A BLOT IN HISTORY: Tulsa Race Riot of 1921

Citizens gunned down on city streets, low flying planes dropping incendiary devices and passengers firing at people fleeing on the streets, and a community demolished.   A scene from some action film of WW2?  A fantasy of some unimaginable time of madness?  No, the year is 1921 and the place a prosperous area of the greater Tulsa area known as Greenwood, and by some as the "Black Wallstreet." Today it is known simply as "The Tulsa Race Riot."

The events of May 31-June 1 of 1921 was the result of a collision of bubbling racism from southerners who had settled in the northeastern part of Oklahoma, jealousy over the economic achievements and prosperity of "those" races (the African American and Native American), fear, and plan old greed.   As a result, many people died, were arrested, beaten, frightened, and an entire section of an American city was destroyed due to the vile evil of racism.

How many died? Official counts have always been low, and due to the wholesale racism at play, highly suspect.  Conservative figures are at around 300 but some suggest it might be closer to the four digit count.  Mass burials and no records create a fog over the truth of the matter.

What is needed is wide spread archaeological work to locate mass grave sites in the area and discover once and for all just how horrific the event really was.  It is already the worst race riot of American history but few knew that until the 2001 report of the event was made public.  It never made it into history books so others might learn about the depths of evil to which people can sink when they are ruled by fear, hatred, jealousy and greed.  Today, impressive development is renewing this area by acknowledging the past but moving into a positive future.

Racism is a cancer of society....let's all work together to find a cure.

Patterns

Recently, in a discussion with some researchers, an interesting question was raised about the timeline of terrorism . The researcher had asked, "were there 'dry-runs' before 911?" Initially, no one could see any pattern between the 1993 attempt to blow up the World Trade Center and the successful attack on September 11, 2001.

The First Timeline:

• 1993 World Trade Center attack by Ramzi Youseff and Sheikh Abdul Rahmon of Egypt , truck bomb, killed 5 people. 
• Aug 1998: Almost simultaneously, truck bombs blow up the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, killing more than 220 people. 
• October 12, 2000, suicide boat with 400-600 pounds of explosive formed into a shaped charge, rammed into the side of the U.S.S. Cole in the Port of Aden, Yemen, and killed 17 people. 
• September 11, 2001, suicide terrorist hijack four airplanes and crash them into the WTC, Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field (thought to have been destined for the White House or Capital). Minimally 2985 died. 

Then we began to consider other possibilities, conspiracies, etc. As a result, the second timeline went like this:

• 1993 World Trade Center attack by Ramzi Youseff and Sheikh Abdul Rahmon of Egypt , truck bomb, killed 5 people. 
• April 19, 1995 OKC, attack by at least one individual Timothy McVeigh, although eye witnesses place another man or additional men with him. Truck bomb killed 168 people. 
• Aug 1998: Almost simultaneously, truck bombs blow up the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, killing more than 220. 
• October 12, 2000, suicide boat with 400-600 pounds of explosive formed into a shaped charge, rammed into the side of the U.S.S. Cole in the Port of Aden, Yemen, and killed 17 people. 
• September 11, 2001, suicide terrorist hijack four airplanes and crash them into the WTC, Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field (thought to have been destined for the White House or Capital). Minimally 2985 died. 

A rough pattern 1-3 years began to emerge....circumstantial? Coincidental?  Additional research may show the pattern a mere accident of the clustering of any data. Interesting though, whatever the reasoning, and adds to the ongoing aura of mystery and conspiracy such events always attract.

DEATH ALONG THE SALT FORK RIVER

In the post-Christmas cold of early Dec. 28, 1930, two bodies were found along theroad near the Salt Fork River near Tonkawa, Oklahoma.  

Two sisters, Jessie (24) and Xexia (36) Griffith, school teachers in Norman, had met their end along the road near the cold water. They had come north to the home of their parents for the holidays and were headed home when a deadly fate stepped in. The bodies were found by a local furniture mover, C.C. Wood,  and his two sons later that day .

A killer had lead them there or followed them and shot both. It came to light he had "attacked" the younger sister Jessie before death.  Her sister was not assaulted but her body, with gunshot wounds was found nearly frozen near her sister.

Once the bodies were found, immediate suspicion fell on a local man, Earl Quinn aka Earl Howard,  who had a reputation for trouble of one kind or another.  He had once been a convict in a Missouri prison and now, local Kay County officials focused their eyes on them.  His wife Jean Quinn was quickly arrested but was released and later simply disappeared.

It was quickly learned the younger girl feared someone and felt she was being "shadowed."   Alarm was sent all the way to Chicago and down to Norman. Quinn was caught and for nearly three years the case went on  and he languished on Death Row. Then, almost three years to the day, he was electrocuted for the killings at McAlester.

Court evidence includes the testimony of a Miss Ruby Heard, of Three Sands, that Quinn had forced her from her own car a mere hour before the other girls were killed. Others testified he had been drunk, unruly and brandishing a weapon earlier that day.

Although quickly apprehended, Quinn created fear and righteous indignation in the hearts of people from Norman to Chicago for the senseless brutal killing of two school teachers heading home to start a new semester.

Questions remain after examining the information.  There was a button found in the girl's car police tried to tie to Quinn but his rooming house landlady denied it was his.  His wife, it was noted, had bought shells.  Yet, the weapon witnesses saw with the man was a .38 and it is not clear if the weapon, shells, and the wounds support each other.  His wife is another interesting element; Quinn accused her of working with the Kansas City underworld to get him and it was clear some witnesses were not above embellishing some aspects of their stories. 

The Hard Call

The Russian Flu, 1888-1889, reached North America in 1889-90. About a million people globally died in total.

In the 1918 Flu , millions of people died from "influenza".  Nearly every community in the U.S. was impacted, churches, schools, and public events, such as Halloween parties, were canceled by civic decrees.

An Asian Flu epidemic broke out in 1956-1958 and in the U.S. just under 70,000 died. I was one who was lucky and escaped death but was rushed to the hospital .

In March of 1976, soldiers at Ft. Dix in New Jersey were suffering from an illness with few symptoms other than just feeling bad.  One solder reported feeling ill but still made a hike only to die within hours of returning. Although others were ill and in the hospital by that time, base doctors were disturbed by the fact that there was an apparent illness without major symptoms capable of causing death.  Perhaps because it came from the military their report zoomed up the channels leading to what is sometimes called the "Swine Flu Fiasco."   In a daring move President Ford ordered mass inoculations to avoid a WWI style outbreak which was believed to have been Swine flu.

In 2009 a related version of swine flu, but one with a bit more 'umph' cut a swath through parts of the globe.  The 'umph' was the flu strain was a mixture of both swine and avian flu.  In truth the WW1 variety had been more avian flu than swine flu but this was not learned until later.  Apparently, the more avian the strain is the more dangerous the flu becomes.

Although, people died and came down with disastrous side affects following the 1976 immunizations and the pandemic was a 'no show', history warns us it could have been.  Recent history also shows that our quick transportation can create a disaster in hours rather than the months or years of earlier times.  If faced with another 'hard call' will we be able to move swiftly to counteract death or be bogged down with indecision?   People should be given the choice to participate (there is always a some who may die or become ill) but the small number who may become ill should not hamper work to save literally millions of lives in the event of a real pandemic outbreak.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza_A_virus_subtype_H2N2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/records-list.html

ICE COLD CASES: TEXAS, LOUISANA AND LONDON

In the sultry southern Texas community of Austin over the course of one year, a killer stalked the sidewalks.  His victims are thought to number seven and if all the victims were the work of one man, they were generally young and of the servant class. With the exception of a few victims most were African-Americans. 

The method was usually to drag his usually young victim from bed, rape them and then brutally slashing or hacking them to death with an axe. A couple may have also been stabbed in the ears and face by a spike or similar instrument. The dates for these atrocities were Dec. 1884 through Dec. 1885.

The axe will figure prominently in various other American killings across the continent between 1890-1920.  Logically, it was a weapon of convenience found in nearly every home for chopping wood, doing yard work, and similar tasks.  As a murder weapon, it is a weighty, awkward tool depending on brute force but deadly enough even a young person could use it effectively.  In certain regions, where it might be a standard tool of some profession or job, a man might be seen carrying one over his shoulder and none would think anything about it.  The wounds with a spike or other sharp object could be a railroad spike, a pipe, or an awl.

In 1888, in London’s Whitechapel district, someone working ‘from hell’ terrified the city by the butchering of at least five prostitutes.  His method was to silence his victims with a thrust across the throat and then to post-mortem indulge in invasive acts to the inner organs and flesh.  He is described by a witness as being dressed in a style which inferred he was a professional man or a dandy and not a “working man.”  Although it may have been a costume to disguise his identity, seeing such a man in the area seeking drinks, drugs, and prostitutes was not uncommon.  After his last victim, he simply disappeared.

 Some refuse to believe a killer who had escalated to such a level could easily slack off or simply stop. He had to have been killed or jailed on some other charge to halt the bloodshed so sharply.  Some firmly hold to the belief he fled to other killing fields.  As a result, in diverse locations ranging from Switzerland to Nicaguara to Wisconsin to New Jersey a trail of bodies is often cited to prove the “Ripper” continued to work. 

There are similarities.  In each case a particular class of society is targeted because they would be easy victims. Prostitutes in London were as invisible as African-American servants in Austin.  In both cases, several of the victims were involved in the world’s oldest trade.

 In truth, the London Ripper was merely a new class of an old crime which may have been hidden previously through regular European wars, New World conflicts, isolation, the racism of southern bigots, the migrations of several men with violent tendencies, and the beginning of the century of serial killer.

A recent theory has emerged about Jack the Ripper being a German sailor who was put to death in 1896 in the U.S. for a murder and was in areas, according to some, during the time of similar Ripper murders.  It can be pointed out that Austin is an inland community but is only a short distance from Houston, Galvaston and New Orleans.   In the 1911-1912 axe murder sprees the killer was obviously using the railroads to travel and may have traveled as far north as Iowa and Colorado.  At least one of the 1884/85 murders used something which might match the description of a rail spike.   

As more details emerge, more theories appear and the cycle goes on and the cases remain ice cold.  For now...

If you have personal information related to any of these crimes and would like to contribute to a book on the subject send your email to marilynahudson@gmail.com

MYSTERIOUS RUNESTONES

The once fossilized reading of prehistoric North America's discovery has come under increasing challenges as new facts are uncovered and new eyes approach old ideas with a fresh vigor and openness. Some of the things causing a renewed look at early visitors are stones with runes on them which seem to hint that explorers, and perhaps settlers, might have traveled into the interior realms of North America. The came, they saw, and they left stone markers?

• The Kensington Runestone is located at Alexandria, Minnesota. See book here.
• The Heavener Runestone and others associated with it, in and around Heavener, Oklahoma. See article here.
• The Vérendrye Runestone, found near Minot, North Dakota.  Apparently lost and no images of its writings were found.
• The three Spirit Pond runestones, found in Phippsburg, Maine, in 1971.
• The Leif Eriksson Runestone found on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts in 1926.

Heavener Runestone section

Recent investigations into the common elements of the other runes has uncovered the use of a "hooked x" configuration. A shape which, according to some investigators, has only recently come to light in Europe and is suggested as being linked to the Holy Grail.

History is filled with tales of explorers setting off on journeys, making discoveries or being forever lost.  It is a mistaken assumption that humans 'back then' were less innovative, courageous, unlucky, or intrepid than their modern counter-parts.  It is a modern person's arrogance that assumes we know today all that is known, or we have learned all there is to know.    Modern society looks at the back of the elephant asks, "What trunk? There is no trunk here."

Perhaps by backing up a bit to see the big picture - more will be uncovered divorced from preconceptions or limited thinking.

Ex-Slave to Preacher

The original Church of God congregation in Guthrie, Oklahoma was formed in 1905 by an ex-slave, George Winn according to Wikipedia.  It soon became and remained one of the largest churches of the group.

George W. Winn was born around 1848 in Georgia.  On the 1890 and 1900 census he was residing around Woodland in Logan County, Oklahoma. Later he is living in Guthrie township proper.  He indicated his parents had been born in Tennessee but by 1910 he, or someone else, responded with Georgia.  His wife was Caroline, also called Carrie, and was born about 1854 in Georgia or Kansas.  According to the census children included George (b.1877, Texas), Anna (b.1879, Texas), Carol (b.1884, Ks.), Stafford (b.1886, Ks.), Calvin (b. Ks), Eddie B. (b.Ks.).

In 1910 George listed his occupation as "preacher" and employer as "church."   He died in 1945 after many long years and his verbal testimonies were often recalled as he thanked God and recounted life back to when he was a slave.

You Could Not Make This Stuff Up

Why is one of the rarest finds among dinosaurs located in a North Carolina museum when it was found in Oklahoma? Why was this find revealed in a museum in the Black Hills rather than its state of discovery? 

 Until local amateurs Cephis Hall and Sid Love discovered the rare fossils, only fragments had been discovered in the late 1940's. Their find in the mid 1980's in the Antlers Formation of McCurtain County, Oklahoma was the largest such found and includes the only known complete skull and forelimb.  A recent book by Russell Ferrell (Acrocanthosaurus: The Bones of Contention, 2011) explains that the work is the "true story of Cephis Hall and Sid Love, the " 'Arkansas Hillbilly' and 'Choctaw Indian' who outsmarted the Corporation and Saved the Dinosaur."  However, that subtitle falls far short of expressing the complex tangle of greed, academic elitism, and political maneuvers filling this unique true story.  The answer to those questions is convoluted and as dramatic as a soap opera.  An engaging read.

Acrocanthosaurus - Standing about 16 ft high and 40 feet long, this predator was king of his time, with razor sharp teeth and claws.  It may date to the transition between the Jurassic and the Cretaceous. Recent studies has helped clarify its place in the dinosaur family tree.


State Symbols - Although the Saurophaganax was named the Oklahoma state fossil in 2000, its designation and species are in question, according to some sources.  It was roughly 40 feet long and about 16 feet tall. It roamed the plains in the Jurassic (about 150 million years ago).

AN EARLY INTER-RACIAL CHURCH IN PRE-STATEHOOD OKLAHOMA

This early work, ca. 1911, on the doctrine of entire sanctification, was offered in several 'conversations' suitable for reader's theaters, discussion, home discussions, and later radio ministries, was published by Faith Publishing House in Guthrie, Oklahoma.  The author of "A Religious Controversy" was Charles E. Orr.  

Research indicates the story of the publishing house is also very interesting.  The original Church of God congregation in that city was formed by an ex-slave, George Winn according to Wikipedia, in 1905.  It soon became and remained one of the largest churches of the group.

The term "Church of God" can be ubiquitous presenting the researcher with the question, "Which Church of God?"   The Guthrie group was originally related to the Church of God (Anderson, Ind) but soon separated from that group.  This was due to a belief the Anderson branch was straying too far from the original Daniel Warner teachings and the subsequent "Evening Light Reformation."    

The copy shown above has a stamp on the back cover reading: "RADIO PROGRAM", Capitol Hill Church of God...Station KLPR 1140....Oklahoma City, Oklahoma."


An interesting detour into early Oklahoma history, covering early radio programs, early inter-racial church groups (1905), and introducing a separatist group with an interesting pedigree.  See some marvelous photos of the ex-slave founder of the Guthrie church and others, including the author of the above work, at the Faith Publishing House website.      This website has digital versions of the work.

HE KNOWS WHEN YOU'VE BEEN GOOD OR BAD ....AND WILL SEND THE KRAMPUS!

Holiday traditions, like all folklore, have a marvelous tendency to change and adapt to varied cultural expectations and behaviors. 

 Everyone knows the jolly fat elf, Santa Claus.  Legend says he was adapted from the early Christian tale of the good bishop.   Yet, legends were widely adapted and re-clothed into Christian motifs at one time.   In some Germanic and Alpine countries - Herr Santa Claus was accompanied by the Krampus, (also known as Knecht Ruprecht, Certa, Perchten, Black Peter, Schmutzli, Pelznickel, Klaubauf) often depicted as a  horned and demonic entity who punished bad children. Talk about being scared straight! This 'Anti-Claus' was even outlawed in 1934 Austria but now has his own web-page.

Although often depicted as the traditional Satanic looking demon with horns, tail and pitchfork, he can be disguised as a spooky looking man in black or a hairy-man beast.   Other images show a faint resemblance to the depictions of the 'Mothman' and 'Spring heeled  jack' of American folklore.   Most definitely a non PC character most children and parents were happy to see fade into the woodwork.  But watch.....coming to a SyFy channel near you sometime soon is sure to be " Krampus: He's Coming to Get the Naughty and Nice!"  Be warned and be very afraid.....

(Get the book of postcards, The Devil in Design)

THE MYSTERIOUS UFO CASE

An alleged FBI telegram report dated July 15, 1947.  Two interpretations of the handwritten note at the bottom, alleged to be from Hoover's own hand.

(1) Transcription #1 (http://www.textfiles.com/ufo/cufon1.txt)

Memorandum for Mr. Ladd  
 
  Mr. ________ also discussed this matter with Colonel L. H. Forney of   
M
 
 ID.  Colonel Forney indicated that it was his attitude that inasmuch as   
Army or Navy experiments, the matter is of interest to the FBI.  He   
stat
it has been established that the flying disks are not the result of any    
ed that he was of the opinion that the Bureau, if at all possible,
lieve 
it should go into these investigations
should accede to General Schulgen's request. 
 
SWR:AJB   
 
ADDENDUM  
 
I would recommend that we advise the Army that the Bureau does not b
e, it being noted that a great bulk   
of those alleged discs reported found have been pranks.  It is not    
believed that the Bureau would accomplish anything by going into these
investigations.
 
                                          DML
 
(Clyde Tolson) - I think we should do this.  (Dated 7/15)   
 
(J. Edgar Hoover) - I would do it but before agreeing to it we must insist 
upon full access to discs recovered.  For instance in the SW case the Army 
grabbed it and would not let us have it for cursory examination [emphasis added]

(2) Transcription #2  

The Hoover alleged statement is interpreted to be : " 
 I would do it but before agreeing to it we must insist upon full access to discs recovered. For instance in the LA case the Army grabbed it & would not let us have it for cursory examination" (emphasis added)

Coming right after the famous Roswell, NM UFO story, it is assumed this is a complaint of that case occurring in the American south west. Around July 10, 1947 other UFO incidences were being investigated in Michigan, hoaxed event in Shreveport, LA on July 7, and five years before the famous "battle of Los Angeles" in Feb of 1942.

If the FBI memo is valid, if the scrawled was there before its release, then the item grabbed by the Army could have been "La" (Louisiana), "Sw" (southwest) or, "La" (Los Angeles).   Each one presents an intriguing possibility.

OLD MOORELAND COMMUNITY HOSPITAL (OK)

Mooreland is a small community east of Woodward in northwest Oklahoma.  The hospital at 6th and Krouth Streets (Blocks 4 & 5 of the Matthews edition), sits on about two acres and was built in an art deco style between 1940/41 when the community had some 800 in population and the ten plus miles to Woodward's hospital was too far to drive in an emergency.  Its 180' x 85' size features a flat roof with parapets, concrete construction, classic corner windows, a blue frieze running the higher borders.  The architect was Ed Hudgens and in 1985 it was listed in a Oklahoma Historic building nomination as a "Woodward WPA" site.  In 1989, a bid by a group (Rivers of Life)  to make a 60-bed drug and alcohol abuse facility was denied citing the nearness of similar facilities.

For over forty years the hospital provided crucial care and comfort to the citizens of the area.


Now, according to sources consulted, it is in private hands awaiting renovation. The possibilities are interesting, and possibly endless, for renewal of this historic building into a viable part of the 21st century and a reminder of another day and another time.  Housing, condos, care facility, office space, educational space......We shall see if this survives to enjoy another seventy years...or falls to time.

SIZE IS JUST A NUMBER

Why do women continue to allow this to happen?  A recent battle between a marketing campaign and a Dallas based blogger underscores that society is often biased, sexist, size-st and unfair.   A company was adding "plus size" fashions to its line.  The sizes were 12-14.  I have seen this on various other online catalogs where plus size, full figure, and similar terms were now for sizes under size 20.  How things change.  But have they really?  

In the 1930's "vanity sizes" first appeared as clothing for women became standardized and mass produced.  I have personally seen antique patterns for smaller women carrying the sizing of "16".  I was then a current size "12" and could not have fit in it!   My mother explained sizes changed. To say the least.

According to one source, standard sizes range from:

US    Small (2,4) Medium (6,8), Large (10,12) XL (14,16)

European Small (32,34), Medium (36,38), Large (40,42), XL (44,46)

UK Small (6,8), Medium (10,12), Large (14,16), XL (18, 20)

Note these all refer to the same body measurements!  A 36 1/2 inch bust is going to be either a "10", "40" or a "14" depending on where it was made.  Plus sizes (US sizes 18-28, European 48-58, and UK 22-32) offer equally confusing and disheartening size ranges.  The basic measurement of the 1910-1930 years was based only on bust size and all else adjusted from that.  Then standardization arrived/. 

See some vintage patterns here.

The mystery is what it is within many women which allows them to sign over control of their looks to third parties: a man, designers, fashion industry, beauty magazines?

The realization that "fashion" is a construct designed to help perpetuate an economic system goes far in freeing some women from the clutches of the annual seasonal buying, updating, redoing, and rebuying cycle designed to allow someone's warped visions and unnatural dictates to control how they will look, what they will wear, and how they will live.  Other women, simply have their own style and ignore the voices seeking to control how they look. Some other women know what looks good on them and stick with what works.

http://girlinthepinkprius.com/page/52/
Bones sticking out - yeah really sexy

Why should someone else tell any woman how to wear her hair, what clothes to wear, or how she should feel about herself?  It is the result of centuries of women being taught to need the approval of parents, other women and men.  It is a problem which often leads young women to severely abuse themselves because they have accepted the inference of their inferiority and they believe they are never good enough, small enough, or pretty enough.  Various health and mental health issues result.

While rumbles of revolt against this annual guilt trip affirming a woman is not good enough being herself have surfaced periodically, they are soon beaten back down by the fashion industry and social pressures. Women gleefully abandon themselves to yearly looks ranging from prostitute, uni sexual, and vamp not because they really want to but because it was what Vogue told them to wear, or what they saw modeled in music videos, commercials and movies. Women comprise a significant economic force in society - isn't it time women called the shots and demanded more of what they want based on their self-value and self-respect?

The Places Before the Places

Sometimes people can assume that because they have always known of an area being a certain way, it had no existence before that time.  It was vague, foggy, and a blank canvas before some magic time of development.  The huge sprawling town? Why there was nothing here but waving grass, right?

Anyone who has driven through Oklahoma City has crossed "Council" heading west out of town or into two from the west.  Nice name, has a ring to it doesn't it?   People never realize that it refers to a special portion of land from a time decades before major settlement arrived in runs or land lotteries.

"Council Grove was described as - "The area included all of Bethany south of N.W. 42nd Street and extended southward to a half mile south of N.W. 10th Street and from Council Road eastward for about three miles. It was soon deemed practical to move a sawmill from Darlington (near Fort Reno) to near the present N.W. 10th Street Bridge. (Doug Dawgz Blog)

 In the 1850's until the outbreak of the Civil War, trader Jesse Chisholm and various Native groups would meet at this historic council grounds for business (Stan Hoig. Cowtown Wichita. University of New Mexico Press, 2007, pg.47). On some old maps it is identified as the "Timber Res." and the "Timber Military Reservation". It was part of the "Unassigned Lands."

In a similar vein, Oklahoma City, "born grown" in the 1889 land run, actually replaced a supply depot called Oklahoma Station.

A survey of an old 1920's atlas of the states reveals the names of many a small town that disappeared with time: Morgan, Erwin, Silver City, Moral, Cereal, etc.   Some, never even made it to ghost town status and others were simply swallowed whole leaving evidence of their presence only in street names, depot designations, or housing developments.

It Could Never Happen Here!

Recently earthquakes occurring in out of the ordinary places bring up phrases like "such things never happening" in a certain locale.  Weather and nature, however, tend to make themselves felt where ever they want.

Hurricanes and Typhoons  can come inland to surprisingly landlocked regions.  Tornadoes have cropped up in places which still cause some to shake their heads in wonder.  And....in the 1940's a volcano suddenly appeared in a corn field in central Mexico!

So, with rumbles, whirling winds, and the end of the world forecast for Dec. 2012 - one should not take anything for granted.

THE HOLIDAY OF THE IMAGINATION

I played an exotic gypsy on more than
one occasion! Even reprised the role
for a PTA Carnival!

Why has Halloween been so popular?  Why have I enjoyed it over other fun times of the year?

I recall as a child the eager anticipation as the trees turned to gold, scarlet, and brown beneath an October sky with a unique clarity and a deep azure color. The time of fall festivals, bags of candy, parties, hayrides, mad leaps into piles of crackling eaves, and lots of plain fun.

The inspiration for dozens of daring deeds and funny pranks from older adults and siblings and delightful shivers danced up spines as scary stories and stupid jokes were shared around glowing jack-a-lanterns.

There was the giggling excitement of heading to the local Woolworths or Ben Franklin to see the long rows of shiny boxes, each with a small window of hard cellophane revealing wondrous masks for fairies, heroes, and animals. The hard decisions that followed: would it be the exotic gypsy fortuneteller or the Little Red Riding Hood, or maybe the Monster, Clown, or a Spaceman this year?  
Every child readily over looked the shortcomings of the mandatory accompanying acetate satin costume (always for some reason with sparkles detailing the seams and adding details to the costume).  Too short or too long, what did matter? 

It was Halloween!

Halloween and numerous rites of passage lay ahead with each new turning of the season. 

Arcane knowledge and childhood rituals passed from generation to generation: look for the sacred light of welcome (the front porch light casting its feeble glow), look carefully before you cross the street, and always, always say “Thank you.”

Anticipatory huddles preceded the event on playgrounds, street corners, and in back yards.  Skills were shared in excited whispers, but ultimately it was a lonely hero’s journey to be faced in solitude. A rite of passage was learning to walk boldly up the forbidden zone of someone’s front porch, climbing nervously the steps illuminated by glowing jack-o-lanterns knocking on a door that stood ten feet tall.  

A soft childish knock, a stuttering “trick-or-treat!” followed by smiling faces, mock looks of surprise or fear at your dime store or homemade costume. The handfuls of goodies dumped into plastic pumpkins, paper bags, or mother’s second best pillow cases.  Squeaky voices excitedly calling “thank you!”   Children rushing back to the sidewalk to catch up with friends. Voices mingling in squeals of delight, as they compared their booty, and autumn joined in blowing chill kisses and swirling her colorful skirt.

Halloween is a distinctly American holiday. It’s taproots stem from ancient rituals and celebrations. The manner in which it developed was unique and reflected the “melting pot” s many cultures met and mingled.

As the celebration changed, one element remained at the core : the festival belongs to the land of the imagination: that rich, fertile soil from which all creativity stems and innovation flows.

Although every decade saw some threat to produce a “Year without a Halloween”, sanity prevailed and the joys of this special rite continued, changed perhaps by contemporary influences, truncated through modern fears, but it remains as a reminder that people – of all ages – need magic, mystery, and hours of simple fun.
The answer to my question was clear - Halloween was a holiday of the imagination, of play, and stepping outside the confines of the ordinary into the extraordinary. No wonder I have always loved it!

Origins of the Holiday - Halloween

I love October...the crunchy leaves, the chilly nights...and the drama and imagination of Halloween. I was one of those little kids that lived in dress-up clothes, tripped around her mother’s heels and should have won an Oscar at some point in Kindergarten for my stellar performance of Little Red Riding Hood.

I am also an American Celt...no I have no real language or the major customs, but there were a bunch of Celts in my family tree. Despite the lack of language and a loss of many customs...the blood runs strong in other ways. The poet is alive, the warrior, the dreamer, and...Face it...maybe even a tad bit of the schemer. There is also the mystic who can step out into a night and almost see the shimmering layers that curtain us from other realities, as they ripple in some cosmic breeze.

Halloween began as such in a long distant time. It was a night when someone would leave the door between this world and the next ajar. The recently dead, and perhaps other things, could come to call. Saucers of milk would be left out as an offering to keep the visit...friendly.

So enjoy the sigh of the wind and the crackle of leaves as you walk. Set out your autumn decorations and enjoy the "October country" as author Ray Bradberry called it.....but leave some milk out on the night. Just in case.

Now some history; to understand the roots of Halloween it is necessary introduce the Celts.

The term Celts refer to numerous tribal groups occupying Europe from about 800 C.E. who shared a common language group.  From the Steppes to Ireland they were the tradesman, philosophers, artisans, and warriors who dominated the landscape and successfully challenged early Rome.   They were the ancestors of the people known as the “Gauls”, the “Norseman”, and the “Britons”.  Although they shared a common language and fundamental religious beliefs, they developed in many different ways and practices varied. 

One common belief held by many of these people groups was that on a particular night of the year the separation of this world from the next changed.  

Like a curtain billowing in a breeze glimpses between the two co-existing realities were possible.  Sometimes, the recently dead could slip back into the world of the living to say goodbyes, give a blessing, or cause a bit of mischief.  

For the Celts, most of whom believed in reincarnation, death was but another part of existing.   Customs of leaving small gifts to not offend the returning dead (and bring about problems) often developed.  Animals were favored forms for the returning dead and so leavings milk out for dogs or cats became the custom in some locations.

All of this occurred at the turning of the year at Samhaim (Sow-wain).  Harvest time the world over share similar festivals marking the end of the growing season, the successful gathering of the harvest, and celebration before the onslaught of winter’s stark chill.  

Many of these Celtic customs came to America in early Colonial days, mingling with customs from the Dutch, the English, the Germans, and the Native Americans.  There was even an element of the Roman feast of Saturnalia in how America celebrated the night; roles were reversed and chaos celebrated. Many aspects of this initially agrarian based festival would remain important and be kept alive in remote rural areas well into the 20^th century.  The greatest diversity occurs as locales become increasingly urbanized and more multicultural in the early years of the 20^th century.

In Oklahoma, which did not become a state until 1907, there is distinct evidence of the old customs and the melting pot in action as customs from various times, and places begin to mingle and what emerges is the American Halloween.  Evidence of this is revealed by the various names over the years: fall festival, harvest festival, “huskin’ time”, “begging night”, “Nutcrack Night” (a term from Britain), Halloween, and even for the more negative, “Helloween.”

Early Oklahoma Halloween Customs.

In the earliest days the season was celebrated in husking parties, taffy pulls, and other harvest themed activities which allowed families on remote farms to get together socially.

 By the first decade of the 20th century, it was a firm part of the yearly calendar going by the name "Nutcracker Night" as often as "Hallowe'en" or " All Hallows Eve."  The annual night was apparently largely the realm of the ten to teen ages and was focused on community pranks: outhouses were tipped, gardens lifted, and piles of items stacked in the street.  Reports of buggies hoisted to barn roofs and missing garden furniture abound.  All out vandalism, malicious and destructive were few, although all out rowdiness and high jenks sometimes came close to crossing the line.  In this later aspect the night was acted out as more the old Roman Saturnalia where pranks and tricks were the focus.

As a result, most of the tragedies related to the night came from farmers or home-owners taking exception to the youthful high-jinks which might include the temporary theft of property, frightening of laying hens, and letting out livestock.   Stories from Oklahoma, Missouri, and elsewhere recount youth shot by homeowners putting a stop to such behavior in a very abrupt and serious manner.

The celebration attracted a segment of the community who were being forced to grow up and do adult work but who were still remembering the fun of just being a child.  There was no mid-way pause as is known in modern society; those teen years of gradual maturation, stretching out childhood and forestalling adulthood were unknown.  

No wonde,r if occasionally, the pull of the freedom of childhood and the autonomy of adulthood created a tension... Halloween was the perfect meeting place for both.

----From The Year Without - Almost - A Halloween, Marilyn A. Hudson.

The Good Old Days: Halloween in Oklahoma, 1910-1919

From ghoulish and ghosties and long leggety beasties and things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us! - - - Scottish saying

Once the harvest was in and the long days of summer were retreating minds and hands turned to preparing the farm and the small towns for the coming winter.  In the crisp air that promised autumn would soon be arriving, many a young mind was on a variety of traditional pastimes: Corn husking parties, harvest festivals, taffy pulls, simple pleasures, fortune telling tephromancy (by ashes) or by the divinations of apple cores, unwinding yard, or a coin in a piece of cake. 

Parents worried about frightened cows and chickens, overturned outhouses, and missing garden gates. Gates appeared to be of special appeal to small boys as they were easy to lift and carry off. Older boys and girls were known to pile gates, scrap wood into the center of intersections and set them ablaze. Annually, local constables fretted over all the promised ‘shenanigans’ of the local ‘hooligans’.

In 1907, one writer for the local Oklahoma City newspaper reflected that things had changed since they were a child. It would be a refrain heard each and every decade as one generation ruminated about the great fun they had, the better quality of the fun in their own day, or the general state of wild abandon found in modern desolate youth.  It must be remembered that somebody had to be instilling these traditions into the minds of the young people coming up from decade to decade; older siblings, grandparents and others helping continue the traditions.

So closely tied to familiar harvest activities and frivolities, the activities were largely rural in nature.  They carried with them an aura of acceptable custom that most supported in theory if not always in fact. Despite all the complaints all the actions of youth were still largely innocent, if a bit devilish, fun.

That began to change as the real specters of war and disease struck the home front in the 1916-1919 time periods. 

Influenza, or the ‘flu’, cut a swathe through the armies of all sides of the European conflict.  Communities back home saw sometimes dire local warnings of canceling activities, even church services, due to fear of contagion.

Believed to have begun in an army camp in Kansas, “The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI), at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351” (http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/).  More are thought to have died from illness than bullets; “1918 influenza pandemic caused at least 675,000 U.S. deaths and up to 50 million deaths worldwide.” (http://www.pandemicflu.gov/general/whatis.html).

One of the common myths associated with Halloween may have its roots in stories torn from newspapers.  German and Allied forces both claimed the daring bi-plane pilots tossed ‘poisoned candy’ down on unsuspecting people during the war. What may have been a story with some truth was more probably manipulated for the propaganda opportunities it provided than for any real death by candy scenarios.

Sources:

“Fate-Finding fun for Halloween.” The Oklahoman. (Oct. 29, 1905): 18.

“Halloween at Chickasha” Nov. 1, 1906): 2.

“Citizens Ask Police To Suppress Young Hoodlums.” The Oklahoman ( Nov. 28, 1906): 7.

“Children Arrested; Stay Out Too Late.” The Oklahoman (July 5, 1907): 5.

“Arrest Hallowe’en Raiders After Boiling Water Fight.” The Oklahoman (Nov.1, 1907): 8.

“Mutiny is Threatened by “Co-Eds”: Girls who paraded in white, penalized and revolt.” The Oklahoman (Nov. 2, 1907): 1.

“Seeress’ Vision a Trifle Too Late.” The Oklahoman. (Oct. 31, 1907) 6.

“Witches will be Abroad in the Land; Next Thursday will be Hallowe’en and Goblins Are Due.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 27, 1907): 13.

“New State Notes” The Oklahoman (Nov. 16, 1907): 20.

“Goblins On Parade Tonight.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 31, 1908): 5.

“Superstitions”. The Oklahoman. (Dec. 12, 1909);41.

“Evil Spirits to Stalk in Night: Yearly Carnival of Gate Stealing and Bad Jokes coming..” The Oklahoman (Oct. 28, 1909): 5.

---Marilyn A. Hudson, 2009

Helloween vs. Halloween: The 1920's in Oklahoma

Tis now the very witching time of night, When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out  Contagion to this world. - - -William Shakespeare

The simple rural pleasures of continuing old world customs of lifting gates and soaping windows began to change according to local newspapers.  “Vandalism” began to be used to describe the annual activities of youth in the towns and cities of the state and the nation.  More people are moving into towns and cities from collapsed or folded farms, while Immigrant numbers are increasing as well.  A generation of “city-folk” emerges in places, like Oklahoma City, who have never lived on a farm.

The normal rhythms of rural life, rural skill building, and rural responsibilities that led to maturity are being replaced.  Now schools, and civic policies, seem prone to keep those under a certain age childlike for a long time.  The “teen” years are beginning to develop – that long lonely landscape of being neither child nor adult that leads inevitably to boredom and rambunctiousness.

The social caste system was very evident in the 1920’s: class, gender, race, politics, and economics divided society.   Papers carried announcements detailing plans for Halloween parties for community socialites, parties to which most of society would never be able to attend, further segmented the population. Large urban hotels specialized in elegant parties with costume prizes and music bands offering up familiar foxtrots and the latest in ‘hot jazz’.  Others held more intimate get-togethers that were just as well attended and enjoyed.

These class struggles reflect a time when Socialism takes its first major grip in the United States, challenging even the major political parties with new solutions to an old set of problems. 

The often boastful details of parties and events on the society pages of newspapers was a reinforcement of the caste system and a reflection of the decade that would be marked by its spiraling out of control excesses. The very excesses and risks that would ultimately lead, by the 1930’s, to widespread economic and social collapse.

Sources:

“Fix the Pumpkin Hallowe’en Near: “Nutcrack Night” to be Observed in the Metropolis Monday, Oct. 31.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 24, 1910): 5.

“Hop Joint Raid; Twelve Arrested.” The Oklahoman (Dec. 14, 1910): 16.

“Editorial: The Carnival Spirit of Hallowe’en.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 30, 1910); 32.

“Nutcrack Night Keeps Cops Busy.” The Oklahoman (Nov. 1, 1910) :10.

“Ad: Masks for Halloween.” The Oklahoman. (Oct. 22, 1915): 7.

“Sheets and Shouts Replace Usual Halloween Vandalism; Arrests Few, Warnings Many.” The Oklahoman. (Nov. 1, 1916): 1.

“Old Glory Carnival at Yukon October 31”. The Oklahoman (Oct. 30, 1917): 13.

 “Kansas Man Shot Boy on Halloween.” The Oklahoman. (Nov. 2, 1917): 12.

“NO “Ghosts” To Be Out Halloween: “Flu” Epidemic Interferes with Customary Pranks.” The Oklahoman. (Oct. 20, 1918): 14.

“Ad”, ibid, pg. 9.

“The 1918 Influenza Pandemic of 1918.” http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/ (accessed 6/1/08).

“What is an Influenza …?” at Pandemic Flu http://www.pandemicflu.gov/general/whatis.html

1920-1929

“Ad: Hallowe’en”. The Oklahoman (Oct. 28, 1921): 14.

“Hallowen Eve Costume Dance. (AD)”The Oklahoman (Oct. 28, 1921): 14.

“Chickens Make Home in Old Foss Jail: Violators of Law Must Go to Cordell”. The Oklahoman (Nov. 29, 1921): 4.

“Hallowe’en.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 29, 1922): 59.

“Hallowe’en Origin Back in Dim Past”. The Oklahoman (Oct. 22, 1922): 10.

“Big, Red Apples for Halloween” (AD). The Oklahoman (Oct. 30, 1923): 5.

“Youth to Make Merry Tonight, on Hallowe’en.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 31, 1922): 12.

“Pranksters Are Few, Say Cops.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 29, 1923): 3.

“Okmulgee Has Wild Hallowe’en Frolic.” The Oklahoman (Nov. 2,1925): 3.

“Hallowe’en Booth” (AD) The Oklahoman (Oct. 29, 1926):22.

“Hallowe’en Jokes Do Little Damage.” The Oklahoman (Nov. 1, 1926): 20

“Halloween Fete is Planned at Enid.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 9, 1929): 17.

“Halloween Is Observed With Party: Dr. and Mrs. John Payne Entertain for Their Daughter.” The Oklahoman. (Oct. 28, 1929): 6.

Safe and Sensible Halloween: 1930's Oklahoma

Where there is no imagination there is no horror. - - -Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

            With the depression, the 1930’s were a challenge to vast segments of the population to just survive, let alone celebrate a holiday.  Yet, that is often when it is seen that keeping customs alive bring hope for the good times to return.

            In 1930, Halloween was a gooey mess when a well blew and spouted oil all over Northeast Oklahoma City.  It seemed portentous for some, with the recent economic downturn of 1929, known vividly as ‘the crash’, that the incident involving the symbol of oil wealth had occurred so near the state capital.  The mad wealth of the early oil days, surely could not be in jeopardy?  If nothing else, however, it added another layer of excitement to a night already packed with activity.

            As always, diligent law officers and concerning community leaders looked to the schools to warn children about being orderly and safe.  Added to their warnings would be caution about getting close to open flames in their costumes.  The news of children suffering horribly, and even dying, was repeated often to avoid injury.

            Rowdy behavior was still the norm and the use of ‘children’ can be misleading in reading old accounts.  For many in this time period, the children were what we might call adolescents or teenagers.  Smaller children under the age of ten were usually not part of the groups, according to accounts, that took part in the more interesting events.

            For children and youth, feeling the stress and fears of unemployment, poverty, and adult anxiety, the night offered a release.  The adults assumed the night was in their control, but most young people knew it really belonged to them. It always had.

            Late in the decade, Orson Well’s Mercury Theater production of “A War of the Worlds” would add another layer of concern to the holiday.  This was a particularly effective broadcast in America due to the war in Europe and the fears of American being brought into another conflict.  The invasion scenario, no doubt, caused some people to be a bit conflicted about how they would respond to a real life ‘foreign invasion’. 

 ----Marilyn A. Hudson, 2009

“Halloween Costumes”. (AD) The Oklahoman (Oct. 26, 1920): 11.

“Woman’s Death Attributed to Halloween Explosion.” The Oklahoman (Nov. 1, 1930): 1

“True Cauldron of Witches Bubbles Evil Air Over City: Wild Well Spouting on Halloween Night is Appropriate Gesture for the Season.” The Oklahoman (Nov.1, 1930): 13.

“It’s Time to Take in the Chairs”  The Oklahoman. (Oct. 29, 1931): 1.

“Make your Hallowe’en Cake a thriller with Calumet’s Double-Action!” (AD) The Oklahoman ( Oct. 31, 1931)7.

“Two Children Die as Costumes Burn.” The Oklahoman (Nov. 3, 1931)4.

“Halloween Edict Goes to Schools.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 28, 1930): 14.

“Death Blamed on Halloween.”  The Oklahoman (Nov. 2, 1932): 8.

“Sanity Rules Halloween Over All U.S. This Year.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 31, 1935. 12.

“School Head Tells of Boy’s Death in Halloween Prank.” The Oklahoman (Nov. 2, 1935)8.

“Shh! It’s Going to Be A Safe and Sane Halloween.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 25m 1936)19.

“Ghosts, Soap Witches Too Halloween!” The Oklahoman (Oct. 31, 1936) 10.

“Second Halloween Afflicts Scores of Householders.” The Oklahoman (Nov. 1, 1937); 2.

“Police Happy as Halloween Party Plans Are Pushed.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 10, 1937) 79.

“Children’s Joy is Helloween to Grownups: Peace Parties Help, but not much. The City is Torn Up.” The Oklahoman. (Oct. 31, 1937): 17-18.

“No Nightmare, Just Halloween Spooks.” (with photo) The Oklahoman (Oct. 23 1938): 32.

“Men of Mars” Scare Brings Added Threat: Technique Change Promised By Network Heads.” The Oklahoman (Nov. 1, 1938)6.

“Clean Halloween Fun to be Police Standard.” The Oklahoman (Oct. 30, 1939): 1.

“Little Darlings Give the Folks a Fretful Night: For What they Did on Halloween They Could Go To Jail.” Nov. 1, 1939)1.

“Two Letter Writers Stand Up for Modern Halloween Fun.” The Oklahoman (Nov. 8, 1939)20.