Vaiden,

Mississippi

Memories of a Mississippi Childhood

PART 1

Click On The YELLOW Links To Go To A Bookmark Or To Open A File.

We’ve traveled a long road since the old days. . . Oh, the lazy days; the warm, still country twilight. . . the golden warmth and security of those days. . . Gone With The Wind.

I should’a seen it comin.’ I wrote The War of the Mighty Treehouse years ago, but lost the file somewhere. In August 2000, I decided to write the Treehouse story again. Doing so brought back so many fond memories of my childhood that I decided to create this Nostalgia Page. Well, as life goes, on Sunday, May 20, 2001, while looking through some things at my mom’s house at Vaiden, I ran across the original story. I’ve included it on the treehouse page.

This nostalgia page is a work that will be ongoing for quite some time, and will cover the things I remember in my childhood years from 1955 – 1976 (and more), divided into different topics. This is a HUGE page, which will (possibly) be divided into several smaller, faster-loading pages at a later date. If you know of anything you’d like to see included on this page during this era in Mississippi, please feel free to Contact Me.

And…when you’re through visiting here, be sure to take a look at the Sixties Toys and all the wonderful links at Wes Clark’s Avocado Memories site. You’ll be glad you did !

Subjects

THE MIGHTY TREEHOUSE

FOOD & CEREAL DRINKS MODELS COMICS

CANDY GUM MOVIES TELEVISION

BICYCLES MOTORCYCLES TOYS & GAMES

READING MATERIALS MUSIC

ICONS

HOME PRODUCTS & PERSONAL CARE

ASSORTED TRIVIA

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES PART 2

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Movies

In the early 1960s, Disney introduced a new hero to the screen. It was Dr. Syn, alias the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. Based in 1736 in England during the reign of King George III, Dr. Syn, played by Patrick McGoohan, was a Vicar (pastor) by day, and a smuggler by night. He and his two henchmen (rectors of Dr. Syn’s church, Dymchurch), Hellspite and Curlew, robbed from the King, who unjustly taxed the farmers of Romney Marsh, and gave the loot back to the poor. Later, Disney released Dr, Syn, Alias the Scarecrow on videotape, but the movie has since gone out of print. The novel by Vic Crume, of the movie Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow, described the Scarecrow as follows: " The Scarecrow ! His name struck fear in the hearts of the king's soldiers. Dressed in tattered clothes and straw, he prowled the countryside with his band of 'Gentlemen'. To the rich, he was a smuggler and a villain. But to the poor, he was a hero ! Only his trusted aides, like John Banks, the judge's son, knew his real identity. In the dark of night, from the marshes to the coast, his men would ride. Amidst thundering hooves, all England would hear the fiendish yell of - The Scarecrow ! " Although this story originally appeared on Disneyland (as it was originally called before Disney changed the name to The Wonderful World of Color and then to The Wonderful World of Disney), I will list it under the MOVIES heading, since it was also released on videotape. UPDATE: Thanks to two of my friends who taped it for me from the Disney Channel, on March 11, 2001, my boys and I were able to see The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh. Thanks to my friends, I now have a copy of a great Disney classic. Here’s my short story about the Scarecrow:

I was in the 4^th Grade in 1964 – in Vaiden, Mississippi – when the SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH was on Disney’s Wonderful World of Color. I would invite my friends, and we’d sit in our living room on those Sunday nights, glued to the tube – an old Zenith 25” color TV – and we’d be totally oblivious to anything else until the show was over. Shortly thereafter, I would meet with one of my henchmen (who just happened to be the son of our Baptist preacher), during recess behind the school buses and decide who our next “recruit” would be. One of the boys in our class seemed to resist membership, so the preacher’s son and I donned our Scarecrow garb after school and “terrorized” him by making a quick trip to his house and “torturing” him into submission. From that day forth, he was an ever-faithful servant of the Scarecrow. Our lair was created at the preacher’s house, by entering a “secret door” in the back of the chicken coop, which is where we stashed our garb until our rides for justice throughout the town of Vaiden, Mississippi. We were ready to fight the wrongs of the world and fight against the oppression of the masses. The Scarecrow was a true hero to us and an enemy to the “over-taxed” society. Now that I’m in my 40s and pay way too much tax every year, I call out to the Scarecrow for justice. Maybe one day, he’ll ride from the jaws of Hell once again.

Want to hear the Scarecrow theme ? It’s available in 3 different versions. Download the longer zipped file HERE (Version 1), or HERE (Version 2) or listen to a shorter one (Version 3) HERE. The lyrics are below. For more Scarecrow images, click on the following: