NEWS
Wednesday, november 3, 2021
HermIsTonHeraLd.Com • A7
Spooky story Local youths enjoy a bit of normalcy
It happened one night
By ANNE DOHERTY
with fun at Hermiston’s Bellinger Farms
By ERICK PETERSON
Hermiston Herald
Editor’s note: Last month, The Herm-
iston Herald put out a request for your
scariest tales. Among the excellent sub-
missions, Anne Doherty’s story stands out
for first place. This is her story.
I had heard tales of the Ghost of
Armand Larive, though I’d never encoun-
tered it… until that night. I was working
late with some students and their parents.
After they left, I heard someone speak
just outside my classroom door.
“What did you say?” I called. No one
answered. I hurried to the door, but no
one was there. “Hmm, must have been
my imagination!” I reasoned, as I gath-
ered my things and checked to make sure
all the students had left. The closest exit
was firmly locked.
Returning, I passed one hall that was
dark, pitch black. Rumor had it that the
Ghost of Armand Larive sometimes
appeared there. I didn’t believe it. But
as I walked on toward the office, the hall
lights started turning off behind me— one
by one. Something creepy was happen-
ing. Someone was going to jump out and
scare me. Or worse! So I devised a plan.
As soon as I reached the office, I set the
school alarm, then rushed out to my car.
“Whew! Safe and sound!” I relaxed
and waited for the alarm to go off and the
police to come. But no sound. Nothing.
The next day, I tracked down the lead
custodian and explained what had hap-
pened the night before. He assured me
the hall lights worked fine and that no
one could have turned them off. Also, the
alarm system had been successfully set,
but obviously no one was in the build-
ing after I left.
But I knew what happened. A ghost
cannot trip the alarm. The Ghost of
Armand Larive was there playing tricks
on me.
I taught at Armand Larive school
for many years, but never again stayed
alone there after dark. I had met the
Ghost of Armand Larive once, and that
was enough!
Dressed as a pair of mermaid
princesses, 5-year-old kindergar-
teners Mia and Mallory Martin
were among 60 Rocky Heights
Elementary School students who
took a field trip Thursday, Oct.
28, for hayrides and pumpkin
picking.
The Hermiston children
and their classmates went to
the pumpkin patch at Bell-
inger Farms off Highway 395
on the south end of Hermis-
ton. Throughout October, chil-
dren from local towns have been
enjoying the same field trip.
For the Martin girls, twins,
they were happy about having
an actual Halloween season with
activities, family members said.
After she picked out her
pumpkin, Mallory said she was
happy and was looking for-
ward to trick-or-treating later
in the week. She was especially
excited for Sour Patch Kids and
other candy. Her sister, Mia, said
she was also excited about the
season. She likes scary things,
she said.
Witches, according to Mia,
are the scariest.
Their
great-grandmother,
Sue White, joined the children
on their field trip, as did their
mother, Karisa White.
“We’re pretty darned excited,”
Sue White said.
She recounted times recently
when she would take family
walks with the girls.
“They would take a walk
around the block and say ‘GG,
this looks like a good house to
trick-or-treat at.’ So, yes, they are
happy,” she said.
Karisa White agreed, adding
the girls were disappointed last
year. Two years ago, they got to
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Kindergarten students from Rocky Heights Elementary School in
Hermiston clutch their pumpkins Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, during a
class trip to the Bellinger Farms pumpkin patch, Hermiston.
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Ben Lonergan/Hermiston Herald
Rocky
Heights
Elementary
School kindergartener Ema, 5,
struggles to pick up a pumpkin
Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, at the
Bellinger Farms pumpkin patch
in Hermiston.
Rocky
Heights
Elementary
School kindergartener Ruby, 5,
carries a pumpkin Thursday, Oct.
28, 2021, during a class trip to
Bellinger Farms’ pumpkin patch
in Hermiston.
trick-or-treat for the first time,
walking house to house. They
loved it, their mother said. Then,
when they could not repeat this
tradition the following season
due to the coronavirus pandemic,
they were crestfallen.
As they love makeup and
costumes, Halloween is suited
to them, their mother and
great-grandmother said. To
finally be able to have Halloween
activities, such as trick-or-treat-
ing, they planned and the hay-
ride they did Oct. 28, they were
pleased.
This is the sort of experience
Stefani Wyant, Rocky Heights
Elementary School principal,
hoped the young students could
enjoy.
“We have worked very hard to
provide experiences for our stu-
dents in a year that is not so typi-
cal with limitations,” she said.
She expressed the importance
of living with joy and normalcy,
despite the pandemic. In sending
her students to field trips, they
could live a more regular life.
In addition to having fun, she
said, students also could incorpo-
rate the trip into their academics.
Older children did science and
math on their trips, according to
the principal, learning about agri-
culture by seeing growing things
and practicing measurements by
measuring pumpkins.
Wyant said other activities,
such as costume parties at the
school, also add to the children’s
happiness.
“It’s something we’ve done in
the past and we are glad to do it
this year,” she said.
Meanwhile, people at Bell-
inger’s said they also are pleased
to help children get some enjoy-
ment out of the season. Marleaux
Scaggs, the restaurant manager
at the Bellinger Farms Gour-
met Shoppe, was just one of the
happy people at the store.
Scaggs said she saw around
60 or more schoolchildren each
day visit the shop for hayrides
during October. Some days, she
would see 90.
“Jack likes to give back to
the community, and that’s how
he does it,” she said, referencing
Jack Bellinger, owner of the shop
and farm.
The hayrides were free to the
children, Scaggs said.
She added the shop will have
more events. It will host wine
events the first Thursday of every
month. It also will have Christ-
mas cookie decorating activities
and photos with Santa photos as
it had in the past.
These activities are import-
ant, and she is glad to have them,
Scaggs said.
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