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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!
I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We ate turkey, then ate turkey, and finally ate turkey some more. The day after, I had a turkey sandwich for breakfast, a full turkey meal plate - including stuffing - for lunch, so for dinner, we went to Riverport Barbecue here in Jefferson for a much-needed change in menu. The next day we started the turkey regime once again... man, I love Thanksgiving. I do have a lot to be thankful for; my family, my wife, the bassets, our friends, and of course, The Grove. Speaking of our friends, I wanted to be sure and mention that the amount of email that I get every day has increased exponentially - from the websites that I maintain, my writing, my speaking, and even because of The Grove, I get a ton of emails every day. Because of that, I know that I miss answering a few here and there, and if that's the case with something that you sent me, I sincerely apologize. In the last month, folks have sent some great photos captured here at The Grove and around town, and even some EVP files, along with some regular emails. I read them all, and I greatly appreciate them, but if you didn't get a response I apologize - some days are just overwhelming. I love hearing from you, though, so keep those emails coming! Finally, I have something incredible to mention. I don't want to get all "Hints from Heloise" on you folks, but this is just too good to keep to myself. A few years ago Tami & I were at the Renaissance Festival "Scarborough Faire" in Waxahachie, TX, and while we were sitting down to watch the Living Chess Match, Tami put her hand right in the middle of a bed of fire ants. The pain was incredible, so we rushed her to the paramedic tent, where they proceeded to rub a salve on her hand that killed the pain immediately. It was so effective that we asked what it was, and the paramedic said that it was a simple paste made up of water and Adolph's Meat Tenderizer. Since then, Tami's used it a few times on insect bites, but I've never had the chance to try it out myself. A few days ago, though, I was outside and I felt something land on my head. Thinking that it was a leaf, I reached back to brush it out, and something stung my finger; I think that it must have been a wasp. Whatever it was, my finger felt like someone had rammed an icepick into it. I was hollering and doing the pain dance, when Tami told me to go mix up the Adolph's salve and rub on it. I ran inside and did just that, and I'm here to tell you, the piercing pain stopped INSTANTLY! I still had a dull ache there the rest of the day, but the searing pain was long gone. I'm not a doctor, and I certainly don't want to be dispensing medical advice, but I now have a bottle of Adolph's in my first aid kit for any kind of bug bite that comes along.
It's finally Candlelight season here in Jefferson, and the town is beautiful. On the Friday after Thanksgiving we had the lighting of the Enchanted Forest, which kicks off the holiday season. If you've been reading the GroveZine, you probably know that The Grove is one of the tour homes this year, and we've been working night and day to get it ready. It's hard to believe that in the next two weeks there will be a few thousand people through the house. As Kelley Bundy would say, "The mind wobbles!" Come see us - all the info is at www.historicjeffersonfoundation.com Aside from getting ready for the Candlelight Tour, I've also been busy with a couple of contributions to a book that is coming out in December: "Ghostly Tales From America's Jails". It focuses on haunted jails around the country, many of which can be visited as museums or even B&Bs. My chapters are about Alcatraz (love that place!) and Huntsville State Penitentiary. The book looks great, and I loved reading the other stories on my advance copy. I'll keep you posted about it. Finally, for the GroveZine fans in the Nevada area, I'll be speaking at the Las Vegas Paranormal Conference next October 7th & 8th at the Palace Station Hotel & Casino. We're still working out the details, but if you live in the area, plan on attending - I'd love to see you!
On Saturday Nov 25th we did the last tour until after the Candlelight Tour of Homes, and for some reason, the den (the "new" room) seemed to be very active. Two different people reported little things happening to them while I was talking about how the Stilleys added the room on between the house and the kitchen in 1870. One gentleman said that someone was tapping him on the back, as if trying to get his attention. He kept looking back at his friend and asking something like, "What do you want?" His friend had no idea what was going on until later. But on that same tour, when the group first walked into the den, a lady asked one of the guys on the tour if he'd tapped her on the shoulder - she felt it as soon as she walked into the room, and was looking around for someone to attribute it to. The only guy near her swears that it wasn't him. He told us, "I don't go around touching ladies that I don't know - I don't want to get hit!". I don't know why there was so much activity; maybe the house knows that we won't be giving our regular tour for a few weeks, and just wanted to get in a few last-minute shots at our visitors. In a very similar vein, a couple that visited The Grove earlier in the month told us that while the group was in the dining room and I was telling the story of the Young family, someone was tugging on the back of both their shirts. They kept turning around to see who might be behind them, but no one was there... and it was happening to them as a couple. Finally, as you may know, not all the ghostly activity in Jefferson happens at The Grove (although a lot of it does!). The Jefferson Hotel is famous for its spirits, and one of our visitors in the past month got a very interesting recording. After the tour, Joel George played a tape for me that he captured in the Jefferson Hotel upstairs hallway. There were several interesting things on the tape, but probably the thing that caught my interest the most were footsteps in the hall. What made the steps interesting were the following two reasons: 1) There were only a few other people in the hotel that evening; since it was during the week, only a few rooms were rented. Joel had seen the other guests, and they weren't likely to be out romping during the night - in fact, a couple of elderly ladies were on the second floor, and not much more. 2) The steps that Joel caught on his cassette recorder sounded like boot-steps on a hardwood floor. If you've stayed at the Jefferson Hotel, you know that it has thick carpeting. I could walk down the hall in my snake-skin boots and not make a single sound. What Joel recorded were steps on hardwood... it was simply incredible! It was an interesting month not only at The Grove, but also at the Jefferson Hotel, and even at another place or two in town that people have told me about in private. With all the interesting supernatural things happening around us, I'm still most thankful this month for all the blessings in my life, and I count among them all the wonderful folks who take time out of their busy schedule to read the GroveZine every month. Thanks so much.
As I write this, we only have a few days until the Candlelight Tour of Homes begins. I'll have a full report next month, and I hope to see several of you that live in East Texas area during Candlelight - I'll be manning the front porch of The Grove. Meanwhile, I hope that you all had a blessed Thanksgiving, and that you have a wonderful, joyous holiday season! If you missed any issues of the GroveZine, you can find them at: www.thegrove-jefferson.com/ezine/archive 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. Feel free to share the GroveZine with your friends - all I ask is that if you forward it, please include the header, trailer and everything. Thanks! To subscribe, just go to www.thegrove-jefferson.com and click on the subscription link at the left bottom of the page. To unsubscribe, send an email to mitchel@whitington.com with the following words in the subject line: Unsubscribe Grove |
