I love the colours used in CLeo artwork and the combination of realistic and abstract elements coming together. Check out CLeo’s page for more artworks, photography and information:

https://www.facebook.com/CLeoByCrystalLeonardi

“A Writer’s Playground”

A place to find wordplay, writing, and monthly calendar activities for kids and those young at heart.

Think:  What does the word “May” bring to mind?  Mother’s Day, Teacher Appreciation, and Memorial Day.  What lesser known days bring you pleasure?  My younger grandson loves Batman.  I was excited to learn that May 1 is Batman Day.  I hope you find a listing that pleases you just as much.

Special Days in May:

• Batman Day:  1  Who do you know who loves Batman?  Who or what was your super hero when you were younger?  How are these alike?
• Mother Goose Day:  1  Who is Mother Goose?  What else do you know about her?
• National Dance Day:  1  Do you like to dance?  What type dances can you do?
• National Two Different Colored Shoes Day:  3–Have you ever done this on accident?  I have.  It’s embarrassing.  My shoes were close in color and the same style shoe.  One was black and one was navy.
• International Firefighters Day:  4  Do you know a firefighter?  Thank him/her!
• Star Wars Day:  4  Have you ever had a theme party?  Have you ever made costumes for the guests?  Check out more a Star Wars theme party on my friend’s blog.  http://joanyedwards.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/family-sewing-projects-jedi-robes-and-princess-leia-ponchos/
• Cartoonist Day:  5  Who is your favorite cartoonist?  What makes  this art so funny?
• No Socks Day:  8  I know an adult man, an attorney, who doesn’t wear socks.  I know a doctor who wears sandals all year?  Who do you know like this?
• Windmill Day:  10  Have you ever seen a windmill?  Where was it?
• Letter Carrier’s Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day:  11–What do you know about this event?  Have you ever participated in it?
• Limerick Day:  12  What is a limerick?  Do you have a favorite?  Share it with someone.
• Mother’s Day: 12  What will you do for your mom?  What does she do for you?  Thank her.
• Biographer’s Day:  16  Name a biography.  Name an autobiography.  What’s the difference?  Name one you have read.
• NASCAR Day:  17  Do you follow NASCAR?  Who is your favorite driver, if you do?  What number does he drive?  Can you describe his car?  Are there female drivers?  Share a NASCAR fact with someone.
• O. Henry Pun-off Day:  18.  Who is O. Henry?  What is a pun?  Research and see what one has to do with the other.
• Weights and Measures Day:  20  Where are weights used?  When are items measured?  What do you think this celebration is about?
• Don’t Fry Day:  24  Why would this day be celebrated?  What foods do you eat fried that could be baked or grilled? 
• Morse Code Day:  24  How is Morse Code used and when?  Can you tap out a short message? 
• Cookie Monster’s Birthday:  25  Who is Cookie Monster?  What television program is he on?  What gift would you take cookie monster?  Why?
• International Jazz Day:  25  Look for jazz CDs, books about jazz, jazz performances, etc.
• Memorial Day:  27  Why is this day celebrated?  How will you celebrate?
• Learn About Composting Day:  29  What is composting?  Who do you know who has a compost bin?
• World No-Tobacco Day:  31  Do you know why this is celebrated?  Why would this goal be a good one to reach?  Do you think it is very likely?  Why or why not?

Special Weeks in May:

• Be Kind to Animals Week:  5-11
• National Wildflower Week:  6-12  Name flowers you have seen growing wild.
• Reading is Fun Week: 12-18
• National Etiquette Week:  13-17  What is etiquette?  Who has taught you etiquette?  Thank them.
• National Backyard Games Week:  20-26  Name your favorite.  Share a story about it.

May is…

• Gardening for Wildlife Month–What do you plant or provide for wildlife in your yard?
• Get Caught Reading Month–What would you get caught reading if someone knocked on your door today?  Five years ago?  For pleasure?  For assignments?
• National Bike Month–What stories are special to you that contain a bike?  Why?
• National Inventors Month–Create a list of your favorite inventors.  Ask friends to name their favorites.  Are any the same? What did these people invent?  Research more about them. 
• National Photo Month–Take a photograph and share it with someone.  What is your favorite topic to photograph?
• National Physical Fitness & Sports Month–What is your favorite type of exercise?  What sports do you enjoy participating in?  What sports do you enjoy watching?
• National Smile Month–Research smile trivia.  Ask your friends questions using your research.  For example, is it true that it takes less muscles to smile than to frown?

Copyright by Laura Reeves 2013.  http://www.reevesartworks.com/contact.html

• National Youth Traffic Safety Month–What traffic safety rules do you know?  Which have helped keep you safe?  How?
• Older Americans Month–Who would you list in this category?  What type things do you do with older Americans/people?  What else could you do together?
• Young Achievers of Tomorrow Month–What achievement would you like to be known for in the future?  What are you doing to make that a reality?
• National Family Month–(5/12-6/16)–What things does your family do together?  Do you have family meetings?  Do you plan together?  What does quality family time look like to you?  What can you do to improve family times?

*Thank you Brownie Locks.com for May celebration information.  For more May observances check out:  http://www.brownielocks.com/may.html

Thank you for visiting “A Writer’s Playground.” Please come again soon.  Bring a friend.

Copyright © 2013 Linda Martin Andersen

Leaving charming Williams, AZ after breakfast we rapidly descended from 7,600 ft to less than 400 at the Colorado River. The terrain changed and changed again, from tall pines to arid red rocks to scrub desert as we spiraled down out of the high land of the Colorado Plateau.

Looking at Needles, CA across Goose Lake, Havasu Wildlife Refuge, Topock, AZ

Seeing a watery wildlife refuge, we exited Route 40 just before the California line. Tango got to wallow in water from the Colorado that fills Goose Lake, a huge wetland surrounded by white sand desert. It was hot and windy, and a very strange place. Even a few dozen yards from the water and the landscape was unforgivingly harsh. Still, there was the scruffy town of Topock there, touting its recreational benefits.

After lunch we excitedly crossed into the Golden State and began climbing uphill again. Soon it was apparent that we were in a monumental desert world. The adjective ‘lunar’ worked its way into the conversation. Almost all the greenery disappeared and the colors grew muted. Some cactuses, a few small yuccas, tumbleweeds. And rocks, sand, wind.

Mountains were toothy and varied in color and form. Sometimes there was a totally black mountain. Later we saw more ‘malpais’ – recent lava erruptions of grainy black stone. There were no signs of life, no living things, no houses or power lines. For dozens of miles.

The Mohave Desert is over 25,000 square miles of daunting desert, stretching from Vegas into Arizona and California. It felt like the surface of Mars, only less colorful. It’s the first landscape where I couldn’t imagine surviving on my own. I like to think I am comfortable in the wilderness. But this environment was deeply hostile in my book, despite the long list of creatures who live there.

Jose and I have been on the road for over 3,200 miles and ten days. We’re tired, and so is our vehicle. Today, while watching the engine light and the temp gauge, one strap holding the bicycle broke, fortunately we caught it before it got completely loose. Later, in 30+ mph winds the cartop carrier began rattling ominously, so again we were on the hot, windy and dangerous highway fussing with straps and buckles to cinch it tighter.

After the blasted feeling of the Mohave, climbing up into the Tehachapi pass with all its windmills was exhilarating. But then the high winds had whipped the dust into a haze, and the sun was low. All those twirling pinwheels spinning on the mountainsides were mesmerizing.

After that, the rugged hills softened to a leathery tan, more green appeared and livestock to dine on it. Trees other than Joshua were a sight for sore eyes. And when we hit the first orchards in Caliente, it was like being in candy-land. The colors were so intense!

Here in north Bakersfield The air smells of flowers and manure, and its relatively humid. there are vineyards and orchards just outside of town, and they will line our route home tomorrow, the Garden Basket of the US.

Welcome to California, a huge, strange, rugged, lush state. What a first day!!

Thanks everyone for following along on this wacky adventure. There are many more tales to tell, and tomorrow, more miles to go. Stay tuned!

Where my heart is

The Dustbin group that originally started it were people who were coming down from the Hill, coming down to East Street to do their shopping and they would have to cross this derelict land where most of the houses had been knocked down, just one or two standing – like teeth! …

…And as they came through they would see rats, lots and lots of rats! So that was the impetus behind the Dustbin group, to clean out the land and to make environmental improvement…”

People wanted something better than what they’d got which was this: lots of houses that had been knocked down and rubble, rats and the odd house that was left, and this fenced off area with these cars just dumped. Anybody coming down from the Hill…that’s what they had to go through so it [creating a City Farm] was seen as a positive thing to do…”

Vauxhall was the first of the London City Farms, which is quite a small site, they’ve always had horses and ponies…it gave you a real feel of what you could do with a derelict area. So there was a lot of interest at the time and a steering group that got off the ground….”

My first involvement was I came down one weekend where the group had set up, you know: ‘There could be allotments here’, ‘There could be a duck pond here’ [signs] and so on. The idea was to show local people, to say yes, we could do this here! That was the very beginning, my first involvement, coming down to see that event with [my daughter] Lucy as a babe in arms…”

I seem to remember it was quite wet, there was a lot of mud and people in raincoats. But the idea was to set something up so that people could come over at any point in the weekend and see what some of the possibilities could be.

That was the start of things”.

 

Interview recorded by Ruth Dean, August 2012

And in my case, I am in love with letterpress.

Let me introduce my 3 buddies at my studio. And I start with the guy first, Will.

I named our Windmill Letterpress “Will”, which comes from omitting the middle letters of Windmill. Printing with our Heideberg Windmill Letterpress is sometimes quite tiring. But it’s a good exercise for me. :p

“Will” is a little  hard to control compared to my other two girl friends, “Felicity” & “Sofia”. They are antique handpress, a brand called “Chandler and Price”

I am lucky to meet some good “si fu” – printing masters. And they are very friendly and helpful, especially Mr. Wong who always share his experience with me. I am very thankful, so I work harder in return. :)

There’s such satisfaction and sense of accomplishment when I see my design churning out from the letterpress. :D

p.s. Don’t print when you are tired or hungry….and yes…I got hit by the safety guard…twice….

So here, I got some gadgets to helps.

Who said a woman can’t print? With the right leverage, you can control a big machine.

Why one red and one black? Coz they come from one pair of black and one pair of red gloves.. and yes, both the right ones were broken. I am going to buy a new pair for cleaning….

When you stand in front of the letterpress for the whole day, you need a comfy shoes…I love this straw sandals!! ❤

Keep in mind that corporations aren’t the actors per se, but they are the machines by which wealth is extracted from workers and consumers and nations, into the hands and pockets of the corporations true owners, and chief transgressors, the CEO and capital banking class.
Modern corporations serve one function only — to make the CEO class obscenely rich.
The looting of global wealth into the hands of the bankers and CEO class is a simple two-step process: Corporations use free trade laws to loot the world. CEOs then loot the corporations and live higher and better than the kings and governments that they control. This is their strategy of world economic dominance;

1.The CEO’s capture of corporations.

2. Wealth capture of government, or the economic bleeding of the people and hence, the governments source of capital. This in turns allows corporate purchase of elected governments.

3.A global free-trade regime, legitimized and sanctioned by world governments that are wholly bought by corporate interests. The rise of free-market ideology, along with the acceptance that if the financial markets want to move money across borders, there must be a good reason and they should be free to do so at will.
“free trade” means one thing only — the ability of people with capital to move that capital freely, anywhere in the world, seeking the highest profit. These “forces of globalization” are not acts of God. Rather they were crafted as legislation by business leaders and their tributaries the politicians., namely by works such as the NAFTA and GATT treaties, and now the TPP.

What marks the difference between the era of capital control and our current free-trade era?
Near-constant economic crisis.
Growing worldwide poverty, and a disappearing middle class. Chronic unemployment, shadow taxes (inflation), and mandatory wall st. gambling money premiums on everything we buy. Also a total breakdown in government services, and a degradation of basic humans rights and freedoms, as well as a corporate buyout of all national resources and legislative processes.

These crises, here in America, and elsewhere, are tied to large and unrestricted inflows of capital, followed by large and unrestricted outflows that create economic bubbles, then leave them thoroughly deflated.

The best predictor of a crisis is large inflows of foreign money. The foundation of a crisis is often laid by a rush of foreign investors into a country, followed by a sudden rush out.
For example; There’s an opportunity in America , let’s say, to take advantage of the speculation driven expansion of the real estate market bubble. Money flows in, builds huge capacity, people earn false equity on there homes, then the money all flows out as soon as it finds better opportunity elsewhere. What’s left behind? The Americans in a crashed economy, and living in a world in which the holders of their debt, the American Government are beholden to make sure that the creditors, the big banks and wall street speculators, are made whole at the expense of entire populations who have nothing left to lose.

What’s left? The wreck of an economy. Where’s the money? In the pockets of the bankers, CEOs and wall street speculators.(offshore tax havens)

Our “economic crisis” is just their “cost of doing business”

Keep in mind, the purpose of unrestricted “free trade” is to hand this high privileged business advantage to the fabulously rich, over everyone else on the planet, and we are forced to serve these oligarchs on their every maniacal whim. Great sickening wealth insulates these men and women from troubles, or the suffering of their slaves, so even global economic crisis is just the externalized price (that we pay) for their wealth extraction enterprise.
(some of the above information on the workings of free market capitalism, was paraphrased from the commentary of Yves Smith from Zero Hedge)

It can be said with accuracy that Wall Street is the very seat of power and corruption for the miserable corporate reign of Babylon the great. And New York City is the “great city” spoken of in Bible prophecy.

Jeremiah 22:17
“Assuredly your eyes and your heart are upon nothing but upon your unjust gain, and upon the blood of the innocent one in order to shed [it], and upon defrauding and upon extortion in order to carry them on.”

Lets look back now, at the beginnings of the Great City, and how she extorted her great wealth from the people. Also how she laid the foundations for her ascendancy to global economic supremacy.

Histories of New York

The original seal of New York depicted two flour barrels and two windmills that represented the tremendous wealth generated by New York City from the Bolting Act of 1674. The Act gave the city an exclusive monopoly to mill and export grain for all the original colonies.

The governor of the times, accomplished many things for the general good of the city, but nothing so equitable as when he, after having served as Governor for only four years, and when the most important product of trade was flour, enacted a law by which no one was permitted to make flour outside of the city. This was called the Bolting Act. Flour cannot be made unless it is “bolted”or has the bran taken from it—and so the act came by its name.

The right to grind all the grain into flour may not now seem very important in this day and age, but it certainly was at the time, for it drew all trade through the port city. So you see , the Bolting Act was a very good thing for the city and for her businessmen, and very bad for the people and farmers who did not live in the city. The city folks became very prosperous indeed, but the others, because they could not make or sell flour, became poorer day by day.

This went on for sixteen years, and then the law came to an end. But by that time all the business of the entire province had centred in the city so firmly that it could not be drawn away. (-Info sourced and paraphrased from Wikipedia)

So, after this, when you look at a picture of the original Seal of New York, and see a windmill and two barrels of flour, you will remember that the windmill sails worked the millstone that ground the flour, and the barrels (e’pha) were filled with that flour which laid the very foundation of the city’s fortunes; and these were put on the seal so that this monopolistic extortion would always be remembered.
So you have the beginnings of the great city, and the monopolistic extortive and unjust way in which it built its fortune and laid its foundation at the expense of poor farmers struggling to earn a living. It became the heart of commerce for the new world. To be built excelsior (ever upward) until it became a city having economic “dominion over the kings of the earth.”

Hence we go back to the woman, of the prophechy of Zechariah that is described as “wickedness”, hidden in the e’pha. This represents capitalism, and the spirit of greed, expansion and corruption. The woman and the e’pha represents the wicked spirit of Babylon the great through unjust personal enrichment. By the genocide of many peoples, by plundering of resources, and finally through the control of food production and ultimately all trade and commerce New York rose to be world capital for trade and commerce. This is the beginning of the source of wealth for the great port city of New York.

“And a strong angel lifted up a stone like a great millstone and hurled it into the sea, saying: “Thus with a swift pitch will Babylon the great city be hurled down, and she will never be found again.”
“and no sound of a millstone will ever be heard in you again“

Lets gaze further into the past to the beginnings of Wall Street in the great city…
The name Wall Street sprang from the fortified enclosure or wall, that was built on site by the Dutch settlers to protect against Indian aggression. The settlers also kept all their Livestock corralled here. later, after a peace treaty was signed with the Indians, the site was used as a fifteen acre enclosed pasture for sheep.
In these early days, local merchants and traders would gather at disparate spots to buy and sell shares and bonds, and stock. Over time, the traders divided themselves into two classes; auctioneers and dealers.
Wall Street was also the marketplace where owners could hire out their slaves by the day or week.
New York grew in importance as a trading port while under British rule. It became a center of slavery, with 42% of households holding slave by 1730, more than any other city other than Charleston, South Carolina. Most slaveholders held a few or several domestic slaves, but others hired them out to work at labor. Slavery became integrally tied to New York’s economy through the labor of slaves throughout the port, and the banks and shipping tied to the South. Discovery of the African Burying Ground in the 1990s during construction of a new federal courthouse near Foley Square revealed that tens of thousands of Africans had been buried in the area in the colonial years. (Info sourced and paraphrased from wikipedia)

Revelation 17:
“Also, the traveling merchants of the earth are weeping and mourning over her, because there is no one to buy their full stock anymore, a full stock of gold and silver and precious stone and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet; and everything in scented wood and every sort of ivory object and every sort of object out of most precious wood and of copper and of iron and of marble; also cinnamon and Indian spice and incense and perfumed oil and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat and cattle and sheep, and horses and coaches and slaves and human souls. Yes, the fine fruit that your soul desired has departed from you, and all the dainty things and the gorgeous things have perished from you, and never again will people find them.”

So in New York you have the international banking capital of the world and the Wall Street stock market casino extraordinaire , as well as the world headquarters for the United Nations, which sits on sovereign international territory.
Lets draw now a parallel between the great city of Nimrod, and the present day city of New York.

The city of New York is a place where people from all nationalities have come, in the hopes of starting a better life for themselves and their families, much the same as in Nimrods day.
The city of New York’s motto is the word “Excelsior” which is Latin for “ever upward” in the identical spirit of the Tower of Babel that was built in Shi’nar of old.
New York city is the modern seat of power and world economic domination for Babylon the great.
So with this in mind, it would be prudent to revisit the prophecies concerning the coming fate of Babylon the great, and for the warning to all of Gods people who are dwelling there today…

Beginning Altitude: 3605
Current Altitude: 7163

First Cactus: mile 1907
First Mesa: mile 1913

Crossing the High Plains is like driving up a ramp: flat but steadily climbing, climbing. As we approached and crossed into New Mexico the land became more furrowed, rising and falling yet climbing still. You could see the railbed, made mostly level by tunnel and fill. So many trains. Josephine counted 98 cars on one. We chased another, trying to get pics.

We had some misadventure trying to find gas, which led us to Tucumcari, a Route 66 town with many old road relics, sadly many of them closed and rusting. The town has great murals, too, that you’ll see in the photos. Later we went to visit a lake that wasn’t there.

This land is so beautiful, so much blue in the sky, the dark green trees, and the shadows on  the land. Rose and cream and sage and grey hills dotted with cedars. Huge cloud shadows trundling across the hills. The photos cant do it justice, especially shot out the car window. But here they are, anyway.

Finally we arrived in Santa Fe, where I spent time visiting with my friend Elizabeth, so good to see her!!

Can you tell, I am too tired to write a proper travelog tonight? And my adventure mate is already snoring! But here are some photos to tide you over until next time. there are certainly tales to tell.

The Mother Road

Wind Farm – Texas

First Cactus – Texas

At last! (bugs on the windscreen)

Ranch House Cafe

Trains

THE LAKE THAT WASN’T THERE

The ranch lands of Elgin, Arizona – where cattle still graze the grasslands and windmills harness the power of the winds which blow across the sparse, but restful landscape.

Image copyrighted. Any use requires licensing from Martha Lochert.

http://www.MarthaLochertPhotography.com

Hot Docs screened this engaging film last night at the Scotiabank theater.

William Kamkwamba is a young, pensive, and protective man.

He made waves on the world stage when he appeared on TED Talks, and we all learned how this young man was forced to drop out of high school in his Malawian village when his parents could no longer afford it. Coming across a book about energy in the village’s library, the young inventor constructed a windmill which provided electrical power for his home.

He’s also created other inventions to make life better in his tiny village.

When people learn what he’s done a whole new world of opportunity is opened up to him, and this young man goes on a life-changing  journey to improve not only the quality of his life, but hopefully those in his village as well.

With the help of an American entrepreneur, William has a book published, goes to one of the finest schools to prepare him for leadership, and then an offer from Dartmouth arrives, alongside movie options for his life’s story.

I got the impression as the film went on, that William was almost a man divided. He stands on the cusp of adulthood, there is the young inventor, the innovator who helps build a school in his village and there is the man, who is a little withdrawn, almost shell-shocked by all the things he’s seen and done.

He straddles two worlds, the tiny African village he’s called home, and helped to improve and change and the bigger world beyond his doorstep, beckoning him with options, choices and innovations.

His mentor Tom Rielly alternately engages me and puts me off. I think he has William’s best interests at heart but sometimes, there’s just something I can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe it’s just me.

It will be interesting to see what William does with his life now, after a whirlwind book tour around the world and through academia and being given some incredible options for education there seems to be nothing he can’t accomplish if he puts his mind to it.

And while it is amazing that someone noticed this brilliant young man and helped him and gave him some amazing life options, what about all the other brilliant children around the world we should be investing our future in?

Success stories like William’s should be the standard and not the exception, it will be to people like him our planet is entrusted to.

And we will be amazed by what they can accomplish given the means, even if they have to craft it all themselves, like a windmill standing tall in Africa.

William and the Windmill screens twice more, Sunday, April 28 at 11am at the Isabel Bader Theatre and Friday May 3 at 7pm at the Fox Theatre.

What are you seeing today??

A farmer’s old junkyard near a work over rig today. You could see the abandoned homestead house and windmill up the hill.

What am I wearing today? Yep. Leggings as pants. And frankly, I’m loving it!

This year as winter is slowing transitioning into spring, I’m finding myself a little less excited for the clothing change as I usually am! You see, I’m in this mildly frustrating place where I’m sick of dressing for winter, though it remains chilly outside, and a large of portion of my spring/summer attire doesn’t fit anymore because I’ve lost weight, which is a total ‘yay!’ don’t get me wrong! However, all I really want to do is shop, or at least rock something new, so today, I’m doing it in a way I actually could without breaking the already starving bank.

The pros of this look:

- Though the tights arguably make me look a bit hippy, they’re really slimming on the legs!

- When paired with boots, the look isn’t too far off from what it would be if I were wearing black skinny jeans.

- SO FREAKING COMFY! It feels like I’m in sweats and yet when accessorized correctly,  it has the potential to look dressy as hell! (Again, especially when paired with some leather boots!) I totally feel like I’m getting away with something.

The negatives:

- If your leggings sit around your hips, like mine, and don’t come up much further, you may be able to see a little stomach hang, which is unfortunate. (I’ve decided to take it as motivation to excercise in the near future!) This is definitely worsened by wearing crop tops or a really tight blouse. You know your size and how comfortable you are in your own skin, so use your own judgment to make this call!

Accessorize!

I think that people tend to have a problem with others wearing leggings as pants for two reasons. 1) They are not flattering on said person’s body type and/or 2) They can look a little unprofessional, verging on lazy. To help avoid judgment based on the latter, I suggest accessorizing! It shows that you really did put some consideration into your look!

- I chose my windmill necklace to complement my blue tank. Purchased at Pennies in Your Pocket Resale and Consignment for under $10. [6929 S. Lindbergh Blvd #D Saint Louis, MO 63125]. Since Webster U is a big study abroad campus, I’m often asked if I purchased this necklace in Leiden, which is pretty flattering, I must say!)

- My grandmother’s bracelet is a personal favorite of mine, for sentimental reasons, and for the fact that silver matches everything.

- Wearing my blue hoop earrings is a way for me to add a bit of bold to my look. They don’t match much of what I own, but I love wearing them when I can! Super fun for spring and an easy contribution to the variety of blues in my outfit.

Shot by Laim Goslett

Spanish is a vibrant world language that native English-speakers can learn with relative ease.

Sepia (focus)

Colour (out-of-focus)

The last in my series of shots taken on Highdown Hill just outside of Worthing, and a choice for you, dear viewer. Two photographs taken of Ecclesden Mill, and, while I quite like both of them, it’s down to you to choose which you prefer.

The latest collaboration with Richard G can be found on his blog The Future Is Papier Mache, while you can catch more from Cooper-Knight Photography at @CKPonderings on Twitter, or on Facebook.

Charlotte and Maxwell Devereaux 1930

I can not truthfully say whether or not the depression had any ill effect on the Devereaux family fortune.  It is known that Maxwell could have lost about ninety percent of his money and still remained a very rich man.  The depression did not seem to bother the Devereaux family.

Others were not so lucky.

The Great Depression hit the South hard.  Just as the farmers were beginning to recover from the boll weevil invasion, the stock market crashed.  Georgia was also experiencing one of the most severe droughts in the state’s history.  Many, many people suffered devastating, life altering changes, dreadful catastrophic hardships, and even death.

It wasn’t that Charlotte and Maxwell’s daughter, Millicent was unaware of the growing poverty that ravaged Georgia.  She was simply untouched by it.  Her “raison d’être” during the summer and fall of 1931 was the planning and execution of her 21st birthday celebration on October 31st.  This party would mark the debut of her first home away from her parents house in Atlanta.

 Millicent’s new home was the recently finished Devereaux Mansion.  A magnificent Gothic style manor her Father had built as a vacation home in the North Georgia Mountains.

It had taken a lot of effort over the past six months to get the Mansion ready for it’s Halloween debut.  Millicent had spent every waking moment since her parents had given her the keys to the castle, planning and decorating, decorating and planning.

Finally the day arrived.

HALLOWEEN 1931

Halloween Masquerade Ball

Millicent in Victorian Costume

Millicent’s guests arrived all deck out in their best Victorian ball gowns and tuxedos.  They were treated to a lavish ten course, sit down dinner.  Each and every one of them enjoyed the opulence of the Mansion’s sumptuous interior while dining on food both delicious and exotic.  Fine wine, and French champagne was served in spite of prohibition and after dinner there was an elegant Victorian themed ball.  Guests danced and laughed as a live orchestra played til dawn.

Millicent was beautiful, her guests were beautiful, and the Devereaux Mansion was creepily beautiful.

HALLOWEEN 1932

Compared to the elegant Victorian ball of the previous year, the Halloween party of 1932 was almost completely out of control.  A great number of strangers showed up and there were as many, if not more party crashers than invited guests.  Bootleg liquor had been smuggled in and it fueled all manner of mischief.

Poole, the butler, did his job well and kept the damage from the drunken insanity to a minimum.  No one was seriously hurt or humiliated, the press was kept out, and Millicent’s parents were none the wiser.

Even though there were no bad repercussions from this party.  It took a while for the household to settle down.  The intense excitement and extremely stressful situations that Millicent had experienced that night had left her quite exhausted.  It is no surprise that she chose to spend a relaxing and uneventful winter quietly entertaining close friends and relations.

By the spring of 1933 Millicent had been touched by the Great Depression.

She had become acutely aware of it when people started to occupy the valley below her mountain home.  Every night she would climb the winding staircase to the top of Dark Manor tower.  Every night she would look out over the valley and note the growing number of  camp fires and the growing number of missing pine trees.

While her Mother, Charlotte, was organizing bread lines and soup kitchens in Atlanta…

Millicent was feeding the homeless men, women and children who had accumulated in her valley.  She never turned anyone away and allowed the people to clear the land and build temporary housing.

By the beginning of October there were more people living in the valley and staying at Dark Manor than there had ever been before.

The Halloween party of 1933 is quite the milestone in Dark Valley and Darkland history.  It will forever be remembered as Millicent’s favorite party.  Not one of her favorites, but her most favorite.  To her dying day she referred to it as “magical” and “perfect”.

Change was in the air that October.  Millicent officially changed the name of  her house from “The Devereaux Mansion” to “Dark Manor”.  She also put into place several new traditions and practices that would become common place as they were repeated year after year.

“The Party Must Go On!”

Invitation to the Witches, Ravens, Bats, and Black Cats Masquerade Ball

Millicent  in her  Black Cat Costume

Under no circumstances did Millicent want another calamity like the one last year.  She planned the 1933 Halloween party very carefully.  For the first time she hired some of the people from the valley to work at the party.  Men and women were paid handsomely for performing a variety of  tasks.  Some were used as extra kitchen staff, maids and servers.  Others were dressed up as creepy monsters and given the job of lurking about and playfully spooking the guests.

Some men, who were good with horses, were dressed as Victorian undertakers and charged with giving horse-drawn hearse rides.

A very special group of level-headed stout-hearted chaps were hired and dressed as constables.  They were the first Bobbies of the valley charged with peacefully keeping the peace.

Other traditions were started that year like the presence of a couple of professional photographers and places where guests could pose in front of  Halloween themed backdrops.

Millicent’s planning, experience, and talent as a hostess all paid off.  The party was a huge success.  The valley folk did a great job, everyone had a good time and the bogus Bobbies kept the peace.

So why did Millicent consider the party of 1933 to be her all time favorite?

It was because of something wonderful that happened that night, something no one could have predicted.  Not even Millicent herself.

For almost a year Millicent had been thinking about building some permanent housing for the people in the valley.  Her plan was to put in some nice uniformed track housing and a few small cottages for guests.  This plan was changed because of  a chance meeting.

A strange string of events brought a man to Dark Manor that Halloween night.  Millicent was introduced to him by a mutual friend.  Some say it was “love at first sight”.  She said, and I quote, “I thought he was the most intensely intelligent and artistically gifted man I had ever had the pleasure of meeting”.  At some point during that night a new plan was hatched.  A few days after the party Millicent hired Victor Creighton to design and over-see the construction of their vision.

Victor Lucius Creighton 1933

Victor held degrees in both architecture and engineering.  When Millicent offered him the job, he had been designing theatrical sets in New York.  He was a wizard at making small things look big through the use of forced perspective and other perception bending tricks.

I have often wondered if Victor had any idea that when he arrived at Dark Manor, that cold November evening, that he would never ever leave again.

During the winter of 1933 to 34, Victor designed, illustrated, and drafted the plans for what became known as the “Frankenstein Village” project.

Millicent and Victor hired the unemployed men of the valley to help construct the village.  They broke ground and began construction in the spring of 1934.  The men and some women were happy to get the work and even happier to be given the opportunity to build their own permanent housing.

Homes that no bank could ever take away.

The original village was, and still is an exact replica of the Village of Frankenstein from the 1931 movie “Frankenstein”.

Once the Village of Frankenstein was near completion more houses were added to accommodate the valley’s growing population.

All the new buildings were designed in a dark German expressionistic style.

They even built the watchtower and the windmill.

Slowly, the people of the valley began to occupy the village.  Even some of Millicent’s friends asked to move in.  By the time it was completed in the summer of 1937  many grateful families resided there.

This place became known as Dark Valley.