Deep into Christmas

With ghost stories and Thanksgiving behind me, I am now buried in Christmas. Not decorations or baking though--right now it's stories and songs that occupy my mind.

I have 6 performances scheduled this year, each one slightly different from the other. The first three I am doing with fellow storyteller Stas Ziolkowski of Sharpsburg, MD. First is a library program in Hancock, MD. For that I am preparing a wide range of stories for audience members of all ages--because at library programs you never know for sure who will turn up. So my storybag will have stories for little ones as well as stories that the whole family can enjoy. These will be secular stories and songs, lots of folklore and Santa! (Click on the posters to see them full-screen to read the details)

Following that program on Saturday, I'll be doing a private house concert with Stas. I have been doing this house concert for 5 years or maybe more, so each year I bring something different to the performance.

This year, with the 100th anniversary end of WWI in 1918, my mind has been on wartime and how holidays might have been celebrated in those times. So I will be telling the story of the Christmas Truce of 1914 with a personal twist--two of my great-uncles were in the region of France where the truce was observed. I will also tell the story of the tiny truce of WWII, a surprising tale I happened on last year. It's a heartwarming tale of bravery and humanity. Then there was the Civil War. What must that have been like for the troops, and for those at home? So a few wartime stories, along with Stas' stories, favorite carols and sing-along...it will be a good time.

The following day Stas and I will be at Victory Garden Ranch in Sharpsburg, a veteran-centered store, bringing our stories and songs.

So the war stories will have another airing, mixed with some of the stories from the library program if there are children and families present.

My great-uncle James Barnes Wilson, my mother-s uncle--at Neuve Chappelle, France, after the battle there. All that remains of the church is a few stones, one timber and the crucifix. James is standing by a roll of telephone wire--that was his job, stringing the line from the rear to the front for communication between the planners and the battle line. He died at the battle of Festubert on May 22, 1915, a battle in which over 16,000 British troops lost their lives.

Next, after this weekend in Maryland, I will be home in my own county, telling Christmas stories to the local CEOs group (formerly the Extension Homemakers). Then a break for a couple weeks before another day of stories on December 19th. On that day I'll be in Salem, WV to tell Appalachian stories to the local garden club, then more Christmas stories and songs in the evening at the Philippi, WV library, accompanied by musician David O'Dell. David and I performed together at the lbirary last year, and it was the perfect mix of dulcimer, guitar, singing and stories.

So it's back to work for this old lady. But it's a labor of love, so can I really call it work?

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Snowy Day

It has been snowing off and on since Monday, little pilfering flurries that don't amount to much but look so pretty. We have a nice cover on the ground now, but the roads are still fine. Tomorrow, I hear, rain showers are on the way, which should make everything nice and mushy. True November weather.

We had to go out today, so I snapped photos along the way home.

Along Route 33: 

 On our ridge, we met this happy beagle hauling his prize, a deer bone.

 The little neighborhood church...

getting closer to home..

a stop at the maibox...

down the driveway...

and home!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Thanksgiving

Busy times around this place!

First, a drive to Pittsburgh to pick up our youngest son and his family on Thursday--that was Thanksgiving Day for the US but for us it was a much better thing, seeing our son whom we have not seen since last year. And seeing his wife and daughter again too. What a treat. Lorena and Natasha had never been in cold weather before, being from Venezuela and currently living in Miami, so the sight of a car with real snow on it at the airport was an exciting event!

We took a longer road home from the airport so Tommy could show them the campus of Fairmont State, where he went to college.

The next day we took them around our little town of Ripley, then to the local moonshine distillery and on to the State Capitol. It was a beautiful day, perfect for sight-seeing.

We got home in time to make pies, cranberry sauce and a few other things, because our Thanksgiving dinner would be the next day. We had lots of family coming too, many of them wanting to meet Lorena and Natasha for the first time. We got our little Christmas tree decorated, and that evening we spent time by the firepit, the perfect end to a lovely day.

Then Saturday morning, we were back to cooking and company began arriving. By dinnertime we were 22 strong, exactly the number of places we'd set at the table. Whew.

It was so good to have so many of my sons and their families here again--it has been some time since we've had so many at one time. Sunday we fixed a big country breakfast and then were back on the road to the airport. The time went so fast, and I was so very sad to see them leave. Ah well. We will be Florida-bound in the spring, and they will be back again in the fall.


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Cleaning, Cleaning: Getting Ready

For two people we sure make a lot of mess!

Last years tabletop floral arrangement.

The last few days have been all about cleaning and putting away, sorting and all of the things one does when company is coming. I hope to get some baking done today.

Since our Thanksgiving is not until Saturday, I have a little more time in one way, less in another. Because I will be driving to Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving Day to pick up our youngest son and his family, so there won't be any cooking that day. I'm thinking to make pies, corn salad and cranberry sauce on Friday, and maybe corn muffins then too, to serve instead of rolls with our dinner on Saturday.


The rest of the menu: turkey of course, dressing because my youngest asked for it, perhaps a deer roast, mashed potatoes, wild rice, green beans with almonds, corn and black bean salad, carrots in maple syrup or yams with cranberries and apples, and Waldorf salad (my variation of it). Then pumpkin pie, pumpkin-chocolate bread, apple pie. That should do it. Planning on between 18-23 people.

How are your plans coming?  Got your menu planned?

Last year's table.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Storytelling, Storytelling

The whirl of storytelling slows down for a week or so now, with the completion of Tellabration in Athens Ohio last night.

It was a fun tine at Athens Uncorked--I mean, wine and stories? Yes please.

Now to get ready for a visit from my youngest son and his family, and a Thanksgiving dinner (on Saturday instead of Thursday as we will be picking them up at the airport in Pittsburgh that day) with most of our family present. Good times ahead for sure.


After that, back to the books to get ready for Christmas performances! These two, along with a house concert, will be with my friend, storyteller Stas Ziolkowski at the beginning of December. More programs later in December.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Tellabration! Athens, Ohio

Coming this Sunday!  I'll just be back from my workshop at the WV Writers Fall Conference, and ready to tell some tales and sing a song or two.

See you there!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

WV Writers Fall Conference: Presenting a Workshop

Tomorrow! Looking forward to presenting this workshop with my friend Janet Smart.

Black Dogs and Horse Collars: Folklore, Superstition, and the Writer - Folk beliefs are a strong element of Appalachian culture. People often quote weather proverbs, plant by the signs and use folk remedies even as they interact in the modern world of technology and social media. Folklore is integral to who we are and where we come from, and can add humor, suspense and anticipation to stories, articles and poetry. This workshop that explores the role of folklore and superstition in our lives and how old lore can add depth to characters and deepen a sense of place in any written work. This class is intended for poetry, prose, and creative nonfiction writers.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

The Haunted Tunnel

I made an effort to get to places I wanted to see, or see again, during our recent travels.

One such place was Eatons Tunnel.

I heard about the tunnel one night when we were lost on a back road in Ritchie county. We met a couple in a Jeep back that narrow dirt road, and the man asked why we were out there. I explained that I was a storyteller and was looking for the community called Petroleum because the place had such a rich history.

"Petroleum? Ain't nothin' much there. You keep on this road, you'll get there. But if you're a storyteller then you know about Eatons Tunnel."

My ears perked up. No, I had not heard of this tunnel. But it is now one of the stories I tell most often. (You can hear it on my latest CD, Beyond the Grave II, available from me or on eBay)

"You just passed it. The tunnel collapsed when they was building it and three men got trapped inside. They couldn't get 'em out so they just sealed it up and built a new tunnel. People can hear things in the old tunnel, voices, a train, machinery..."

I researched what the man told me, and it was mostly true. While widening the tunnels for the newer, bigger locomotives, Eaton Tunnel (Tunnel 21 on the B&O line from Grafton to Parkersburg) did collapse. The tunnel was originally built in 1869, and it collapsed during construction then too, killing young Thomas Nashville Johnson and leaving his young wife with four children to raise. (she married two more times, ending up with 15 children).

The second collapse happened on June 6, 1963. Three men were trapped; one was rescued within hours and suffered only a broken ankle. The second man, Arthur Boggs, was rescued after 18 frantic hours, but later died in hospital of his injuries. He was only 24.

From the Find-A-Grave website:

"BOGGS RIGHTS TO BE HELD WEDNESDAY
Funeral services for Arthur Brooks Boggs, 24 of Perkins, Gilmer county, who died Sunday morning in Mt. Carmel Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, as a result of injuries suffered in a tunnel cave in at Eatons, Wood county, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Rosedale Baptist Church, Gilmer county.
The Rev. Rodney Minney will officiate, and burial will be in Shiloh cemetery, near Glenville. 
Boggs was born June 16,1938 at Perkins, near Glenville, son of Benton Boggs, deceased, and Mrs. Sylvia Boggs Dejean of Cleveland, and was a member of the Rosedale Baptist Church.
Survivors, mother Sylvia Boggs Dejean, wife, Marlene Furr Boggs; son Arthur Brooks Boggs Jr. Four sisters, Mrs Lucy Vanscoy; of Gassaway, Mrs. Pearl Carpenter, Akron; and seven brothers, William and Earl Boggs,Akron, Floyd, Lester, and Herbert Boggs of Mansfield, Ohio, and Harvey Boggs, with the U S Marine Corps at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
He was preceded in death by a daughter.
Mr Boggs was one of two men caught in a rock fall last Thursday in the B&O Railroad tunnel, approximately 20 miles east of Parkersburg and 18 hours of labor by rescue crews were required to extricate him. The second man, Harry Buck Nichols, 51 of Bartlett Ohio has not been found but is presumed dead. 
Mr. Boggs was rushed to Camden Clark Memorial Hospital after his rescue from the rock slide but was later transported to the Columbus institution when his kidneys ceased to function. 
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Spurgeon funeral home at Glenville, where friends may call."
-----------------------
The third man was Harry "Buck" Nichols of Cutler, Ohio. Despite trying for two weeks, recovery efforts were abandoned and the tunnel was sealed.

From Find-A-Grave:

"Died in the Eaton Tunnel cave in on June 6, 1963.
Body was never recovered, was sealed and still entombed there.
Harry was 46 years of age, married to Lucy E Nichols, was a resident of Cutler, Ohio
Was the son of Calvin and Virgie Nichols."

The path to the old tunnel

The sealed entrance to the old tunnel 21--Harry Nichols' resting place.

The other entrance to the old Tunnel 21

I never found an obituary for Harry Nichols. Perhaps there wasn't one since there was a time lapse of several months between the time of the cave-in and his official death certificate.

Today Tunnel 21 is part of the North Bend Rail Trail. You can walk through the new tunnel, and there is a muddy path leading to where the old tunnel, now completely collapsed, once was. Many people visit the new tunnel, leaving graffiti, ouija boards and other things to note their visit.

There is no marker to say that the old tunnel is a man's final resting place. Perhaps if there were, the sounds people hear at the tunnel would cease.

I am glad we visited. Next time, we'll be sure to bring some flowers. Rest in peace, Mr. Nichols.

Sounds inside the new tunnel:

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Mountain Top Sculpture Garden

We first saw them in 2011 as we were returning from a trip to Virginia where I'd presented a workshop at a storytelling conference. I was fascinated then and have never forgotten them---but where were they? Neither of us could recall!

But on our trip to the eastern side of West Virginia a week or so ago, we stopped at an old store in Riverton. And one of the men there knew what I was talking about. It was too far to go back to find the sculptures that day, but we agreed that when we returned to visit my son and to make fruitcakes with my sisters, we would look again.

We got lucky. We found them, on the western side of South Branch Mountain, not far from Franklin, WV.

We got even luckier. Their creator happened to be at his welding shop. I was taken aback at first by his dog, a mix of bulldog and something else, that came running at us, but he turned out to be a good ol' dog, thank goodness. However, I don't think I'd want to meet up with him if his owner wasn't there--a good watchdog, I'd bet.

We had a good chat with Dennis. He made the sculptures so long ago he can't remember when it was, and some of them, he said, have Confederate steel in them that a friend gave to him.

I am glad we found this place again, and even more glad to have met the creator of such imaginative work. I hope we get to see him again.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.