Call for Halloween Help

Not so long ago I answered Library Dave's call for help.  It was shortly after Larry Simpson's passing.  He wrote an editorial in the Hope Star-Journal encouraging community members to step up.  I wish I had his exact words; it was very well written.  He acknowledged what a huge hole Larry's passing would leave in the fabric of our community and encouraged local residents to get involved and volunteer.  All the wonderful free family events Hope hosts require a lot of volunteers.  It's a labor of love.  I answered that call and was assigned to be a narrator on the haunted hayride.  I found it vastly rewarding.  It made for a long night and a hoarse voice after several rounds narrating over the roar of a tractor and an at times not so attentive audience.  But then there was the little boy who requested my wagon three times, and brought his grandma back at the end of the night to experience the stories, so enthralled was he.  We did one more round just for him and his grandma, even though we were freezing and ready to go home. I've also been recognized in the Dollar Store and chided for scaring a child so badly with my tales of a sad and lonely child trapped and languishing in the attic of a home on Jackson street.  Recently I was called that short haired museum lady by a local child.  I'm okay with this nameless recognition.   I grew up in Hope, and I remember vividly the adults who showed up for me.  I may have not known their names at the time, but the memories I made from their efforts lasted.  One of my earliest memories of Barb Johnson is winning a potato sack race in the square, and being presented with at silver Susan B. Anthony coin.  I wish I had kept it instead of promptly spending it on some Heritage Days plastic junk.  

I kept right on volunteering after that first Halloween event.  I now volunteer regularly with Main Street, and I'm president of the Yellow Trail Museum.  I owe a debt of gratitude to those who came before me and made Hope a great place to live and work.  Now one of those great people is asking for help.  Dave Miller, our town librarian and curator of Goodies, Ghosts and Goblins needs help.  He needs volunteers to help with pumpkin painting, narrators for the ghost stories, tractors and hay wagons as well as drivers, and families or businesses willing to pass out candy during trunk or treat.  Won't you please answer his call?  I know you'll find it as rewarding as I have.   Contact Dave Miller at the Hope Branch Library at 812-546-5676 if you are willing to lend a hand.