October 2022 – One for the Money Two for the Road

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Happy Halloween everyone! I’m Kellye, and today I’m sharing Halloween at our house. Since Mike’s job really gears up during the fall months, we can’t do much traveling. So, I thought I would invite you into our home to see some of our Halloween decorations. Also in this post, I’m going to tell you about our house. Our spooky house, that is, but my tales aren’t very scary, just strange. Come on in and visit for a spell…

Not-so-spooky dining room tablescape

One of my favorite things to do is decorate for holidays, and I decorate for almost all of them. When we’re not on the road, writing blog posts, or planning trips, I also enjoy creating tablescapes and crafting.

Is there a better Halloween centerpiece than a big bowl full of eyeballs?

The eyeballs came from Grandin Road last year. I bought the pumpkin salt and pepper shakers at Pier One years ago to use at Thanksgiving, but I would love to have these for Halloween.

Our breakfast room table

This tablescape had to be simple and easily movable because our lives practically revolve around that table. The ceramic pumpkins and striped plates are from Hobby Lobby. The Halloween confetti trees were purchased from The Holiday Barn several years ago. I bought the harlequin print table runner and matching napkins last year.

Close up of the place setting.

Our house

We built our house in a brand-new subdivision in 1988 and have lived in it for 34 years. When we moved in our son was six and our daughter was two. I won’t tell you how old we were back then, but we were practically babies ourselves! Soon after we moved in strange things started happening…

A 10-minute vignette

This Halloween decoration started with a cloche planter that I retrieved from the back yard. Then I added a plastic skull. A couple of crows and some reindeer moss finish the look. The two white pumpkins came from the grocery store. I simply sat them on top of the candlesticks to complete the vignette.

Footsteps on the carpet

Not long after we moved into our house, we began hearing what we thought were footsteps. If you’ve ever had plush carpet, you know that you can actually hear when someone is walking on it. Anyway, this only happened late at night, and they weren’t heavy, thudding footsteps. The sound was more of a soft swish, but it woke us up. Naturally, we figured one of the kids was up, but after checking, they were always sound asleep in their beds. This went on for a few years, and we convinced ourselves that we were just imagining things. Until Mike went out of town and the dog started acting like he was seeing someone in our bedroom…

Big brick fireplaces were the style in 1988. And this one is still in style at our house because we’re not too keen on tearing it down. It’s fun to decorate it for Halloween and Christmas though.

On the mantel we have spooky candles, bottles of poisons and potions, and creepy covered books. I made the book covers and the spooky candles using my computer and printer. Look for a link on how to make the candles farther down the page. I also made the bottles, and the how-to is at the end of the post. Stick-on bats fly out of the fireplace and other Halloween decor rounds out that part of our living room. Incidentally, we’ve never had a real bat fly out of our fireplace, but we have had a dove get trapped in there. Luckily, Mike was able to catch it and put it outside. I’m sure the poor thing was traumatized – the dove, not Mike.

Coffee table decorations

Scary books along with a vase full of black roses and sparkly spiders sit on a tray with black tealights. I also made the books and the vase. See the tutorial on how to make them here.

The man in the doorway

One night while Mike was out of town on a business trip, I woke up in the middle of the night to find our then 11-year-old son standing next to my bed. When I asked him what he was doing, he very calmly said that he had seen a man standing in the doorway of his room. I told him that he was just dreaming and followed him to his room where I tucked him back into bed. After climbing back into my own bed, I never thought another thing about it. Well, let’s just say I didn’t think about it until the dog kept acting weird and we had a thunderstorm. Then I started putting two and two together…

Big brick fireplace detail. The wreath is just a garland that I wired to a separate grapevine wreath, and then I propped the 31 October sign on it. The 31 October sign and the plaid stuffed pumpkins came from Etsy a couple of years ago.

“On the Street Where You Live”

When we have heavy thunderstorms and lightning strikes near our house, our intercom plays a very eerie, minor-key version of the song “On the Street Where You Live” from the movie “My Fair Lady”. No, I’m not crazy, and yes, we have an intercom. (We’re talking about a 1988 house, y’all!) Anyway, for a long time I was the only one who heard this weird music, and of course everyone, including our sweet little daughter, made fun of me. That is until our son’s baseball coach brought him home during a thunderstorm and they heard it too. We have no idea why this happens, but it still happens occasionally. Maybe if we ever get around to getting rid of the big brick fireplace, we will get rid of the intercom too. If that isn’t creepy enough, just wait, there’s more…

Antique look potion bottles sitting on top of a couple of Stephen King novels along with a pumpkin and black candelabra make this a fun little Halloween display in our library/study/office.

Get the tutorial for the spooky candles here.

The basement door

Our basement door is in our living room right next to the big brick fireplace. When the kids were younger, the basement was their playroom, and the door was always open. So, one night we were sitting around in the living room discussing where we were going to eat. (I never have cooked much, and that’s probably why two of our son’s first words were burger and king – no lie!) Anyway, all of a sudden, the basement door just closed by itself. Really! It was if someone had pushed it all the way closed to keep someone or something from entering or exiting the room. The door didn’t slam, and we all saw it happen. Miraculously nobody freaked out – probably because we were too hungry to worry about it. That never happened again, but we don’t leave the door open anymore either.

Our entry hall table

We have an entry hall because we’re not fancy enough to call it a foyer. A demilune table and mirror are the only things in the entry hall, but I like to dress them up for the different seasons and holidays. My favorite thing to decorate with is a tiered tray – I have a thing for them. This one has a gnarly Halloween tree with three crows perched in it, a few figurines, and some ceramic pumpkins. The Ouija board is a relic from my childhood (surely that makes it a bona fide antique), and the wooden figurines are Primitives by Kathy that I’ve collected over the last few years. A trick or treat sign, black candles in little star candle holders, and a bowl of candy fill the rest of the space.

Detail of the tiered tray with some vintage-looking mini trick or treat bags and tiny skulls hanging from the tree.

Creepy things at our house today

We haven’t had any strange occurrences in our house for years, except for the occasional eerie song from the intercom. Whoever or whatever was trying to spook us is long gone. Now days the creepiest things around our house are the fence eating squirrels and the geckos that move in during the summer months. Recently I found a gecko living in my car – it was on the odometer, believe it or not – but he ran off (probably because I screamed) and I haven’t seen him again. Just hope he doesn’t run up my leg while I’m driving because I will have a wreck. There’s also a tailless one living under our refrigerator. I accidentally cut its tail off when I tried to catch it and he ran under the refrigerator. Haven’t seen him since either, but I hope the little guy is living his best tailless life under there.

How to make spooky potion bottles

Supplies:

Clear glass bottle or jar with labels removed
Medium grit sandpaper
Metallic black acrylic paint
Metallic silver acrylic paint – optional if you want to add highlights but water it down before using as a highlight color
Medium artist’s paintbrush
Label – make your own design or click here for free printable copies
Glue – I like tape runners
Natural jute twine or string
Brown kraft paper or grocery sack

How to:

Use the sandpaper to sand the glass in all directions to give it a beat up, vintage look. You will probably want to do this outside.
Once you achieve your desired effect, take it inside and paint it lightly with the metallic black paint, evenly stroking from top to bottom. This makes the bottle look similar to mercury glass. You don’t want a completely black bottle. If the paint goes on too thickly, add a little water to thin it down. If desired, highlight using the metallic silver paint. Drying should take less than an hour.
When the paint is dry, glue on your label. I tore and burned some of the edges of my labels to make them look old and peeling before I glued them to the bottles.
For the top of the bottle, tear off a piece of the grocery sack or kraft paper and crumple it in your hands for several minutes until it starts to soften and feel like leather. Place it over the top of the bottle and secure it to the bottle by wrapping the twine around it several times until you get the look you want. Tie or glue the ends of the twine at the back of the bottle so it doesn’t unwind.
I embellished some of my bottles by adding chains and Halloween charms, but those are optional, and the bottles look great without them.

That’s all I’ve got for today, but I hope you enjoyed hanging with me on this first venture outside of my road tripping comfort zone. I plan to do another decor post or two for Christmas. In the meantime, look for more travel posts because Mike and I have some great destinations to share with you. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Kellye

Feature photo courtesy of Pixabay.

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As always, we strive to be as accurate with our information as possible. If we made a mistake, it was unintentional. (Hey, we’re only human!) Our opinions are our own.

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Where is it?

Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site is located at 2120 W Daisy L Gatson Bates Drive in Little Rock, Arkansas. The park features:

Museum and visitor center
Restored Mobil gas station
The school and grounds
Ranger led walks
Tours may be available on select days or by special arrangement with the park – all tours and ranger led walks require advance reservations

Website link: Little Rock Central High School

Little Rock Central High School still operates as a public high school today with a student population of about 2,500.

Why is Little Rock Central High School important?

Little Rock Central High School is one of the most significant sites of the civil rights movement in the U.S. In 1957, the school became a battleground, so to speak, in the fight between the State of Arkansas and the U.S. government over federally mandated desegregation of public schools. Additionally, whites wanted continued segregation, and blacks wanted educational equality and to attend their own neighborhood schools. The Alabama governor went against the Supreme Court’s decision to allow black students to attend previously all-white schools. A group of African American teenagers was, unfortunately, caught in the middle of the battle.

What happened?

Arkansas Governor, Orville Faubus, held a televised news conference on September 2, 1957, to inform Little Rock citizens that caravans of white supremacists were on their way to stop the integration of black students into Central High School. Faubus stated that he ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround the school due to the potential for “blood in the streets”. He was never able to provide evidence to prove those statements. Meanwhile, the Little Rock school board advised that no African American students try to enter Central High or any white school until the dilemma was “legally resolved”.

All eyes are on Arkansas

On September 4, 1957, nine African American students attempted to enter the school surrounded by a group of ministers as escorts. National Guardsmen blocked the ministers and students stating that under orders from Governor Faubus the students could not enter. Meanwhile, mobs of whites hurled derogatory comments, waved Confederate flags, and even spat on the black students. Governor Faubus claimed later in the month that the National Guard was called out only to prevent violence and not to prevent integration.

Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Eckford attempts to enter Little Rock Central High School alone. She was then chased off of the campus by hostile whites.

Excerpt from the national park website of a black newspaperman’s observation:

“The mob of twisted whites, galvanized into vengeful action by the inaction of the heroic state militia, was not willing that the young school girl should get off so easily. Elizabeth Eckford had walked into the wolf’s lair, and now that they felt she was fair game, the drooling wolves took off after their prey. The hate mongers, who look exactly like other, normal white men and women, took off down the street after the girl.” – Buddy Lonesome, St. Louis Argus

Sad scene at Little Rock Central High School

While the world watched

Federal District Judge Ronald Davis denied a petition by the Little Rock School Board to delay integration into Central High School. The judge ordered integration to begin on Monday, September 9. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Also on September 9, President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which was the first civil rights legislation since 1875. On September 24, President Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard which took them out of Governor Faubus’ control. Stating that “mob rule cannot be allowed to override the decisions of our courts”, Eisenhower then sent federal troops to Little Rock to surround the school. The next day, September 25, nine African American students entered the school escorted by members of the 101st Airborne Infantry Division. About 750 of the 2,000 students at Central High School were absent that day.

False advertising perhaps? Governor Faubus closed all Little Rock high schools in order to avoid integration.

The aftermath

Racial tensions continued throughout the remainder of the school year with the issue of desegregation still an extremely hot topic. In September of 1958, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Little Rock would continue with its desegregation plan. Therefore, the school board determined that the high schools would open on September 15. Overriding the school board’s decision, Governor Faubus ordered all Little Rock high schools closed pending a public vote on integration. Voters chose not to integrate, and the schools remained closed for the entire 1958-1959 school year.

The National Historic Site today

This Mobil gas station sits across the street from the school

Why would a gas station be part of a national park site? This station had a pay phone, and it was the closest pay phone to the events taking place at Little Rock Central High School. Members of the media gathered here to take turns calling in stories to their news desks.

This sculpture, “United”, by artist Clay Enoch is located in a garden near the east entrance of Little Rock Central High School. It was dedicated in 2017 on the 60th anniversary of the desegregation of the school by the Little Rock Nine.

The museum takes visitors through a timeline of events leading up to the integration of Central High School.

Today benches commemorating each of the Little Rock Nine can be found near the reflecting pool in front of the school. Statues of them also grace the grounds of the state capitol building. Every one of the nine students graduated from college. Some even went on to earn post graduate degrees, and some have written books about their experiences. Click here to view their impressive biographies. As for us, we are inspired by the way these determined people handled such abhorrent adversity. And now we are honored to know their story.

Thank you for joining us on our visit to Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site!

Need some road trip inspiration? Check out these great destinations:

Things to do in San Antonio: River Walk

Things to do in Sedona, Arizona

Eisenhower National Historic Site

Strawbery Banke Museum and Portsmouth, New Hampshire

Travel safe, travel smart, and we will see you down the road.

Mike and Kellye

As always, we strive to be as accurate with our information as possible. If we made a mistake, it was unintentional. (Hey, we’re only human!) We aren’t paid for our recommendations, and we only recommend our own tried and true vendors and venues. Our suggestions are for places that we’ve heard good things about but haven’t visited personally, and our opinions are our own.

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