the middle of a warehouse
room and and a bullet nearby The bullet from the original
crime scene was never found and police will not confirm
or deny if the bullet found was the one from the first crime
scene. Pocatello Police and the Bannock County Sheriff’s
Office both say the story is bogus. Bannock County Sheriff
Lorin Nielsen said there have been reports of satanic rituals
performed at the site or just general vandalism and trespassing,
but that’s it. There may be some graffiti on the wall
but there have been no reports of C.W. Kraft floating around,
he said. Pocatello Police Lt. Brad Hunt agreed. There are
always reports of things going on over there, he said. But
usually it’s just kids trespassing. That’s the
problem, says Leroy Bartu. Bartu is the current owner of
the former Kraft warehouse and he says vandalism and trespassing
are costing him money. Bartu owns and operates Idaho Rail
Shop Inc. from the old warehouse. He and his small crew
rejuvenate old rail cars there. It’s become such a
nuisance that Bartu hired Rover to watch over the place.
Rover is a Chow guard dog and very protective of his territory.
Bartu said he didn’t want to be forced to take such
action, but he’s tired of trespassers breaking fences,
doors and ruining walls with graffiti. I don’t know
what to say, he said. People have thought this place was
haunted ever since my kids were little. It’s not haunted,
it’s my business. Bartu tells a story of a time more
than a year ago when he was touring the site in anticipation
of buying the building and surrounding ground. The former
owner spotted some kids jumping the fence to have a look
at the run-down building. The owner was ready to cite the
kids right there, Bartu said. But he convinced the man to
let them go. That was a long time ago. Now Bartu himself
has lost his patience and is ready to call the police each
and every time he catches someone on his property without
permission. I don’t want to cite anyone, he said. It’s
just got so bad I’ve got nothing else I can do.
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