Gallery

DON STRAUSSER'S PAINTINGS 2015

On Shelf Fungus ("tree lichens")

On Slate Shingles

On an Ironing Board!

NELLIE BLY BALLARD'S PAINTINGS 1960 -1971

Ballard Homestead in Winter, Colleciton of michael Kurtz

Farmer Cutting Ice, Collection of Michael Kurtz 

Robert Mead Farm, Collection of Gordon Mead

Hinkley Motel, Collection of Michael Kurtz

Early Snow [arriving], Colleciton of Michael Kurtz

Early Snow [departing], Colleciton of Michael Kurtz

Eqarly Snow [view of Roxbury], Collection of Michael Kurtz

[View of Roxbury in Autumn], Colleciton of Michael Kurtz 

[Yellow House and Red Silo] , Collection of Michael Kurtz

Old Covered Bridge, Halcottsville, Collection of Michael Kurtz

The Denver Store, Collection of Michael Kurtz

Many of these paintings by Ballard and Strausser are in an exhibit called "Growing Up To Brush" on view at the Roxbury Arts Group, October 1 - November 5, 2016

CFC's Square Dance Program:  Mending Walls

with Hilt Kelly and the Sidekicks

 At a 2008 workshop, John vanBenschoten plays with

          Don Strausser from Hilt Kelly's band, the Sidekicks.

Join us for another Master's Class with Hilt Kelly and the Sidekicks
Sunday, December 11, 2011 and Sunday January 22, 2012
See Schedule of Events and Blog Post for details.

October, 2011

Halloween

In 2005 and 2006 Manhattan Country School students, while in residence at their school's farm, researched Halloween customs in Roxbury, first by interviewing local residents who create hand-made costumes and  by creating a exhibit.  Then they documented yard and house decorations for the holiday and interviewed the artists.

Costumes

  These photos are just some of the wonderful array of costumes being passed down from generation to generation of kids in Roxbury.          

           

Manhattan Country School students interviewing Bea Hinkley about

 the patterns she uses for making costumes.

These are some of the costumes Bea made for her children and grandchildren.

Bea shows costumes, some of which were made by her daughter, Yvonne.

.

Bea's daughter, Lynette, shows the costume she created for her daughter,
 based on the character "Morticia" from The Addams Family.

Another maker of costumes was Kate Kincheloe, who realized one year that

her kids were just the right sizes to portray the characters from Wizard of Oz. 

Here is Kate in the Cowardly Lion costume she made, after it had been worn

 for many Halloweens and even in a stage production. 

A Manhattan Country School student who had been interviewing Kate holds up the Dorothy costume.

Whenever Manhattan Country School students are at the Farm on Halloween, they participate in the traditional Halloween parade.  It gives them an opportunity to visit with their pen pals at RCS from 4th grade.

The result of the students' research was an exhibit about the

Halloween costumes and their makers, shown at the Roxbury Library.

Fortunately, the exhibit included a number of original costumes, these from the Hinkley family.

Another Hinkley original

Yard Art and House Decorations

(called "assemblages" by folklorists)

A classsic Halloween yard, using purchased characters.

This artist creates original decorations every year.

So far, this fellow has been stuck in this porch roof every year for a numnber of years. Unfortunately in 2013 he won't be there.  Watch for him again another year.

The porch artists provide an after-dark aspect to the celebration by having

 a smoky firepit and serving hot dogs to hungry Trick or Treaters. 

A family of yard artists carve what seem to be hundreds of pumpkins

 each year in intricate figures.  The display is very different in daylight and at night.

Here the artists talk with Manhattan Country School students about how they carve their pumpkins.  Like many folk art traditions, this technique for carving the pumpkins and arranging them in the yard is being passed down through the family.  Now the younger member of the family
 is the primary pumkin carver.   

 

End Note

Halloween traditions include more than costumes and yard assemblages.  Food for parties and food for Trick or Treating (before the recent scares about contaminated or dangerous treats) all have traditions associated with them.  While the Halloween parade diverts younger Trick or Treaters, there are stories about past Halloweens when outhouses were moved and farm animals ended up in unusual places. 

October 2013

Here are more photos from Roxbury's Halloween celebrations over the last decade.

 A typical front porch scene.

 Some special effects have included smoke machines to create a foggy night.

The Roxbury Central School manages the traditional Halloween parade,

 this year on Thursday, October 31, at 1:30 p.m.

A type of homemade costume that makes an appearance at least once every few years is the appliance box costume.  This one is a stove. Look in the other parade photos for a washing machine! 

Contrast the store bought costumes with the homemade cowboy.