The
lark
Chronicle
OCTOBER ISSUE
Haunted Hall!! By: Scott Kozak Writer and Editor The following is a true story: It was brisk fall morning when I awoke suddenly, as if startled from a dream, what was it? I could not recall, but a chill lingered in my bones. Mid-September and I already was finding it difficult to tear myself from the warmth and safety of my comforter. It is going to be a long semester I thought. As I finally mustered the courage to peel away the covers, I was intrigued to find a perfect and rather large red handprint across my belly. It was as if one of the Red Dragon football players had given me a five star in my sleep, but of course my door was locked. Placing my hand over it, I was shocked that while it did not hurt the hand print was far too large to have been my own. A mystery to be sure, but with class and school work waiting, I had little time to dwell upon this curious happening. So it was that it drifted from my thoughts and memories until a little over a week later. By chance I was talking to Liz Leydon, an RA in Casey Tower who was making cutouts for her bulletin board. Liz has asked me if Clark was haunted and I, not one to believe in hokey superstitions, vehemently denied it. Liz did not seem convinced. She went on to tell me the strangest of stories. A week ago, she said, she awoke panting from
a nightmare. In her dream she had been transferred to Clark Hall and there she received the most ghastly of greetings. She explained to me how in her dream she woke up to find a large red handprint on her hip just below her stomach. “It completely freaked me out,” she said with fear in her eyes. Goosebumps ran up and down my spine as I recalled what happened to me, surely it was just a coincidence. Or was it? Thoughts and images rushed through my mind; the eerie blinking lights in the elevator car, slamming doors, and the deep chill that seems to fill the corridors at random. The red hand that appeared unprovoked on my stomach. But these are nothing, a faulty bulb, heavy fire-doors, and poor heating and ventilation. Hell, the hand-print was probably my own, a result of sleeping on it for hours which flattened it out and made it appear larger. Still have you ever been walking through the hall late at night only to hear the creaking sound of metal on metal as the elevators doors open, un-summoned. Then when you look inside… nothing! I have, and so has every RA doing rounds at 2 A.M. on a Sunday morning. Everything I wrote above is true, ask my girlfriend who saw the red hand print later that afternoon, or ask Liz about her dream they will tell you. Still perhaps all this really is hokum. Or maybe, when you look inside the empty elevator car late at night it isn’t really empty at all.
Legend of “Stingy Jack” By: the Great Pumpkin Writer According to Irish myth, Jack was a stingy drunkard who once invited the Devil to drink with him. He accepted, however, Jack did not want to pay for his drinks so he convinced the devil to turn into a coin with which to buy them. When the devil did, Jack decided to keep the money by putting it in his pocket which contained a silver cross. Apparently Jack was also a badass. Next to the cross the devil was helpless and unable to transform back. Eventually Jack let the devil go on the condition that he would not bother Jack for a year and that he would not take Jack’s soul should he die. The following year Jack tricked the devil again. When the devil came back for him, Jack got him to climb a tree to pick a piece of fruit. How he did this is unclear, but he must have been very convincing. With the devil in the tree Jack carved a cross into the trunk so the devil could not come down (presumably flying or jumping were not options). He then made
the devil promise to not bother him for another ten years. I know what you’re thinking, where does he get the balls, but the devil ended up having the last laugh. When Jack died he was not allowed into heaven due to his devilish dastardly ways. Nor was Jack permitted into Hell since the Devil is one to hold a grudge, who knew? Instead the Devil gave to Jack a signal coal to light his way through the afterlife. So Jack went on his way, placing the coal in a carved out turnip to keep safe, he has been roaming Earth ever since. When the Irish would see his ghostly figure they called him “Jack of the Lantern” which was later shortened to “Jack O’Lantern.” The Irish and Scottish soon started carving scary faces into turnips and potatoes to scare away Jack’s forsaken soul. When this tradition came to America, pumpkins our native fruit were used in place of turnips and have been ever since. Thus chronicles the origin of the Jack O’Lantern.
Retrieved from http://www.history.com
Places to Find Pumpkins in Courtland County
Dave’s Veggies Farm Market and 4-Greenhouses - pumpkins, pumpkin patchalready gathered from the field, prepicked produce, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms 5178 State Route 41, homer, NY, 13077. Phone: 607-749-4955 Email: DavesVeggies@excite.com Deerfield Farms - Pumpkins 620 Sherman Road Cortland, NY 13045. Phone: 607-758-7290 Open October Vern’s Pumpkins - Pumpkins 7367 Route 41 (12 mi from Rt 218 on Rt 41) Homer, NY 13077. Phone: 607-7493719
Retrieved from http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org
Get to Know Your Pumpkin
Pumpkins are fruits, a type of squash like cucumbers, squashes and melons, and are from the genus Cucurbita. Pumpkins are native to North America and have been domestically grown there for five thousand years. Native Americans called pumpkins "isqoutm squash." In 1584, after French explorer Jacques Cartier explored the Saint Lawrence region of North America, he reported finding "gros melons" (large melons). The name was translated into English as "pompions," which has since evolved into the modern "pumpkin." Pumpkins are low in calories, fat, and sodium and high in fiber. They are good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, potassium, protein, and iron. The largest pumpkin ever grown was over 1800lbs by Jim and Kelsey Bryson from Ormstown in Quebec, Canada The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake.
Retrieved from http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org and http://www.huffingtonpost.com
What to Do With Your Carved Pumpkin After Halloween Do: 1. Put it in the compost heap - it will make good fertilizer 2. Bury it in the garden - it will decay quickly and enrich the soil 3. Wash, dry and save the seeds to plant next year (they will grow!) 4. Wash and roast the seeds - they make good eating. 5. Dump it in the trash, if you haven't got a garden Don't: 1. Use it as a door stop 2. Keep it indoors: it will rot and stain the floor 3. Put it in the attic for next Halloween 4. Attempt to eat it or cook with it. 5. Use it in cold fusion experiments (pumpkin fusion has been disproven). Retrieved from http://www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org
Hall of Heroes: Spotlight John Stephens
took her in his arms for the first time. Not to mention the thoughts and feelings of their respective families who all came To hold the life you’ve to bear witness. When asked saved in the palm of your hand, about that moment and the could there be a greater joy? ensuing day spent with her, Few of us have ever had the John replied it was “something opportunity to answer this I’ve been waiting for for over a question. It seems more like an year and a half,” and though the experience found in between the moment seemed to fly by in Clara Boyle (left) and her mother (right) pages of a comic book. But not just the snap of a finger “it all superheroes wear masks and was well worth the wait.” capes. John Stephens, Clark’s own nd The next time you are 2 Floor resident, may have walking the corridors of Clark or the downed a uniform for Saturday’s campus sidewalks, take a moment football game against Brockport. to look at the faces of those passing But athletic prowess is not why he by. Chances are, to someone was recognized that day. Instead somewhere, that person is hero. In our tale begins almost two years the real world we don’t have the ago when John signed up to be a luxury of masks or tight suits to bone marrow donor during a distinguish who among us are recruiting trip to Cortland. Six great, and nor do we need it. For months later he found that he was a greatest resides in us all, waiting match for a newborn girl with (Clockwise from left) John Stephens, Clara Boyle, and Mrs. for bearer to act; to extend the leukemia. Clara Boyle’s life, all the Boyle palm of your hand and save a life. way across the country in
By: Scott Kozak Reporter and Photographer
California, depended upon John’s actions. He did not let her down. January 11, 2011 found him in surgery, and at first he did not know the child’s fate. Indeed privacy restrictions prevented him or the Boyle’s from learning each other’s identities. He, quite literally, was saving the life of a complete stranger. Eventually, he would learn that she was recovering but it wasn’t until this August that he was in open communication with her and the Boyle family. Still e-mailing, texting, and Skyping hardly compare to meeting face to face. This is exactly the opportunity he had at halftime during Saturday’s game, October 13. Words, in all their power, can still, at times, fall short of capturing the depth of emotion that must have been running through John and Clara that day, when he
Upcoming Events October 23 (Tues)–What’s the Soundtrack to Your Life: 7:30 P.M. in Basement lounge. October 24 (Wed)– Photo Scavenger Hunt: 7 P.M. in the Basement lounge. October 29 (Mon) – Sorry Your Life’s not Candyland: 8:30 P.M. in the Basement lounge. There will be Prizes. October 30 (Tues) – Fall Art: 4:30 P.M. in First floor lobby.