Monday, October 4, 2010

The Great Scarecrow Adventure

And my head I’d be scratching
 while my thoughts were busy hatching
If I only had a brain…


I love my little hometown. It’s a quaint little piece of the south, and a pretty good place to visit or live. One of my favorite things about it is the creativity of the downtown area. This is largely due to the wonderful woman who runs the Downtown Development Authority.

I like her.
She’s a hard worker, and what’s more… she’s fun.
Not only does she dream up ideas to promote the downtown, she rallies others to join her. The Duchess is her friend and, generally speaking, her right hand in downtown endeavors.

This fall, they asked local businesses to celebrate autumn by creating scarecrows to go along with the theme of their businesses. Yesterday afternoon, we took a stroll downtown to see the scare people which have been put up so far.

Thought you might like to tag along.

The first one that you’ll see upon entering the downtown area is the Scare Mayor. Yep. That’s literally a picture of her face attached to the head of the scarecrow in front of City Hall.


And her little dog too…
Actually, she’s a wonderful lady who jumped into the project with great delight. She even donated her own clothes for the effort.

Next up is this giant sack head scarecrow at the Chamber of Commerce. This one makes me giggle because of the hand on the hip.  Looks like a scarecrow with attitude.



Rounding the corner, you see this ...

Why, it’s the Newlywed Niece!

This was made by the employees from her bank and is supposed to look like her.  I probably would have suggested a little sassy hip action here too. Of course, I don’t work there…


Now, this one looked creepy to me from a distance until I realized what this female lawyer in town was trying to do. Can you tell?


It’s Lady Justice, of course.
Smiling pumpkin head Lady Justice,
 but the old gal nonetheless.

This local wilderness supply store used a big old bucket for a head. This is particularly funny if you knew the actual store owner…a bucket head if I’ve ever met one.


This is another one of my favorites. It’s in front of a little antique shop owned by a retired English teacher whose uniform of choice is a denim jumper and sneakers. It looks exactly like her. She used her own clothes because she’s a jolly woman who doesn’t take herself too seriously.


The Duchess helped her make it.
 She’s even reading her favorite book.


The Downtown Lady and The Duchess made this one for a local timber buyer as well. He vetoed their plan to have him hugging a tree. He lounges in front of the building instead. Party pooper.


They also made this bench sitting Muppet just for giggles.


And a starving artist for the art gallery that I yakked about in THIS post.


A few more spotted on my tour…

This odd fellow was made by a local dance and drama studio, hence the drama mask. Ok…a bit creepy… but civic pride nonetheless.


Mr. Moats is a ninety-something year old grocer who still comes in to his little IGA every day. I think their display is cute as well.


No... this is not the Duchess. But this Scare Beauty from the local thrift store gives a mean queen wave as we head out of town.


I can’t wait to see the ones which go up next.
I hope you enjoyed this stroll through
Straw Town, USA.

And I hope you discovered that small towns have a lot
of character ...
Really...
We're so much more than just
 a bunch of  dummies.  

*****
Sharing this at Outdoor Wednesday
at A Southern Daydreamer

43 comments:

Anita Diaz said...

These are unbelievable!! What a creative idea! I love the starving artist. Looks like a great place to be!

Sharon said...

This was SO MUCH FUN!! I want to live in your hometown! What a great idea - and how clever these scare people are!!

Can't leave without a couple comments, though (yakkity girl that I am)!

Scare Mayor - Love her...wonder if she'll be elected again? Maybe if we took a straw poll.

Newlywed niece - Very cute...the money is from her own "authorized" withdrawals, right?!

Lady Justice - I think she's peeking...

Wilderness Store Owner - If we're honest, don't we ALL have a little "bucket" in us? I'm just sayin'...

Lady Antique Store Owner - She's so cute. And, I want you to know that I put on an EXTRA pair of reading glasses so I could find out that her favorite book is Treasure Island - I'm a DEDICATED follower, after all...

Timber Buyer - Properly creepy and scary. Maybe the trees will have their revenge some night, and this scare person will be reduced to a pile of pine needles...

Starving Artist - Why does she remind me of Tori Spelling?

Dancing Guy - OK, if you can dance against a wall with your feet off the ground, I'm conceding the "creep" factor.

Mr. Moats - Sounds like a wonderful person! A real "needle in a haystack" - (ie...hard to find!)

Thanks for the fun today...As always, you make me SMILE :)

p.s. Tell the Duchess she should be proud - terrific work!!

Unknown said...

What a wonderful town. You really don't see stuff like this anymore, I think it really pulls people together. LOVE it!!!!!!!!! And the fact that your mom is so involved, that just tickles me!
xoxo
lynn

southerninspiration said...

How delightful!What a fun tour!

Suzanne
We did some like that in the mall one year...it's a lot harder than you think!

FrouFrouBritches said...

That is so cute! I love it! Reminds me of the town I grew up in.

The Decorative Dreamer said...

Oh I just love it! I wish our town would do something like this. I think it is so creative and fun! Thanks for sharing them!

Anonymous said...

This is probably the cutest town project I've ever seen. This should be on the national news it's such a wonderful, feel good story.

Anonymous said...

What a great tour! It's nice to see all the personality and sense of humor that prevails.

Vanessa said...

OH! I want to live in YOUR town! How cute and clever is that? Of course, we shouldn't expect anything less when there are women running things around there! :-) I would absolutely love to take the tour but I would probably have to go it alone as I could imagine my kiddos screaming and running away in fear! Scarecrows and Clowns kinda have the same affect on them! :-)
Thanks for sharing this!
Vanessa

Francie...The Scented Cottage Studio said...

Isn't it fun ! We had a fall decorating contest here a few years back too. I dressed our "scarecrow" in a green ball gown, dyed a mop black for her hair and named her "Scarlett O'Scara " She was selling pumpkins and chrysanthemums on a cart. It was a lot of fun and got a lot of attention. I loved seeing the scarecrows in your town, thanks for sharing !

Karen said...

So sweet of you to take us on a tour! They are so cute. Sure makes the town appealing.
Thanks for sharing.
Karen

Angel said...

Love this! Thanks for this fun tour of your friendly town. And I love the references to The Wizard of Oz - one of my faves. :)

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

What a fun idea, and everyone has pitched in and done such a great job. Love the Mayor! The starving artist scarecrow is so cute, and the timber buyer is great (although hugging a tree would have been fab!). Love the bench sitting muppet, but Lady Justice appears to be pregnant!! fun post Debbie. laurie

Just Plain Tired said...

There are a lot of creative people in that town. Awesome pictures and glad you shared them with us.

Jane said...

This is really clever! You have a bunch of creative folks in your town,

Jane

Kelli said...

You are making me want to move!! What a way to promote community unity! (say that fast 10 times-lol!) My favorite I believe is the retired English teacher, she is too cute. Thanks for the downtown tour. (BTW, we don't have a lot of "stuff" either but we gotta whole lotta love going on!) That's what really matters anyway, right?

bj said...

O, I am just beside myself over these adorable scarecrows...I love every single one of them.
haaaahhhaa....what a cute town you live in.

I did a scarecrow one year for Halloween...I know I have a photo of it...gotta find it. :))

A Hint of Home said...

What a cute post and fun loving town to visit.

Sarah said...

Now this is one fun town! I couldn't pick a favorite. Each one is so creative. Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos. ~ Sarah

Chatty Crone said...

I LOVE those - how creative and everyone went along with it - how cool is that. What a wonderful place you live in. sandie

Unknown said...

I jist have to leave ah comment here. I want to thank you for the wonderful creative tour of your towns themed decorations. What fun.

Ms.Daisy said...

Debbie,
This is so much fun! I love the creativity shown by your townsfolk. Their funnybones are showing. LOL! :)

~Jean

Renée said...

What an ingenious idea for a town project that gives such character and creativity to your town. Thanks for the terrific tour of all these darling scarecrows. I don't think I could have enjoyed it more had I been in a no-top tour bus!

elizabeth said...

I miss small town life! I love seeing your town via your photos. Love!
Elizabeth

Denise said...

You know I love this project. I'm just thankful the duchess didn't require a scarecrow family cause how in the world would we do old, vintage and quirky scarecrows? Just sayin'.

Kathleen said...

I've never seen anything like this before. It looks like a ton of fun for all ages.

Sue said...

What a fun and festive town you live in. Here I thought our little village at the cabin was way cool with their corn shock streetlights!! You have gone the extra mile down south I see. It looks like a wonderful place to raise a family.

Patti said...

Wow!! There are some mighty creative and imaginative folks in your town!! I LOVE all of the creations. What a fun thing for the community to do.

By the way, your photos are very good. Thanks for providing such a fun tour for us.

Blessings,
Patti

Leslie {Goodbye, house. Hello, home!} said...

Great! Creative! Loved this post!
I used to put a scarecrow lady sipping tea at our bistro set on the porch.
I could live in StrawTown, huh?

Natasha in Oz said...

What a brilliant idea. The Mayor scarecrow is my favourite. What a good sport!

Happy Outdoor Wednesday!

Best wishes,
Natasha.

eileeninmd said...

What fun! I love all the scarecrows. Each one has such great character. Wonderful post and photos.

Marites said...

such a fun town you have! those scarecrows are just so fun! would love to go around the town and check them out :) great photos!

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

I sure loved these...scare crow people are difficult to make and these are so creative!!! Can't wait to see more of them...thanks for taking us on this tour!!!

Jocelyn said...

What a creative town! Very fun and festive.

Jocelyn
http://justalittlesouthernhospitality.blogspot.com/

Light and Voices said...

What a hoot! I really, really, really, really enjoyed your post. I am so proud of the talented folks in your town.
Joyce M

Donnie said...

That was really great. Our town is doing bears for Bear footin in the mountains theme. I really enjoyed all the explanations too. Have a great day.

Hootin Anni said...

HOW FUN, HOW FUN!!! LOVED THIS.

My Wednesday photo link

Anonymous said...

This makes me miss home just a little. I can't wait to see this when I come home next week!

-Favorite Niece

Ms. Kathleen said...

These are just too cute! On the farm the kids and I use to make scarecrows... Don't have much straw up here in the Hills... Loved the tour!

Debbie said...

Awwww.... I miss you too favorite niece!!!!
Psst. Don't tell the scare banker that I called you that. I might need a loan...

Linda said...

That was the most awesome post! It's wonderful to see those around town!

HollyC said...

This was a wonderful post! I love to visit towns like that! You can always tell when citizens take pride in where they live! Thanks for sharing.
~Holly

CAL said...

Really enjoyed looking at your wonderful town, thanks for taking me along for the ride. Amazing creativity - I smiled the entire time I was reading. Thanks Debbie!

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