Towards the end of the evening, someone asked me where we
got the idea to build "Timmons Hollow." I answered
honestly – “I’m not sure where the idea came from”. The project had grown rapidly, but in steps,
and its origin is not clear in my memory. It probably started with thinking
about the typical big Halloween haunted trails.
I do recall having a vague idea in mind, and about that time, a neighbor lady came by with a gang of about 8 kids. They were passing out flyers indicating they would be by to Trick-or-Treat, and if we wanted to participate, we should leave our light on. At that moment, I knew we would turn that vague idea into a reality.
We tossed around a few thoughts. The location was easy – we had worked on a path in our back yard for Sarah’s wedding – we could use part of that. The path went by a section of fence that could be used as a backdrop. Someone suggested we may be able to use our manger as something to set up and walk by. (When the appropriateness of doing that came up, Elias coined the expression “We celebrate Jesus in the front yard, and Halloween in the back”). The manger morphed into the entrance to a “mine”. The mine was elongated with some left over 2x4s I had from a job I was working on. We covered the “mine shaft” with landscaping fabric left over from Katherine’s wedding. Sarah and Tina painted the inside. That’s where we started.
Every path needs lights, so we found string lights to mark it out. Everything at night looks better with black lights and things that illuminate under that light, so we got spiders and spider webs, paint, and some handheld black lights to make everything pop. We had trouble finding the right lights on short notice, put out a request on Facebook, and two friends supplied exactly what we needed.
A day or two before Halloween, we got the idea to create a pumpkin headed mannequin. We set him in a chair at the end of our trail.
As we sat at the kitchen table on Halloween day, I said “We need a story to tie this together”. So in a matter of a few minutes, we created this narrative:
“Few people are aware that a long time ago, there was a mine here at Collins Pond. An old man by the name of Cooper Collins worked the mine digging out iron ore. One day he discovered some gems, and worked feverishly to find more.
One tragic night, which happened to be Halloween, the mine collapsed while Cooper Collins worked. He was never heard from again. Tonight we are re-creating those events”
Tina would greet the trick-or-treaters at our back step and pass out the flashlights. I would tell this story as we walked through the back yard, past the ghost infested garden Tina had built. We would continue under the gate to the path, through the spider webs where, as far as I knew, most of the spiders were fake.
When we came to
the mine, the trick-or-treaters would be handed off to Sarah, and she would
continue the narrative.
“Folks, this is the entrance to the Jenny Rose Mine (Jenny Rose is the name of our new granddaughter). As you walk through, use your lights to find things on the walls. At the end of the mine, find the gem. If you dare, stick your hand in the gem and you will find treasure”
Upon doing this, the little ones would find candy behind the flap in the tunnel, supplied by Elias and Tyler. At one point, Tyler was dubbed “Mr. Green Monster” by one of the kids when they saw the green sleeves of his jacket.
After exiting the mine, folks would be greeted by Wendell. Wendell would review the story of Cooper Collins with them, which continued like this:
“The fate of Cooper Collins is unknown. But some people say he continues to search for gems in the mine to this day. Some people say he guards the mine. Some claim to have seen him on Halloween Night. So be careful as you continue down the path!”
A short distance down the path, the kids (and parents) would find our pumpkin headed mannequin.
“Oh look! That must be Cooper Collins! And look – he has some treasure on his knee.”
Our mannequin had the ability to raise his arm. Wendell would have previously sat a piece of candy on Cooper’s knee under that raised arm, and as someone would be instructed to grab the candy “If they dared”, Tyler would allow the arm to drop (it was controlled by a string which went back to Tyler). A couple of the kids actually shook hands with Cooper.
The whole thing was a spectacular success, on so many levels. The “group effort” aspect is obvious - the ideas, the physical work, the provision of materials. We had one family who said, “I see you need lights – get what you need and we will pay for them.” One person borrowed some lights from her workplace. The biggest surprise of all was when a best friend from high school drove up our driveway on Halloween Day. He had been following my Facebook posts regarding the project, and decided to drop in. C.P. and I visited until Katherine arrived and we set about carving Jack-o-Lanterns.
Perhaps most noteworthy of all, we were reminded of how enjoyable it is to work together, to enjoy each other, and to create.
Can’t end this without a hearty thank you for everyone involved, a thank you for the encouraging comments, and a thank you for everyone who, in one way or another, shared in some light-hearted fun in a day when we could all really use some!
