Friday, September 28, 2012

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

From when I was a kid, there was one story out of all the ghost stories that I liked the most (Even if it did scare the crap out of me.) and it was called The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. The first time I fell in love with the story was when my dad bought a VHS of the disney's version of the story. Since that time, I believe there have been many reincarntions of the legend, either by the big screen or the small screen. There are so many of them that I can't keep up with them all so here are a few of the ones that I like the most about the Legend... We're starting off with the one I've mention before and that's the Disny's version of the Legend....



 
 




One thing is for certian, no matter how many reincarntions of the Legend comes our way. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving will always be one of those ghostly stories that will stand the test of time and will never change. So that leaves me one more thing say...

Always remember to heed the warnings of gut instincts while out riding at night... If you hair stands on end when you hear a noise in the bushes next to you or if you hear more than just the fall of horse's hooves hitting the ground below... Take off running to the nearest bridge and never look back for you just might loose your head.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

My Childhood Memories of Halloween Past

We all have memories of Halloween. How much of the candy our parents stole from our candy stash. How sick we were the following morning because we didn't listen to our parents when they said do eat to much of the candy or you'll make yourself sick. And how could we forget what kind of costumes we wore while we trick or treated.

For me it was the costumes, ohhhhh the costumes. I loved those costumes because I can remember each and every single one of them from very time I can remember. I remember the costumes because they were all each hand made by my parents, well most of them were anyway. I don't know if it was because my parents didn't have enough money to go and buy a costume, not saying that my family wasn't poor or anything, they weren't, or if they enjoyed making the costumes because they were crafters. They sowed quilts, pillows, blankets and pretty much everything else you could think of by hand. not only did they sew, they also crouched things as well. But this is story for another time. I also loved the costumes they made because they were unlike all the others costumes the kids wore because they lasted the longest than other store bought costumes.

There is one costume I remember the most out of all of them because my parents worked the hardest on and made me stand for longest times to get the measurements just right so that I wouldn't trip over it in the dark. I wanted to be a witch for that year, yes I know that's for girls but since i lived in a rural area, I was never criticised for it and not to mention everyone liked my parents work and was always impressed by how it all turned out.

I remember standing outside in a chair, while my mom laid the material over me to begin the measurements of where the fabric needed to be. All the pinning, i learned that I had to be very still for this because if I didn't, I would accidentally become a human pin cushion. LOL!!! Then there was one memory that stands out the most for me of all that time... the finding of a stick for beginnings of the witches broom.

My dad took me out into the woods to find a branch that had fallen from a tree that would be the easiest for me to handle and to carry around with me. Not to mention to keep it from being so heavy after it was all finished. When we had picked the perfect stick, it was time to find the material for brush part of the broom. Since we were surrounded by fields, my dad went and got some hay from the neighboring field came back home and began his work on finishing the broom.

The whole of the time to make this costume was a whole month and a half. Afterwards I couldn't wait for the big day to arrive. The day where I could show off my parents hard work, Halloween. To this day, I wish I had a picture of the costume to show you but alas, there is none. But the childhood memory will stay with for the rest of my life...


Happy Halloween everyone and remember to keep safe while trick-or-treating.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Good Bye Summer, Hello Fall

It's that time of year again... The air is turning cooler, more crisper and more importantly... the summer leaves are beginning to change from green to the beautiful colors of red, yellow and orange. This is the time of year that I truly enjoy.

I always enjoyed this time of year ever since I was a kid. Not only did it represent that Halloween was just around the corner but that of the beautiful colors that proceeded it. As a kid, I could always tell when the summer was about to give away to fall. It takes place during the middle of August to early September. I would always feel this... crispness in the air before it was actually felt by others and there would also be this smell. This smell was hard for me to describe as a child. but today i can find the words to describe it and you may even picked up on the smell yourself. The smell is that of the leaves turning colors and slowly drying just before falling from the tree. It's a faint smell but on certain days you can really smell it.

All these sensations that I felt in anticipation of Fall did something else to me. It revived something deep within me, like an animal awaking from hibernation. When I was a kid, the best way I could describe it at the time was, these feelings made my blood boil but in a good way because it literally did something underneath my skin which, and at the time, felt like blood. Since I'm older now, I can put them in better words, the feelings I felt as a child was like a part of me was waking up. Something deep that called to very depths of my soul. I know it's crazy or it sounds crazy but that what the fall season did to me and sometimes still does.

A few of years ago, back in the fall of 2009, I shared these feeling with a total stranger while passing the time away in the doctor's office with my mother. The stranger had asked me this very question: Why do you think you feel this strongly about the fall season? At the time I couldn't answer the question and I still can't today. The possible only explanation I have is that I was born during the months of fall. I guess that's the reason why I love fall so much but I'll never truly know the answer to it because ever since I can remember, I always loved the fall season.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Millerstown: A Brief History

I live a few miles away from what is left of a place called Millerstown. It was started, according to my county's historical society, back in the 1800's as a settlement or an outpost for weary travelers seeking trade or rest from a long journey.

By the 1850's it became a small town but by the 1880's it became an official town but it wasn't until 1882 that it became known as Millerstown. By the 1900's, the town was in it's prime with a grocery store, post office, a college, a newspaper and a mill. (The last four is from accounts told to me by my mother and a by others who still lives in or around the area and have passed some of the stories on to us younger folks.)

I can account for the Grocery store, and the newspaper. The grocery store was still in use until the early to mid 90's. Unfortunately the store had to close because the gas storage tanks were located to close to the river according to the EPA rules of the times. It remained open for a short time afterwards but not for long since the store's main source of income was based on the gas they sold. so after a year, the store was forced to lose it's doors. Now the place is a church.

The newspaper, is located on a lone dirt and gravel road away from the prying eyes of the population. I haven't seen it in awhile but the time when I did, the lettering on the window looked as it did when it was open, meaning the lettering had never faded. But I'm guessing it's because of it's location and very little travel on the road.

As for the post office and the college, I have yet to find where they were, unless the post office itself was located in the grocery store before I was born. As for the Mill, it's no longer standing, according to the people that I've spoken with, including the historical society, has told me it was washed away in a flood. But I do think I know where the old mill was located at because near the main highway and bridge, which is very close together, you can see the remains of an old brick building hidden in a Small patch of forestry; probably used as storage. However this is my own personal beliefs and will freely change my story until told otherwise.

There is also one other thing I forgot to speak of... A church with a green roof. This church has been standing and is still used today. It was built back in the early 1800's as the very first church to built in the area.


After thought: As I did the research for the town to base it on a fictional town of a possible short story, i came to find that Millerstown had, at one point, three families, the Blessitts, Skaggs and the Millers. While growing up my mother had always told me stories that her mother had always told her as a child. My grandmother's maiden name was Miller before she married. Anyway, she had told me that the family, her mother's side, was the ones who had helped in the creation of Millerstown. As a child growing up, i had never believed this to be true because of the family's namesake, Miller. But upon speaking with the historical society, I came to realise what my mother had told may be true, that the Millers, may have, indeed, help create the town. My great aunt, may she rest in peace, could have confirmed the story because she was well into her 90's when she died.

So who knows what history may hold in store for you when you start investigating history. It may be your own family history or it maybe the history of a town, time or events. In your search of the history, it just may take you to places that you never even knew...

Happy history hunting...