Bonus bonus: pumpkin walk

The week before the week before Halloween (so this was the early 20's, not the late 20's) the kids were incredibly, diligently busy carving pumpkins. I'd show up in a classroom and half of them would be gone or I would be working with someone and another student or adult would appear at my do and say, no, you don't understand Miss O, they have to carve now.

I really had no idea. 

That weekend my mom and I went out for the pumpkin walk, early, before it got dark. Nature trail, the sign said. 

... Okay. (What does that mean?)

Flashlight rental. 

... We need a flashlight? What?

We decided that there were chestnut and witch hazel trees back there among the sugar maples. This based on leaves, mostly, and the weird way witch hazel grows. Oh, yes, sugar maples which the students TAP AND MAKE SYRUP FROM.  Had we know they were selling the last six bottles of the year that night, we would have brought some extra money to support the program.

Wow. It's lovely back here. Who knew it was so lovely back here? (This is my mom. Autumn is her favorite time of year)

Dear Robert Ostrander: 

Student Chemistry Club is alive and well at NWHS. 

We took this photo for my Uncle Bob, who graduated from Northwestern in 1975, and went on to get a PhD and on to win awards for his work in chemistry, amongst them, recognition from Linus Pauling. His students nicknamed him Doc Dement-O because they spend the first week or so of high school chem turning things different colors and creating smoke and explosions and playing 'mad chemist'. Then 'now that you've got that out of your system' he says, 'we can get down to the real fun that is real chemistry'. 

My students think I'm funny or weird. I know, at least, I come by it honestly.