All things October

We turned the calendar over to a new month this past week, at seemingly record-breaking speed. It has now been one year since I became publisher of two newspapers, and I just don’t know where the time has gone. I must be having fun!

October is a month of transition. We move into a new season, one much colder than the season before it. Bundle up in a cable-knit sweater or wrap a cozy blanket around your shoulders and come along with me! I’m looking ahead to All Things October, because before I know it, the 31st will be here.

Fire Prevention Week

Since 1922, Fire Prevention Week (FPW) has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

This week, we recognize the volunteer firefighters that respond to the grass fires, car crashes and structure blazes. See our special feature inside this newspaper, which includes a fun coloring contest for the kids!

Pumpkin spice everything . . .

Why does pumpkin spice get to be the official scent of October? Don’t get me wrong, I like pumpkin pie as much as the next girl; and I sure don’t mind the smell of pumpkin spice. There are just so many other delicious scents of autumn I prefer: cinnamon, bergamot and apple cider, to name a few. At the coffee shop, I prefer a salted caramel or fireside mocha rather than a pumpkin spice latte.

Observances and Folklore

According to folklore, the weather in October can be indicative of winter conditions. Consider the following:

• Much rain in October, much wind in December.

• A warm October means a cold February.

Readers, who wants to keep track? Tell me if either of these hold true for us this year.

As for October observances, I’ll highlight a few, which happen to have a rather “sweet” theme:

October 10, Columbus Day/Indigenous People Day and my mother-in-law’s birthday, is also National Angel Food Cake Day. Strawberry shortcake, anyone? Happy Birthday Jolene!

October 14, my mom’s birthday, is National Dessert Day. All the more reason to enjoy birthday cake with her too! Happy Birthday to my mom this week, too!

October 28 is National Chocolate Day. What’s not to love? For me, the darker the chocolate, the better. Apparently I need to eat dark chocolate before I drive. According to webmd.com, early tests showed that people who ate dark chocolate had improved vision two hours after eating the chocolate, compared to people who ate milk chocolate instead.

And the darker the chocolate, the more caffeine it contains, too. Double bonus! Two ounces of 70% dark chocolate can contain about 50 to 60 milligrams of caffeine, which is roughly half of what’s in an 8-ounce cup of coffee.

Halloween

There are a few at the newspaper offices who really enjoy Halloween. “Are we going to dress up this year?” Lori asked on Tuesday. Until that moment, the thought hadn’t crossed my mind. I’m still trying to cling to the last few warm days (60 degrees or higher) to think about Halloween costumes yet.

Readers, we will have candy to hand out at 1191 Main Street and 817 Central Ave, as the holiday falls on a Monday this year. While I certainly don’t mind handing out treats to littles and seeing THEM in costume, I don’t get excited about dressing up myself.

I could wear orange and black, I surmised, like I did when I was an Oriole in high school. Except I don’t really look that good in Halloween orange. Maybe I could wear coral and black, or purple, lime green and black. Maybe Frankenstein Friday (Oct. 28) is more my speed. I bought a cute black blazer from Flair Boutique last month that would work perfectly for that. I don’t think I can pull off the green makeup, though. Oh, bother.

Putting costumes together isn’t my forte, per se. My kids can sure attest to that. When they were little, we usually found an inexpensive, ready-made costume from the discount store for them to wear. When I did try to get creative, it usually didn’t turn out quite as planned, and they rarely won any costume contests. We did have fun trick-or-treating though, and the Halloween parties in downtown New Rockford sure were fun. The American Legion post put forth a lot of effort to make the night fun.

I also enjoyed the green screen at the library in New Rockford. I got a chance to warm up, and the kids took pictures in front of some spooky backgrounds.

Now that my kids are past the trick-or-treating stage, Truck N Treat is all the rage. There are events planned in both New Rockford and Carrington this year on Halloween.

Fun Facts

Did you know there are more U.S. Presidents born in October than any other month on the calendar? According to potus.com, six presidents were born in October — John Adams, Rutherford Hayes, Chester Arthur, North Dakota native Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, and Jimmy Carter.

October is derived from the Latin word “octo,” which means eight, because it was the eighth month in the original 10-month calendar. The anglo-saxons had a different name for October, calling it Wintirfyllith. This name refers to October having the first full moon of the winter season.

Literary finale

October glows on every cheek,

October shines in every eye,

While up the hill and down the dale

Her crimson banners fly.

– Elaine Goodale Eastman (1863–1953)