White Fox Stories
  • Beginnings
    • About Cathy Mosley
    • Programs
    • Price List
    • History
    • Videos
    • Photo Gallery
    • Why storytelling?
  • Contact
  • Thoughts - Blog
  • Resources
    • Bibliographhies >
      • History Bibliography
      • Life Stories That Fascinate Me - Bibliography
      • Nature Bibliography
      • Fox Bibliography
      • Christmas Bibliography
    • Associations
    • Links
  • Miscellaneous
    • Sebastian, the Christmas Moose, and Icicle, the Lost Arctic Fox, And Their Adventures >
      • Sebastian the Christmas Moose, and Icicle (the Lost) Arctic Fox
      • Sebastian, the Christmas Moose, and Icicle, the Lost Arctic Fox. Learn of the Night That The Animals Speak
      • Sebastian, The Christmas Moose, and Icicle, the Arctic Fox, and Twelfth Night

Story Musings

10/25/2010

0 Comments

 
This entry could also be entitled, "Marathon Storytelling."

I knew that the pacing would be picking up as I neared Halloween, and had rather braced myself. A couple of weeks earlier I had done Lincoln Memorial Gardens' Indian Summer Festival, which leaned very heavily towards "summer" with a mini-heat wave. I was so used to it being cold that I hadn't even thought to bring out my sun hat, but fortunately the Gardens' well-stocked gift shop had one. The show was soon followed by Riverton Elementary School's Fall Fling and Book Fair. This too was a lot of fun, though I will again say, "I need a GPS unit!"

After a brief bit of breathing room I launched into this weekend.

Saturday began with the Elijah Iles Foundations' "Old Settler's Day," which is a fundraiser for the Strawbridge-Shepherd House; this is one of the oldest farmhouses in the area.

The day started off with some threatening clouds, which, after I had just gotten into my civil war era gown, let loose. We all took to what cover we could find.

But once that was done the festival settled into a pleasant rhythm.

Since the rain had delayed any attendees all of the volunteers came in to hear Richard Hart give a talk on the Underground Railroad in Springfield. He kiddingly asked one young lady, who he knew, if she had learned anything at the end of it. And she said, "No. I have a short attention span."

Which didn't reassure me when her mother suggested that both that young lady, and her younger sister, come over and hear stories.

I decided to try "Tam Lin," since it has often caught a young lady's attention.

And it did again. At the end of the story the self-proclaimed restless one said, "I've never heard anything like that. All you find are werewolves, and vampires and stuff."

She then settled to hear "Jack and the Gower," which is a "dragon-slaying" story from Missouri, though the dragon is an enormous alligator in the tale.

All of this led into a pleasant hour  of discussing books and pets.

I was only scheduled for a short performance run; this had been at my own request, since I thought I would rest up before Clayville's Haunted House. However, with the day having turned fine, and there being other dogs at the festival, I went back home to get Winston (my 2 year old Coonhound). He too had a grand time greeting many friendly people.

Much later I drove out to Clayville for their "Raising the Dead" Haunted House (http://clayville.org/home).

The moon was full, with a veil over her, and her light was eerie on the ancient stagecoach stop. I had a new Halloween performing costume - a black velveteen "opera coat" with a hood. So I would have been eerie myself - except that I had to keep hold of my coffee mug so it wouldn't get knocked over by the straw bails. I had been stationed by the bonfire so I could entertain those waiting for the tractor to bring the wagon over.

Though adults and children were excited (and scared) with anticipation of the hay rack ride and the house they were all a good audience.

I complimented one young lady (a return member of the audience) on being a good listener. To which she replied, "It takes good stories to make a good listener." (Wise words from a twelve year old, and very appreciated.)

I was also pleased to hear the rave reviews of the haunted tour - the Clayville planners had outdone themselves!

it was a late drive home, and an somewhat early morning on Sunday.

The Rock the Playhouse at the Prairie Capitol Convention Center was a lively scene.  I had two half hour, almost back-to-back, performances on their main stage. And despite everything being offered around there were several families that stayed to listen.

This morning I heard that they ran out of tickets twice over, which was very good news for the American Foreclosure and Mortgage Relief Foundation http://www.afamr.org/.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Cathy Mosley

    I am a Springfield, IL based storyteller with a fascination for how folklore travels, and for history.

    If you would like to sign up for Random Strands updates please go to "Blog Subscription."

    Archives

    November 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    May 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009

    Categories

    All
    114th Cavalry
    2013
    4th Of July
    Abraham Lincoln
    Abraham Lincoln's National Museum Of Surveying
    Adams County
    A Fiery Trial: Civil War Stories By Candlelight
    All Hallow's Eve
    Anait
    Andrew Bowman
    Andrew Lang
    Applachian
    Applit
    A Touch Of Irish
    A True Picture Of A Immigrant
    August 6th
    Bibliography
    Black Bull Of Norway
    Bookstore
    British Isles
    Brothers Grimm
    Buckheart
    Business
    Call To Action
    Catch Up
    Celtic
    Central Illinois
    Cheesecake
    Chinese New Year
    Christmas
    Christmas Bibliography
    Christmas Moose
    Clara Irwin
    Clara Irwin Strawberry Party
    Clayville
    Clayville Spring Festival
    Collage
    Collage Of Stories
    Colonel R. T. Van Horn
    Color Sgt Andrew Jackson Smith
    Community Learning
    Compass Program
    Cultural Artifact
    Dana Thomas House
    Dan Fletcher
    Daniel Fletcher
    Dante Gabriel Rossetti
    Dick Whittington And His Cat
    Dinosaur
    Dion Fortune
    Discover The Dinosaurs
    Dollars And Cents
    Downtown Springfield
    Dreams
    Dr. Owen Davies
    Early Women's Education
    East Of The Sun West Of Moon
    Eddy Lincoln
    Edward Baker Lincoln
    Egypt
    Egyptian
    Eight Months In Illinois
    Elementals
    Elijah Iles House
    Eliza Flowers
    Emancipation Proclamation
    Employers
    English Prairie
    Faeries
    Faery Realm
    Faery Tale
    Fairies
    Fairy
    Fairy Fort
    Fairy Tales
    Faith
    Family Art Day
    Fannie Coe
    Fannie Fern Andrews
    Fascinate Me
    Fifteenth
    Fifteenth Strand
    Fiftheenth
    Fiftheenth Strand
    Fiona Mqcleod
    Fireworks
    Flavor
    Folklore
    Folk-Lore From Adams County
    Folktales
    Folk Tales
    Fourteenth
    Fox
    French Folktales
    Games
    Garrett Moffett
    Geysers
    Ghosts
    Ghost Stories
    Great Salt Lake
    Greek
    Grimm's Fairy Tale
    Halloween
    Harriet Tubman
    Harry M. Hyatt
    Henrik
    Henson Robinson Zoo
    Herndon Law Office
    Highland Games
    Hiring Fairs
    Historic Preservation
    History
    History Of Sangamon County
    Holiday
    Holiday Thoughts
    Holiday Walk
    Hugh Moore
    Hugh Moore Zone
    Human Trafficking
    Il
    Illinois
    Illinois Historical Society
    Illinois Military Museum
    Illinois River Valley
    Imagination
    Immigrants
    Immigration
    Incredibly Delicious
    Independence Day
    Inn At 835
    Interlude
    Interpretation
    Jack
    Jack And The Friendly Animals
    Job Hunting
    Job Market
    Jobs
    John Burkhardt
    John R. Paul
    July 4th
    Kanssa City Journal
    Kathryn Harris
    Khabir Shareef
    Killaeden Fairy Thorn
    Kingdom
    Laws Of Silence
    Learning Search Engines
    Learning To Stand And Speak
    Legends
    Life Stories
    Life Stories That Fascinate Me
    Lincoln Land Community College
    Lincoln Memorial Gardens
    Lincoln Troubadours
    Lis Ard
    Llcc
    Lmg
    Lord Mayor Of London
    Louisa May Alcott
    Magic Brocade
    Major Martin Delany
    Man Who Loved Dragons
    Mardi Gras
    Marketing
    Mark Twain
    Martha Lauren Ramsay
    Martha Laurens Ramsay
    Mary Kelley
    Mary Lincoln
    Mary Nagle
    Mda
    Mda Lockup
    Memorial Day
    Memory
    Middle
    Mid-West Family Broadcasting
    Mole
    Mr. Kenneth
    Muscular Dystrophy
    Muscular Dystrophy Association
    Musing
    Musings
    Myths
    National Cheesecake Day
    Norse
    Nourishing
    Obisdian Cliffs
    Oceania
    Orson Wells
    Paint Chips Don't Matter
    Peddlars
    Peddler
    Plato
    Pleasant
    Prairie
    Prairie Archives
    Prince
    Prince Of Seven Golden Cows
    Psychic Experiences
    Random
    Random Strands
    Random Strands Of History
    Rebecca Burlend
    Recruiters
    Reindeer
    Richard Whittington
    Roberta Volkmann
    Rochester
    Roots
    Sacred Cat
    Sangamon County
    Sangamon County Historical Society
    Scheels
    Schs
    Sebastian
    Seven Golden Cows
    Shadows
    Sidhe
    Signe Pike
    Skunks
    Social Media
    Spirits
    Spooky Sangamon
    Spring Festivals
    Springfield
    St. Andrews Society
    Steve Blamires
    St Fris
    St. Louis
    Stories
    Stories Of Springfield
    Stories That Fascinate Me
    Story
    Story Musing
    Story Musings
    Storyteller's Drum
    Storytelling
    Strand
    Strands
    Strawberry
    Strawberry Party
    Surveying
    Susan Cheever
    Susan Lawrence
    Synchronicity
    Tales Of Old Japan
    Tara Mcandrew Mcclellan
    Tara Mcclellan Mcandrew
    Teenchy Duck
    Tenth Strand
    The Avalonians
    The Bewitching Of America
    The Blue Fairy Book
    The Chronicles Of The Sidhe
    The Cottager And His Cat
    The Eighth Strand
    The Eleventh Strand
    The Fifth Strand
    The First Name
    The First Strand
    The Fourteenth Strand
    The Fourth Strand
    The Geneose Merchant
    The Golden Nuts
    The History Of Whittington
    The Honest Penny
    The Island Of Kais
    The Little Book Of Great Enchantment
    The Middle Kingdom
    The Nineteenth Strand
    The Ninth Strand
    The Origin Of Venice
    The Queen Bee
    The Second Strand
    The Seventh Strand
    The Sixteenth Strand
    The Sixth Strand
    The Third Strand
    The Thirteenth Strand
    The Twelfth
    The Twelfth Strand
    The Twentieth Strand
    Thirteenth
    Thoughts
    Tom Emery
    Traditions
    Treasured Books
    Trees
    Trickster
    Trust
    Twelve Days Of Christmas
    Twentieth
    Unity 4 Christ
    Van Loon
    War Of The Worlds
    W. B. Yeats
    Weasel
    Weave Of History
    Wellesley Tudor Pole
    Wendy Wilson
    Western Against Slavery
    White
    White Fox
    White Fox Social Media
    White Fox Stories
    White Fox Wedding
    William H Hooker
    William Oliver
    William Sharp
    Winter
    Wood Mole

    RSS Feed

    View my profile on LinkedIn

About

Programs

Contact

Copyright © 2015
  • Beginnings
    • About Cathy Mosley
    • Programs
    • Price List
    • History
    • Videos
    • Photo Gallery
    • Why storytelling?
  • Contact
  • Thoughts - Blog
  • Resources
    • Bibliographhies >
      • History Bibliography
      • Life Stories That Fascinate Me - Bibliography
      • Nature Bibliography
      • Fox Bibliography
      • Christmas Bibliography
    • Associations
    • Links
  • Miscellaneous
    • Sebastian, the Christmas Moose, and Icicle, the Lost Arctic Fox, And Their Adventures >
      • Sebastian the Christmas Moose, and Icicle (the Lost) Arctic Fox
      • Sebastian, the Christmas Moose, and Icicle, the Lost Arctic Fox. Learn of the Night That The Animals Speak
      • Sebastian, The Christmas Moose, and Icicle, the Arctic Fox, and Twelfth Night