U.S. Legacies Magazine
by Franklin T. Wike, Jr.
As a child, I can remember going on hayrides around Halloween time. We would get a group of children together. Many times it would be a group that went to church together. Some neighborly farmer would hook his horse up to a wagon that was loaded down with hay for us to sit on, and take us for a nice long ride. And there was always some hot Apple Cider waiting back at the farm to warm us up when the ride was over.
It’s a funny thing about hay. I used to hate it during the summer when I had to stack it in the barn. It was always so hot up in that hayloft and the bales of hay seemed to absorb the heat and make it worse. Yet when we went for the hayrides in the coolness of the October air, that hay must have lost all of it’s heat, because it sure didn’t cut the mustard when it came to keeping us warm.
Later on in life, when I had children of my own, my favorite part of Halloween was carving up the Jack O’ Lanterns. I loved the chance to be creative in the designs. I also enjoyed watching my boys light up when we lit the candles inside the pumpkins. My wife used to save the pumpkin meat and make bread, pies or cookies. Then I would take the seeds and let them dry, so we could plant them the following spring. Speaking of making things with the pumpkin, we have some good old recipes for things you can make with the left over pumpkins.
Now that I am older, and don’t have any family around me to share the season with, I still find a way to enjoy myself. There are two things I still enjoy doing in October. One is driving to an area in Kentucky, Tennessee or Pennsylvania where they have a good mixture of Oak, Maple, Sycamore and Poplar trees that are turning color. I can sit and look at all those wondrous shades of orange, red, and brown for hours at a time and never get tired of the view.
The other thing I enjoy doing is heating up some cider, then sit out in my yard as the sun sets, and simply play back all the fond memories of the past.
So, no matter where you are or who is with you, why not take a moment to record some of your favorite Halloween memories that you can leave as a Legacy to your children or grandchildren.
Since I am talking about recording your memories, and we have our Thanksgiving and Christmas issues coming up, why not send us a short story with your favorite Thanksgiving or Christmas memories and recipes.
There is one more memory I would like to get from you. I would like to know where you were on December 7, 1941 and how you heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Speaking of WW II, I am also putting out a call to all of our readers to help put us in contact with any WW II vets in your area.
We have started a new project where we are putting together a day by day detailed record of every unit that served in active duty during WW II.
Where we need your help is to find WW II vets that would be willing to give us details as to what unit they were attached to, when they arrived on foreign soil, and the dates they were in various towns or fighting certain battles.
For our younger readers, we are also looking for volunteers that are willing to go to their local nursing homes, or VFW posts, to interview these vets and help preserve their stories.
U.S. Legacies Magazine
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