Ghost stories come with DeRocher's eBay buy

Steve DeRocher isn't a ghost hunter, even though his van says it. He bought the van on an Internet auction with plans to repaint it, but now he likes the conversations it starts. [Click to enlarge]

That's Steve DeRocher's ready response when people raise an eyebrow about his van.

And his van gets more than a few raised eyebrows.

It's bright yellow with red lettering: Chicago Ghost Investigations.

DeRocher is not in the ghost hunting business. The Le Mars man uses the van for a detassling operation he and his family run every summer.

"Two years ago we decided we needed something to haul our smaller crews around. I decided to start looking for a van on the Internet," he said. "This one was in our price range and had the room we needed."

It also included an unusual paint job and a history to match.

"A cop in Chicago and his wife run the Chicago Ghost Investigations (CGI) as a part-time job," DeRocher explained.

The couple, dubbing themselves a paranormal research group, take people with them on tours to Chicago pubs where mobsters used to gather, theaters where long-dead actors reportedly return to stage, and other supposedly ghost-rich sites. Then they try to talk to the ghosts.

But DeRocher wasn't as much interested in ghosts as getting a van.

He won the final bid on the Internet auction and made plans to fly to Chicago to pick it up. The owner met him at the airport and told him a few ghost stories before DeRocher got in the van and headed back west.

The raised eyebrows and the questions began.

"I was driving home and stopped to get gas when some lady came up to me and started telling me about the ghost story of her house before I could even explain about the van," DeRocher said.

Eventually he told her how he bought it on eBay, and he gave her the contact information for the former owners.

When DeRocher was deciding to buy their van, he wasn't worried that there might be some leftover ghosts that would come as part of the package. Now he's more concerned he might cause a traffic accident.

"The looks you get when you're driving this van," he laughed.

DeRocher's original plan was to repaint the van right after he bought it. That's what his wife Mary and seven kids were pushing for. But eventually DeRocher talked them out of it.

"It's a conversation piece," he said.

And yes, he has seven kids. Adam, 30, is the oldest and 11-year-old Maggie is the youngest. The summer detassling business is named SMAK -- Steve, Mary and Kids.

"They've all helped out, all started at the bottom cleaning buses and doing some of the dirty work," DeRocher said.

SMAK has grown into quite an operation. Last summer it employed 528 people and covered about 2,000 acres.

Once during summer detassling DeRocher hired a teacher from Cherokee. When the man showed up, he immediately recognized the van.

"He told me and the kids we were working with he'd been in the van before -- he'd gone to Chicago and been on the tour," DeRocher said. "The kids' eyes got big as saucers. They were spooked out."

The van is still raising eyebrows. Last week, DeRocher drove it to Ireton where he teaches at the alternative school. He parked it outside of the school, which is hosted in an Ireton elementary building, and the school's phone started ringing.

"Neighbors were calling the school wondering what was going on," DeRocher laughed.

So what is his take on ghosts?

"I believe there are some spirits out there," he said.

He hasn't met a detassling ghost yet.

"And I hope not to," he said.

Printed on the side of the van in red letters is "Warning: This tour may be intense."

DeRocher said that's a pretty apt description of detassling even with no ghosts out in the field.

"It can be scary enough out there in the field," he laughed.