In this issue

• Welcome!

• 2019 Food Drive + Submissions

• The History of Halloween

• Halloween Around the World

• Traditions & Origins

• Breast Cancer Awareness

• Safety Tips + Riddles

• Ghostly Haunts In Our Area

• Costume Party! *Most Searched

• Family Movie Night

Have a spooky Halloween!

Halloween 2019

The blood moon is full tonight

As cackling witches fly by

And the hungry werewolves cry

In the dead of night

Halloween is near

Grim Reaper slowly strides

Through fresh graves to claim his prize

A shiver invades your spine

Tis nothing to an undiscerning eye

Halloween is near Black cats hiss with arched backs high

Ghouls lit by mere fireflies

The fog rolls in & clouds your eyes

Have you said your last goodbyes?

Halloween is here

The Tri-Cities Region is hosting a 2019 Holiday Food Drive from 11/1-12/20. Anyone interested

in participating may do so by bringing donations to the Johnson City Corporate Office at 282

Christian Church Rd, Johnson City, TN 37602 *b/w 8am–5pm. Boxes will be ready to load. We

are accepting non-perishables to be taken to The Second Harvest Food Bank in Kingsport, TN.

We will have drop-off donations for both Thanksgiving & Christmas separately.

Acceptable items include but are not limited to: Dehydrated potatoes, Stuffing / Gravy /

Cornbread packets, Canned vegetables (green beans, corn, yams, etc.), Cranberry sauce,

Macaroni & Cheese, Tomato juice, Pasta, Baby food, Dry cereal, Oatmeal, Applesauce,

Pudding, Desert mixes, Fruit filling (Apple, Pumpkin, Cherry, etc.), Chocolate bars, & more!

Your generosity will be disbursed to those in need in Northeast TN.

We encourage everyone who can to participate. However, if you are unable to reach the drop-

off location – no worries! If you have the ability, find a local organization or school near you

that you can assist or donate to instead. Charity is not limited to any one type of contribution.

Be good to each other this holiday season & we wish you & all yours well!

Hey you! Yes you!! Gotta funny story

from your time on-the-job at GPM? Tell us!

Do you or anyone you work with have

a wild or exotic pet? Send us pix & info!

Have you ever met a celebrity? We want to know

all about it! Be a part of this bi-weekly distribution

& represent our area with pride.

It’s as easy as an e-mail.

Contact us at kjones@gpminvestments & ktownsend@gpminvestments

today! We’ll be waiting for you – BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

*Submissions are monitored for appropriateness. Please provide adequate

detail & pix if possible.*

History of Halloween in America:

It is still debated but many believe it began with Samhain, a major

celebration among the Ancient Celtic people who lived throughout

Europe. Traditionally it was marked as their New Year’s celebration

because October 31st was the end of their growing season & when

winter began. Part of the Samhain celebrations involved people

lighting fires & dressing in animal costumes. Over time, it evolved &

the Catholic church turned November 1, original date of Samhain,

into the religious holiday “All Saint’s Day” or “All Hallows,” which

turned October 31st into “All Hallow’s Eve” or Halloween. American

colonists are believed to have brought Halloween traditions to

America from when they resided in England, which celebrated

Samhain in the Celtic days. In the New world, All Hallow’s Eve was

transformed into a time for “play parties” where they would host

private parties to celebrate the harvest. In the mid 1800’s, Irish

immigrants began their journey to the U.S. & along with them came

their Halloween traditions. They would dress up in costumes, go

door-to-door asking their neighbors for food & money, & pull pranks

on Halloween. However, treats weren’t as common as the tricks

were. In the 1920’s, rowdy pranksters became costly & over time,

cities began organizing tame, family-oriented Halloween celebrations

to control the pranks. Once companies began distributing Halloween

candy, the modern idea of “trick-or-treating” was born.

Ireland: Where Halloween

originated, they still celebrate the

day just as much as we Americans

do. A traditional Halloween dish in

Ireland is Barnbrack, a kind of

fruitcake. A muslin-wrapped treat is

baked inside & it is said to foretell

the eater’s future. If a ring is found,

the eater will soon wed. If a piece of

straw is found, it means a

prosperous year is on its way.

England: November 5 Guy Fawkes Day

festivities were designed to

commemorate the execution of the

notorious English traitor, Guy Fawkes.

On the evening of November 5,

bonfires all throughout England are lit.

This celebration has little to do with

Halloween though. The English, for the

most part, stopped celebrating

Halloween around the same time that

Martin Luther’s Protestant

Reformation began.

Mexico: November 2 Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a

3-day commemoration that begins on October 31st.

This celebration was designed to honor the dead. It is believed

they return to their earthly

homes on Halloween. The

families of the deceased will

usually put up an alter to

honor the relative(s) and

decorate it with the family

member’s favorite items.

Jack O Lanterns: Originating in Ireland, they used turnips. Not

confirmed but said to be based on a man named Stingy jack. His soul

was condemned to wander the Earth forever. He was given a turnip

with a carved-out face and a burning lump of coal to light his way. The

locals began carving scary faces into their gourds to ward off evil spirits.

Wearing scary costumes: With all the ghosts wandering the Earth during

Samhain, the people would dress up in disguises so they would be

mistaken as a spirit and left alone.

Black Cats: This one dates all the way back to the dark ages when black

cats were associated with the Devil. It didn’t help, when centuries

later, accused witches would have felines as pets - especially black

felines. So this led people to associate black cats with dark magic.

Halloween: is more Irish than St. Patrick’s Day.

Seeing a spider on Halloween:

This is believed to be the embodiment of a

loved one keeping an eye on you.

October is the Worldwide Month for Breast Cancer Awareness.

Coming in second to skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common among American

women. Mammograms are your best defense to detecting breast cancer in its early stages.

Common symptoms: Change in the size or shape, pain in any area of the breast, nipple

discharge other than breast milk, or a lump in the breast or underarm. If you have any signs,

see your doctor right away! Breast cancer is more common in older women 50+.

Facts about breast cancer: Each year in the U.S. more than 245,000 women are diagnosed with

breast cancer and more than 40,000 die from it. Men also get breast cancer, but it is not very

common. Less than 1% of breast cancers occur in men. About 10% of new cases in the U.S. are

found in women younger than 45 years of age.

If you would like to support & honor

those fighting against breast cancer,

our local area will be hosting the

following walks listed below in 2020.

10/11/2020

10/31/2020

4/18/2020

Use flashlights with fresh batteries Older children going alone? Plan & review a route approved by the

parent. Never go into a stranger’s home or car & only go to homes that have their porch lights on. This is

the widely accepted way to determine if they are handing out candy or not. Pedestrian injuries are most

common to children on Halloween: Stay in a group and communicate. Put reflective tape on costumes &

trick-or-treat bags / buckets. Carry a phone. Travel well-lit streets & always use the sidewalk. No

sidewalk? Use the far edge of the roadway facing traffic. Don’t assume the right of way. Motorists may

have complications seeing trick-or-treaters. Plan a good meal prior to trick-or-treating to discourage

overeating of candy. If you’re handing out treats, consider nonfood items, such as coloring books,

crayons, little Dollar Tree goodies, etc. Always check candy. If it is open or looks like it has been

tampered with in any way, throw it away! Better to be safe than sorry. Teach children to politely turn

down any home-made goods and to never share or ask another child to taste their treat.

Halloween Safety Tips

What room do ghosts avoid?

The living room

Which part of a road do Ghost’s love to travel?

The dead end

Why did Snap, Crackle, and Pop get scared?

They heard there was a cereal killer on the loose

What is a ghost’s favorite dessert?

Ice Scream

Why didn’t the monster eat the crazy person?

He is allergic to nuts

What do you get if you cross a snowman with a witch?

A cold spell

Ghostly Activities In Our Area: Appalachian Ghost Walks - Operate

year-round & offer “16 different lantern led

walking tours in Southwest VA & Eastern TN”. All walks

are designed to be family friendly. RSVP required.

Haunted Forest in Elizabethton

Bristol Caverns

East TN Ghost Tours & Paranormal Technology- Certified tour guide will

walk you through Historical downtown Jonesborough. Tours are filled with

actual history & thrilling facts of each place you visit. You & your group will

get hands-on experience using professional equipment to record

paranormal activity.

Frightmare Manor Screampark – Brave through the self-guided tour

sprawling across 15 acres of multiple attractions set at the original

Jeremiah Lexer Plantation in Morristown where real-life horrors took

place. Voted America’s #6 Scariest haunted House.

For you fearless thrill-seekers – McKamey Manor in Summertown, TN offers $20k to anyone who can finish the haunted house tour – but no one ever has. Be prepared to RSVP, sign a 40-pg. waiver, pass multiple screenings, & experience true terror.

Most Searched

for couples:

Lilo & stitch

Most

searched for

groups:

descendants

Trending for

babies: banana

Most

searched

for pets:

chucky

*child’s

play

Most

Searched

all around:

IT

*Pennywise

the Clown

• The original 1978 “Halloween” was written in less than 2 weeks,

shot in less than 20 days, & budgeted for a meager $320k.

• The original script was titled "The Babysitter Murders" but a lack of

budget meant the story needed to take place on 1 night – Halloween.

• The movie was actually shot in the Spring, which meant the crew had a

hard time finding pumpkins & had to make fake Autumn leaves out of

painted paper.

• The mask used by Michael Meyers in the movie was a cheap, $1 mask of

Captain Kirk from Star Trek stripped of its eyebrows / sideburns &

painted white.

• The character Laurie Strode, played by Jamie Lee Curtis was

named after creator John Carpenter's 1st girlfriend.

• Since there was no money for a costume dept., all the

actors wore their own clothes. Jamie Lee Curtis purchased

Laurie’s entire wardrobe for less than $100 at JCPenney’s.

• While the setting for the story is the fictional town of

Haddonfield, Illinois, the movie was really shot in Southern

California, which is why you can spot the occasional palm tree & the

vehicles have California license plates.

• The overall darkness of the film was unintentional. The lack of budget

simply didn’t allow for the purchasing of extra lights.