{"id":4923,"date":"2013-10-10T15:57:56","date_gmt":"2013-10-10T15:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=4923"},"modified":"2023-01-04T10:56:15","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T15:56:15","slug":"the-leaves-of-fall-leaf-stories-poems-decorating-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/the-leaves-of-fall-leaf-stories-poems-decorating-ideas.html","title":{"rendered":"The Leaves of Fall: Leaf Stories, Poems & Decorating Ideas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Scott Phillips celebrates the colorful foliage of the autumn season by finding lots of leaf stories in old newspapers. Scott is a genealogical historian and owner of Onward To Our Past\u00ae genealogy services.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

I am an unabashed lover of autumn and all it brings us! It is my favorite time to go out and take photographs at cemeteries. I love the crisp mornings coupled with the still-warm afternoon sunshine, walking in the woods, and perhaps most of all the leaves as they present us with all their magnificent fall colors.<\/p>\n

One of our family\u2019s favorite autumn pastimes when our children were young was for me to rake the leaves into a huge pile and then allow our children to make a massive leaf \u201cfort.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Photo: the author\u2019s son in his leaf fort, circa 1979. Credit: Scott Phillips.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other day, I was enjoying the wonderful fall colors and delightful vistas\u2014along with some wonderful autumn memories stirring in my mind\u2019s eye\u2014when I decided to take a look at the online historical newspapers<\/a> of GenealogyBank.com to see if other folks shared my love of autumn. Let me just say it appears, much like the colors of our autumn leaves, to be a bit of a mixed bag.<\/p>\n

Fall Fairy Tale<\/strong><\/p>\n

My first discovery was a delightful fairy tale from a 1917 South Dakota newspaper. Featuring autumn leaves, \u201cMr. Wind,\u201d the \u201cBreeze Brothers,\u201d gnomes, and fairies, it is exactly the kind of story I would have enjoyed telling my children and I have now saved it so that I can read it to our grandsons.<\/p>\n

\"Daddy's<\/a>
Aberdeen Daily News (Aberdeen, South Dakota), 10 October 1917, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Decorating with Leaves<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next I came across a name that rang a bell with me. It was \u201cCappy Dick\u201d in a 1954 issue of my hometown newspaper in Cleveland, the Plain Dealer<\/em>. I recall looking forward to Cappy Dick\u2019s \u201cHobby Club\u201d ideas in the newspaper every week when I was a child. In this article, Cappy instructed his young fans to take a vase and \u201cBrush shellac all over the surface. Then stick the bits of leaf to the shellac after first applying glue to the back of each leaf.\u201d Reading it made me laugh out loud at the thought of how my mother and grandmother might have reacted had I ever dared take shellac, glue, and autumn leaves to any one of their precious vases.<\/p>\n

\"Decorate<\/a>
Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), 15 October 1954, page 51<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Moonshiners Make Crafty Use of Leaves <\/strong><\/p>\n

Still chuckling over my likely \u201cshellacking\u201d had I shellacked a vase, I came across an article from a 1928 North Carolina newspaper, during the height of Prohibition, that contained a unique take on autumn leaves. The article reported: \u201cOfficers in recent days have discovered that the moonshiners are taking advantage of the fall of autumn leaves in a unique way. A trench deep and long enough to contain about four barrels of beer is dug next to the log of a fallen tree in the depth of the woods\u2026On top of these is (sic) laid sheets of iron roofing and then leaves are raked so that they gradually slope up to the top of the log as if blown by autumnal breezes. Four barrels like this were found during last week by the use of sticks to punch into the leaves.\u201d I guess there were smart moonshiners in those days\u2014but perhaps even smarter officers.<\/p>\n

\"Officers<\/a>
Greensboro Daily News (Greensboro, North Carolina), 12 December 1928, page 13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leaves Cause Broken Ankle<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mrs. Francis M. Whitlaw evidently did not take too kindly to autumn leaves, as reported in a 1908 Missouri newspaper. While it made me a bit sad that Mrs. Whitlaw broke her ankle due to the leaves, I found it an interesting bit of time-travel to read that she was treated by her doctor at \u201cRose & Gordon\u2019s drug store\u201d and was taken \u201cin a carriage\u201d to the hotel where her husband was the manager.<\/p>\n

\"Autumn<\/a>
Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri), 9 November 1908, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Leaves Cause Fall Fatalities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Then I got a real shock when I read an article from an 1898 New York newspaper about a fatal train wreck caused by autumn leaves. While definitely a tragic story, I found the amazing details related to this autumn leaves event extremely interesting.<\/p>\n

\"Wreck<\/a>
New York Herald (New York, New York), 12 November 1898, page 7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Poem about Leaves<\/strong><\/p>\n

I closed out my searching after making a delightful discovery in a 1911 Idaho newspaper. Oh what memories this lovely poem brought back! I could smell the wonderful aroma of burning leaves (now forbidden in our community) in the fall. I encourage you to read this nifty little poem. As the anonymous author writes, \u201csuch scented censer smoke\u201d brings each of us \u201cThe glory of our olden dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Idaho Statesman (Boise, Idaho), 29 October 1911, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I hope you enjoy the wonder of this autumn\u2019s colorful leaf display, and indulge in some fun memories of your own as you rake the leaves. And if you have a moment, how about sharing your favorite autumn family memories here with me in the comments section? I\u2019d certainly enjoy hearing them!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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