Time Capsule: October 31, 1948

October 31, 1948: It may be hard to believe but it was sixty years ago tonight that ten-year-old Lewis Barnavelt dared himself to meet Tarby Corrigan in Oakridge Cemetery and...well...you know the rest.

Such Virtue Hath My Pen

Color us impressed: John Joy has created a mock book cover design for John Bellairs’ The Figure in the Shadows.  Very impressive...almost to the point we'd like to see the whole series by this guy. Anyone at Dial paying attention?

Book Alert: The Sign of the Sinister Sorcerer

Its summer again in New Zebedee and Lewis Barnavelt is back in another hair-raising adventure! What sort of shadowy figure does Lewis see and why has our timid hero immersed himself in understanding the mystical and magical number three? Fates? Wise men? Blind mice?

Time Capsule: October 3, 1958

October 3, 1958: 50 years ago today John Bellairs debuted in the pages of the University of Notre Dame student magazine, the Scholastic. Now a senior level English major, Bellairs and friend Charles Bowen were tapped to share their humorous observations about life in South Bend by alternating each week author of Escape.

2008 Living History Portrayal Walk

Oakridge Cemetery, one of the oldest continuously operated cemeteries in Michigan, is home again this year to the 8th Annual "If These Stones Could Talk..." Living History Portrayal Walk. This guided walking tour will feature actors portraying significant persons from Marshall's past at each of those individual's gravesites.

This year’s famous Marshallnites include Anne Ells (no relation Myra, that we know of), Samuel Burpee, Mary Coleman, Deville Hubbard, Calvin Clark, Rev. Christopher Heidenreich, and Adam Crosswhite. The event will take place rain or shine so participants are encouraged to bring flashlights, wear comfortable walking shoes, and carry an umbrella.

When: October 11, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm

To learn more, please contact the Marshall Chamber of Commerce.

We hope Walter has better success with this than he did last year. That’s when he got a bit irritated with our nagging and let fly with a boisterous “You may all go to hell and I will go to Marshall!” Oddly enough, though, it was Walter who ended up in Hell, Michigan (and we manned the office, per usual). He claimed to have had a nice time on his visit except for being persistently followed by someone who sorta-kinda looked like Ronald Padavona. Walter said the guy kept waving his fist in the air with his index and little fingers extended and shouting “an angel is missing, an angel is missing!” All in all, we hope Walter manages to show up for an appearance this year.