National Storytelling Festival Weekend

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By Diane Forrest

In the 1970's my mother began working in the library at the junior high school I attended.  She continued working at school libraries until she retired, and now she volunteers at the church library every week.  She always attended local literary events, and one night she took me along to one of these events.  There was a writer in town at our local city library, and she was going to be telling ghost stories from the books she wrote. Her name was Katherine Wyndam Tucker, and wrote several books, one of them was Ghosts of Mississippi.  It included several short stories of actual ghost stories.

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When we entered the library we all sat around in a circle listening to her tales, and I was mesmerized. It was wonderful listening as she described the events in minute details, and the actual events left an eerie feeling in the room. It had such an effect on me that I purchased several of her books, and gave some to my mother.

Our city is also home to the oldest military college in the state.  It has long been closed, but the grounds remain open for visits.  Each year around Halloween they have a storytelling night.  Hoping to share the same experience I had with my son, I took him to this event one year.  We all sat outside on a hill surrounded with old oak trees with strands of Spanish moss hanging from the limbs.  It was a cool night and the only light we had was from the full moon that shown around us.  The speakers stood in front of the group, each one telling tales of ghosts, and the event was a success, and my son was properly frightened.

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The ability to tell stories is a wonderful gift.  When you think about it, our lives are nothing but stories woven together.  We learn about our family history through stories told by our ancestors, many of the movies we watch are just stories acted out on the big screen.  Some come from imagination and others from actual events.  However it is the gift of storytelling that allows the listener to become involved in the story, and it is retained in the memory for many years to come.

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This weekend is the National Storytelling festival.  Many cities will host storytelling events.  Jonesbourgh, TN hosts a big event each year during the first weekend in October.  I would encourage you to check your area for a storytelling event.  Its not just for children, but adults enjoy it as well. 

To learn more about the Jonesbourgh event, or to watch storytelling live, click this site:  http://www.storytellingcenter.net/events/national-storytelling-festival/

Rain Day Festival

Rain, Rain,

Go away;

Come again,

April day;

Little Johnny wants to play

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By Diane Forrest

I remember saying this little rhyme alot while I was growing up.  Kids don't like the rain, especially during the summer.  It keeps them from being able to play outside or do other fun activities.  I have a friend who is in Florida now on her vacation at Disney World.  If any of you have ever been to Disney world, you know that it will rain every day.  It usually doesn't last long, but it always happens at the worst time. I’m sure they make a fortune selling those little plastic rain ponchos.

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Most of the country is asking for rain, half of the country is in a drought now.  Last summer, my cousin was married in Texas.  Actually, today is her anniversary.  She was married outside, on a farm, on probably the hottest day of the year, in the middle of a drought. The farm, her husband's family farm, was about an hour from town, so they rented a bus for the guests.  Unfortunately the air conditioner went out, so they all melted.  They didn't want the rain to go away, they were wishing for rain to come.

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In Waynesburg, Pa, they celebrate a rain day festival today.  It started out innocently enough.  Rain Day got its beginning in the Daly & Spraggs Drug Store, located in the center of Waynesburg. Legend has it that one day a farmer was in the drugstore and mentioned to Byron Daly that it would rain the next day, July 29. Mr. Daly asked him how he knew and he replied that it was his birthday and that it always rained on his birthday. He had a journal for several years in which he recorded the weather and always had noted rain on July 29th. Mr. Daly thought this was too sure a thing to let pass, so he started betting salesmen who came into his drugstore that it would rain in Waynesburg on July 29. The bet was usually a new hat, which of course he would win.  This tradition began in 1874, and as of 2011, it has rained 113 years out of 137 years of score keeping.

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In later years, Byron Daly's son, John, continued the tradition of wagering a hat on Rain Day. John was an attorney in Waynesburg, a very gentlemanly individual, who always tipped his hat to the ladies he passed on the street, and spoke with a kind soft voice. Although he had fun with Rain Day, he also took it very seriously. He liked the idea of keeping it as a local phenomenon.

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These days, the town celebrates with an annual festival.  It begins with a pancake breakfast and spends the day with live entertainment, contests and activities for children.  They still continue the tradition of hat betting; only now the duties have been handed over to a commission.  There have been many celebrities who have won hats, some including:

• Bing Crosby
• Bob Hope
• The Three Stooges
• Arnold Palmer
• Jay Leno
• Will Ferrell

In 1983, Willard Scott the weatherman on NBC's Today Show was the bettor who gave Rain Day the most notoriety. Willard, being a weatherman, the phenomenon of Rain Day was of special interest to him. Mr. Scott not only mentioned Waynesburg on Rain Day, but talked about it the day before and the day after. Although it didn't rain for Willard's year, he sent a beautiful Stetson cowboy hat.

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This year, as the country looks at Waynesburg, PA to see how the annual tradition plays out, the rest of the country can do a rain dance to see if perhaps they too can get a refreshing rain shower today.