Halloween week is finally here! Of
course, I always love everything leading up to Halloween as much as the day
itself. In this tiny corner of the world, we have celebrated in very big ways!!
There were costume parties at the park and downtown, Poe Night at the Cline,
hayrides, parties, storytelling shows and on and on.
I am so fortunate that I have been
able to participate in most of these adventures all the while helping students
build sets in my driveway for “The Mousetrap.” (Who spilled that bucket of
paint?) While they were all building and painting, I headed downtown to help
out with the events and the costume contest. It seemed as if everyone in town
was there. The weather was perfect, the sidewalks were full of children and
parents sauntering along. We pushed up the contest to 3:00 this year so we
could get more children and grown ups to participate and still be warm enough
for those costumes! Here are the winners for the downtown event! For children
under five, the first-place winner was Jazmyn Fuchs, and the second-place
winner was Gatlin Schaeffer. In the six through twelve category, the first
place winner goes to Olivia Reger and second place was Braydin Micken. For the
group contest, a little family of Grease costumes carried it away! The group
consisted of Casen and Cassie Delancey, and Alicia and Calli Detro. They were
adorable! I want to give a special shout out to Jorge Daniel for all his work
on Saturday and arranging all the events!
Poe Night at the Cline was splendid
with a record-breaking crowd. My group went early to add a few touches such as
purple lights and small lanterns and candles. Thank you all for attending. I
think we should do more literary events at the Cline Museum. Thanks to all the
folks at the Steuben County Historical Society for opening their doors to us
and serving up doughnuts and cider! We had a great time.
Halloween and Autumn are here for our
pleasure. So little is asked of us as we meander to the park or down the lonely
country roads. I found myself doing just that on Sunday. I drove out to Pokagon
to do a little hiking and much photography. As I stood in a grove of trees, the
leaves cascaded down upon me like jewels spilling out of a bag. Glorious
beauty. A drive down country lanes found me gazing at farm fields, stubbled
fields, and the raw beauty of the land.
Halloween is the cross-quarter day
between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. For a moment on October 31,
we belong to the ancient world. So much is the same as we remember the Celts
howling on this night. Halloween actually predates Christianity by 500 years
and yet it survives. It is also the time to remember our ancestors. In ancient
times, just before twilight hearth fires were extinguished and late into the
night, new fires were lit with sacred oak. From the embers of the oak, all
fires were rekindled.
I don’t think we need to worry about
rekindling our hearth fires, but it is a perfect season for campfires. Perhaps
tossing in the last of the herbs from the garden. My friend, Anita Workman, harvests
her Wicked Garden with bouquets of sage and lavender which she freely shares
with friends. I have several of her bundles hanging in my kitchen just waiting
for the perfect campfire.
However, you celebrate Halloween, just
remember it is merely a fun night for kids to dress up and go out into
dark…well, into the almost dark! The thrill is the same for them as it was for
the rest of us. Our job is not to spoil it and to let the children have this
one glorious night of mischief and chocolate. Don’t forget to bring your kiddos
by my house on Thursday evening even if it is raining! I will be outside and
available to hand out candy and a few spiders now and again.
Halloween week is finally here. I have
been celebrating all month and I will be a little sad to have this season over.
In the meantime, take a stroll through the woods, light a campfire, toss on a
costume and go out for coffee!
I shall desire and I shall find
The best of my desires;
The autumn road, the mellow wind
That soothes the darkening shires,
And laughter, and inn-fires.
Rupert Brook
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