Tabatha Deans

pumpkins, ghosts and corn mazes

NOthing brings a small town together quite like a holiday. Halloween has begun here, and in the past week I’ve been to the Bluebell corn maze, where we wandered the corn, rode a hay wagon to the pumpkin patch and picked our own pumpkins, and watched a goat do fancy tricks for the people watching.

I also went to the Jensen pumpkin festival, where there were hundreds of pumpkins carved, displayed and judged, food, another maze made out of hay bales and a bonfire. Although I’ve attended plenty of holiday events in the city, where hundreds of people attended, it seems different out here because everybody actually knows everybody else. The same people of course show up to all events, and there are cliques of people, and clear lines of distinction within the community are drawn. Cowboys, farmers, young people, hispanics, native americans, and various religious groups make up the groups, and each claim their own area around the bonfire. They’re not all interacting together, but there’s something about a massive fire that brings the illusion of unity.But everybody seems to get along, and in their own way they all enjoyed the activities.

AS for the ghosts part, Halloween night the Express staff are hoping to experience that ghost, or ghosts, that so many say live in the old building. I’m thinking they’re probably old newspaper people, who are perhaps bothered by the fact that the industry is not as noble and well-intended as it used to be. We’re going over at midnight with candles, tape recorders, cameras and video equipment to see if we can catch a glimpse of the supernatural activities, and maybe find out if they have a message for us.

October 25, 2008 - Posted by Tabatha Stewart | Uncategorized