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This is a tiny little free subscription ezine for friends of The Grove - it is by request only. In other words, we NEVER arbitrarily add email addresses. We also NEVER sell or share email addresses with anyone else, for any reason at any time. We hate SPAM as much as you do!
Hello from the Grove, and Jefferson, Texas! Things are certainly hectic around here. We're getting ready to do candlelight tours of The Grove for Halloween season - they will be every Saturday in October at 6:30 PM. Like our regular tours, they'll last about an hour, which will give people plenty of time to go take the Ghost Walk or the Ghost Carriage... and don't forget about the Fright Train this month! There are lots of seasonal things to do in town right now. Of course, we will still be keeping our regular tour times throughout October as well. One big disturbance at The Grove has nothing to do with ghosts, and is taking place out in the garden. We are starting the process of re-doing the garden in preparation for it being on the Butterfly Garden Tour during Pilgrimage next May. The first thing that we're doing is to put a drive that will curve through the garden - it will be blacktop lined with antique brick, and should look very nice when we're through. After that, we will be re-laying the brick paths, adding some new flower beds, and if time allows, maybe a fountain or two! Wow, I'm getting tired just thinking about all the work. It should be worth it - plan on coming to see us during Pilgrimage next May!
If you get the chance to come into town on October 17th for the "Taste of Jefferson", you won't be disappointed. It's a perfect weekend: you have all day Saturday to explore, tour, shop, etc, and then Sunday at noon just stroll down to Austin Street for one heck of a culinary experience. Eat light on Sunday morning... believe me, you're going to fill up. There's one bit of equipment that you need to bring with you - stop by your local grocery or beverage store and ask for a few of those shallow cardboard boxes that canned drinks come in. You've seen them, a flat piece of cardboard with a 2-3 inch edge all the way around; it holds four six-packs of canned drinks. Think of it as a disposable tray. As you pick up small bowls and cups at each place, you can use this as a holding platform as you chow down. Here's something else to remember - occasionally a place will give you a plastic fork and knife... DON'T THROW THOSE AWAY! These are valuable items once you get them. This is important - you may need them later on, so keep them with your cardboard tray. As you're starting out at the Taste of Jefferson, you'll find that every place gives a different sized portion. You may get a few small ones and wonder how and the world you're going to get enough to eat. Believe me, I've NEVER made it to every booth. I distinctly remember last year, sitting on the steps of the courthouse, stuffed to my ears. Tami was saying, "Did you make this booth or that booth?" I just shook my head and said, "Stop talking about food!!!" You'll definitely get enough to eat. I would advise getting started at straight-up noon. This is a popular event, and some places have run out of food before. Not that you absolutely have to - there will still be enough to go around, even if a few places fold their tables. Starting early just gives you a little more selection. Wow, just talking about the Taste of Jefferson has made me hungry. We'll be doing a tour that Sunday morning at 11:00, but believe me, we'll be wrapping up promptly at noon to get downtown! :) October is full of events in Jefferson, and another one that you might find interesting is the Bigfoot Conference on the 22nd and 23rd. There are zoologists, scientists, and explorers there to give lectures on this legendary beast. Their website, www.texasbigfoot.com, has all of the details. If you make it there, stop by the lunch counter - I'll be helping to cook burgers as a fund-raiser for the Jefferson High School Junior Class.
A friend sent me a link to the "All About Ghosts" website, where there is a listing for The Grove. It reads as follows: "~*The Grove*~ in Jefferson, Texas, is definitely the Hot Spot for ghosts but, no, the ghosts aren't friendly, they're evil. Many people were murdered there and buried in the yard. A group of friends and I visited the grove about a week ago. It was around 11 P.M. and there was no moon but a clear sky full of bright stars. No fog in the air, I might add. Well, I was standing on the front porch when all the sudden something lifted me onto my tippi-toes and held me there. Gently it let me back down after a short while but almost every time we took a picture of someone you couldn't see them due to the apparition covering them up completely. It's a great ghost hunting place to go to but watch out! Some people come close to death when they visit." Well, my first reaction to her posting is that at 11 P.M., if she was standing on the front porch without permission, it would be the Jefferson Police Officers who would be lifting her on to her "tippi-toes". ;) Outside of that, I have to say that the spirits who visit The Grove aren't evil. From my experience in the past two and a half years that we've owned the house, I think that these spirits are former owners who are simply getting the opportunity to return for a visit. No one was murdered here, although the son of a former owner took his own life by hanging on the back porch (which is now the bathroom). In the world of paranormal investigation, there is a whole sub-culture that studies something called "shadow people". As you know by now, the spirits that we've seen in full-body form here at The Grove look just like any ordinary person: The Lady in White, the Man in the Garden, and the woman that I saw strolling along a garden path just before Pilgrimage. Folks describe "shadow people" as looking more like an animated shadow. We have recently noticed some activity like this here at The Grove, which makes me wonder what sort of manifestation this is. One of the most interesting occurrences was one night early this Summer, when Tami and I were sitting in The New Room (our den) watching television and doing a little work. Through the glass-paned doors, I saw something moving around in The Blue Room (the game room). When I turned my head to look, I saw a shadowy form step from that room into the center stairwell. Before I could say anything, Tami said, "Did you see those two people walk across the room in there?" I'd only seen the one, but she said that there were actually two distinct shapes that moved through the room, one in front of the other. Last night, September 30th, there was another event. The house was very spiritually active for some reason; I'd even joked with Tami that maybe the ghosts had all showed up at once so that they could watch the Presidential debate. She walked down the side gallery, then through the stairwell toward the bedroom, and happened to look into the parlor. There was a dark figure standing beside the settee, and it turned around to face her. Even though we're used to living in a haunted house, she still screamed! I think that she was more startled than anything. By the time I got up there it had stepped away toward the Dining Room, and wasn't there at all when I walked that direction. The air felt very heavy, though, and full of energy - it was a very intense sensation, especially for Tami! Well, that's it for now. We're already making notes for next month's ezine, so please stay tuned. Happy Halloween, everyone!
Well, that's this month's edition of the GroveZine. We're very happy to get to share some of the current goings-on around the house. For some reason, supernatural activity during the tours has picked up - hopefully we'll have a few more tales for you by the time the next month rolls around. See you then! www.thegrove-jefferson.com To repeat our words from the beginning, this is a free subscription ezine for friends of The Grove - in other words, we NEVER arbitrarily add email addresses. We also NEVER sell or share email addresses with anyone else. To subscribe, send an email to mitchel@whitington.com with the following words in the subject line: Subscribe Grove To unsubscribe, send an email to mitchel@whitington.com with the following words in the subject line: Unsubscribe Grove |
