Pucker Up!

I found these masks at an estate sale a couple months ago for $3 each.  The first mask is made by Van Dam of France.  I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a monkey, a vampire or a monkey vampire.

Spooks of the Valley

"Spooks of the Valley" was written in 1947 by Louis C. Jones and illustrated by Erwin H. Austin. It's a relatively tame story about two boys who make the acquaintance of a restless spirit named George.

Injun Summer

I found this sheet of newspaper clipped and saved from the October 20th, 1963 edition of The Chicago Tribune.  Written and illustrated by Pulitzer Prize winner John T. McCutcheon in 1907, it was reprinted annually starting in 1912 until 1992. The story is told by an old man to his grandson of his memories of when Native Americans roamed the very land on which they sit and how on a Fall evening they can still be seen through the hazy smoke of a burning leaf pile.  Full of folksy, old-timey dialect, it's also full of out-dated terms and notions that lead to complaints from the public and its eventual retirement in 1992.  Since then, there have been equal calls for it to be either returned or forgotten.  To me, despite the use of insensitive terms that quite frankly were still commonly used in my childhood (not to mention still used today by certain sports teams), I think the old man in this strip is sympathetic to the "injuns" and even laments their disappearance.

I've copied the text below to save your eyes.

Halloween Napkins

I found these napkins (unused of course) in a bag of Halloween party supplies at an estate sale last weekend. Sadly, there was only one of these.  

 I love this style. I'm not sure why there hasn't been a resurgence in it.

What was on TV October 18th through 24th, 1997

When it comes to the word "vintage", I'll admit I'm a bit of a snob.  To me, vintage is 1980's and prior.  So when I found this TV Guide from 1997 mixed among my other "classics", I snubbed it. Heck, I even sneered at it.  1997?  Why, I'd already been married 5 years when you came out!  You're nothing but a punk! But then I realized, it's been almost 20 years since this issue came out.  In fact, babies born when this issue came out are graduating high school this year.  My own son was born mere months after this issue debuted.  How did that happen?  I can't even remember what I did in the past 20 years. It almost makes you nostalgic for those years.  When did the '90's go all "misty-water-colored-memories" on us?  I guess it was inevitable.  So October 18th through the 24th TV Guide, go ahead, show your stuff.  You deserve it.

Halloween Cookery

This Betty Crocker Party Book dates from 1960 and dedicates 2 pages to Halloween recipes (kind of light if you ask me).

Hoostradoos and You

I recently found this October 1982 issue of The Missouri Conservationist.