Conjuring Up Creatures Through the Years

I’ve been sorting and scanning old photos again.  Then, it just happens!  All kinds of blog post ideas start emerging.  So now...I can’t resist gathering these generations of goblins together for Hurley Travels.  Here’s some time travel from the 1940s through 2000s.
This first Halloween step back is a group of cousins that were gathering at Grandma Weber’s house in 1947.  Don’t look all that happy about trick-or-treating, do they?!  These youngsters are from two to five years of age:  At the top on the landing is my brother, Donny Niehaus.   The girl standing just one step down from him is my sister, Martha, with my cousin, Bill Niehaus, next to her.   In front of Bill is his sister, Marilyn. And in the front of them all is our cousin, Janet Weber. The theme here seems to be hats; four out of five have some facsimile. 

The gals in the next black and white photo from 1952 are incognito ~ Me (Nancy) and my "older" sis, Martha.  These costumes and masks don’t necessarily match.  But, as I remember, ours were usually random outfits in those days.  We had a big box of costume paraphernalia carried over from year to year that we put together in various ways. There was one really scary rubber devil mask that might be worn with anything.  You never knew what might come out of the box or be left after the other siblings got theirs.
Then, the photos move through the generations to about 1986.  The bum on the left is Krissy.  Take a look at the weird mask. Not really sure what it is.  And she’s wearing one of my jackets and scarves. Whose hat is that?!  Oh, and that’s a candy cigar, BTW!  Creating a costume out of old clothing became a tradition, I guess.  Krissy and her friends kept that up for years.
 
That brings me to the early 2000 era.  These darling grandchildren!!!  First we have the cutest leopard ever, Caroline, with her painted face and black cat ears.  Her brother, Ben, looks pretty horrid as some sort of ugly zombie hanging on her side. 
And lastly, here’s C as an Indian girl (I think), with her buddy, Nicole, the green-faced something.  These two grew up on the same street, spending time at each other’s homes, sharing the fun of Halloween, birthdays and just being friends.  They look back on those days fondly as they are going into their adulthood today.
Using imagination to become another being for a few hours is a lot of fun!!!  All of these costumed folks are beyond that phase now.  But I hope those following along in their footsteps enjoy their own Halloween times and can dig up some interesting creations for posting here in the future.  C’mon Eland, Luke, Ava, Lila, Jude, Chase, Madison, Annabelle, Madelyn, Eli,..........Let’s see what you've got!

Flashback Friday - Black Smoke

This Hurley Travels post flashes back over 40 years in Jerry’s life.  I haven’t had the chance to talk about his days with the Indianapolis Fire Department.  Those years are long before I was in his life, but he shares some of the experiences with me occasionally.  After our 14 years of history together,  I’m learning the lingo and I think I might even understand the lifestyle to some degree.  So, now that I have this unique opportunity, this is one episode I just have to include in this journey on Hurley Travels.
There’s a story that Jerry told me (Nancy) a while ago about a video of his crew at the 22s (Indianapolis fire station #22) that aired way back when on a local Indianapolis TV station.  He explained that the man from the TV station who was involved with creating this video was interested in the dynamics of firefighting and the men who chose to do that. (No women at that time.)  Jerry never knew  of anyone who had a copy of that video.  Or if there was a way that it could be obtained from the archives of the TV station.  We talked about it a few times, but then life just went on. 
Well, lo and behold,  the other day this video appeared on the Facebook page of the Indianapolis Fire Department Museum. The young man singing is a new fireman at the time, a “sub.” His name is Bob "Footsie" Arthur.  He wrote the song that describes the smoke, the 22s crew and other aspects of “rolling on.”
If you are watching for Jerry, here are a couple of the places you’ll see him:  he steps into the smoke through a window at about 1:36 and another place he’s coming up the sidewalk onto a front porch at about 2:06 of the video.   As far as we can determine, this production was in 1972.  Just 41 years ago!
I want to thank the folks at the IFD Museum who are continually posting interesting documentation on the Facebook page.  Thanks to them, Jerry was able to find this piece of his past.
If you’d like to view the “Black Smoke” video, click here:
http://youtu.be/X7AhEL3OZTc

Thanks for visiting Hurley Travels.  Stay safe.

Hoosier Outdoors and Hurley Rides Again

These past 30 days have included the usual happenings, but also a few unique ones.   For instance, our 13th wedding anniversary, our Niehaus family reunion, some good and bad recipes in Jerry’s smoker, and visiting with a friend that I haven’t seen in way too many years. (Good to see you, Melissa!)  And even though I don’t have details here on everything, those memories are cataloged in special places.
So, I'm doing my usual overview on the space here at Hurley Travels with two of our newsy pieces.  We've been enjoying the Hoosier Outdoor Experience and Jerry’s new toy, Bruno.
On September 21 Krissy and I had a very pleasant, sunny day of volunteering and roaming at our local state park.  This is one of those roundabout happenings.  My girlhood  (really really longtime) friend Mary Jo, who now lives in New Mexico, forwarded an email to Krissy from the Hoosier Back Country Horsemen. Mary Jo’s a former member.  They were looking for volunteers during the Hoosier Outdoor Experience at Fort Harrison State Park, just around the corner from our house. We both, of course, enjoy getting out into nature.  And since Krissy has never lost her horse-loving spirit since the days she spent her free time riding and grooming Snaz (her favorite horse), we both were happy to take part.  Turns out the Hoosier Outdoor Experience is two days of learning and doing everything outdoors, from fishing to gold panning and off-roading to tree dogs.   Volunteering for us meant acquainting people with information on the riding trails in Indiana, showing them the Dutch Oven cooking and making sure kids didn’t put their hands in the horses mouths.  Some young people learned to saddle the horses, clean hooves, etc.  Susan, one of the horse owners, taught visitors how to tie knots and do knot tricks. 
One of the highlights of having some time with the Hoosier Back Country Horsemen group was that we both got the chance to visit with a friend, Yvette Rollins, that we knew years ago from riding trails.  Horses are a primary part of her life.  Many people understand that. There sure were lots of folks enjoying the horses here.   Yvette and other members of the group taught everyone about how they conserve the outdoors, whether it’s cooking without scorching the ground or leaving no trace with their special mats for the horses.  We learned about cooking in a volcano Dutch oven that circulates the heat, while stacking the cast iron pots with various types of food, one on top of the other.   They shared some delicious chili and cinnamon coffee cake and other goodies with everyone passing through!
Then, after our few hours of volunteering, we hopped on a shuttle bus to experience a little more around the park.  There were families everywhere, canoeing, shooting, fishing and learning about trees, birds, dogs and on and on.  For instance, strolling through the many exhibits we chose to spend some time watching the demonstrations of the tree dogs.  Very fun to watch them focus, focus, focus!  After some time at the lake and feasting on a  huge hot dog and elephant ear, we took the bus back to our car for a short ride home.  What a great day!

But what else have we been up to at the Hurley household?!  Just another addition in the Hurley garage!  Bruno, the Suzuki Burgman 400, joined the group about three weeks ago.  He’s getting along pretty well with Ole Yeller, Ruby and Ferd so far.   Of course, Jerry contemplated, researched, calculated and reviewed before deciding that it was time and the Burgman was the choice.  Oh yeah, first he did the appropriate shopping and debating. Tim helped, too.  When Jerry found what appeared to be the best deal, age, color, and so on, Tim was ready with his trailer hooked to the pickup -- they made the trip to southern Indiana.  The father/son trip was a special part of this story, too.  (Yes, guys, I think so!)  Wish I had a better pic of the two of them in the garage after they unloaded it in the rain. But Tim didn’t stop cleaning the bike long enough.  So, here I have the top of their heads as they investigate another doohickey!
Without going into a great deal more explanation or description, here’s the new means of transportation at the Hurley place.  Yes, he says he’s come full circle: At 17 years old he had a Vespa that he attempted to ride from Indianapolis to Phoenix.  (That’s a story for another day.)  About ten years ago we had a Harley, before our fulltime RVing days.  There were some good times on “Cherry” too.   And today, Bruno is getting Jerry around town, to the post office, hardware store, and the long way around to wherever he decides to go. 

Lastly, for those wondering, we are getting ready to make our exit from the cold climate in mid November.  Ferd is waiting patiently for us to load clothes, supplies and fuel for the trip.  Things are different now that we have a stick home to button up.  You know, storing the grill and the flower pots and turning off the Internet and TV services, etc., etc.  But we’ll be watching the weather as November moves along.   There are roads to the south that are holding more experiences for us. 

Thanks for visiting us at Hurley Travels.  Stay safe.