by Lloyd Barnhart, West Sand Lake, NY
Moon just ain’t right any more;
Can’t figure where or when it will rise or set.
Used to rise upstream; Set downstream.
Not sure what caused it to change; Maybe it will right itself yet.
Many nights, it just appears…abrupt like.
No slow rise...just suddenly, it’s there!
First noticed this ‘bout 20 years or so after the removals.
I tell ya, Will, everything changed forever back then…’Tain’t fair!
Tonight could be one of those nights when it just appears.
LOOK…There it is, right overhead…the MOON!
Now pay attention, boy, keep your eye on the sky;
Could be some strange goings-on here soon.
BATS!….What?….BATS, goddamn BATS!
And, not just a couple, there’s a whole bunch.
Got a mess of them, apparently attracted to the moonlight.
Watch now for a big old owl to come swooping by, looking for his lunch.
Enough of this, Liza, you’re scaring me.
An owl devouring a flock of bats would be a frightful sight.
Aw, he don’t eat the whole damn bunch;
He’ll pick out a weak or sick one…one that that ain’t quite right.
There, see that one, directly under the moon,
The one moving kinda jerky-like, not smoothly like the rest
If old owl shows up now, that one’s a goner.
Those that are easy to catch, old owl likes best!
SWOOSH!….Like an ominous shadow, owl enters the moon glow.
Bats disperse in all directions, except for that one unable to flee.
Owl slices smoothly through the moonlit sky,
And slams into the cripple that is his meal to be.
But now the owl moves oddly…thrashing about,
As if the bat had quills or at least a bad taste.
He flounders and thrashes right, left and down,
And then suddenly rockets up, moonward, with the greatest of haste.
Watch closely, Will, I have seen this before,
But you, I am sure, will find it an unbelievable site.
You will see a perversion of that beloved tale,
As that owl JUMPS OVER THE MOON on this extraordinary night.
I’m glad you’re here with me, Liza; Without you, I’d be scared.
Was it the others leaving, and what happened after, that caused all this?
Like I said, Will, everything changed back then;
Changed forever, and life as we knew it, we now miss.
Liza, it’s DARK: The moon didn’t set….it just went out!
What just happened? What did we see?
Beats the hell out of me, Will;
Beats the hell out of me!
Used to rise upstream; Set downstream.
Not sure what caused it to change; Maybe it will right itself yet.
Many nights, it just appears…abrupt like.
No slow rise...just suddenly, it’s there!
First noticed this ‘bout 20 years or so after the removals.
I tell ya, Will, everything changed forever back then…’Tain’t fair!
Tonight could be one of those nights when it just appears.
LOOK…There it is, right overhead…the MOON!
Now pay attention, boy, keep your eye on the sky;
Could be some strange goings-on here soon.
BATS!….What?….BATS, goddamn BATS!
And, not just a couple, there’s a whole bunch.
Got a mess of them, apparently attracted to the moonlight.
Watch now for a big old owl to come swooping by, looking for his lunch.
Enough of this, Liza, you’re scaring me.
An owl devouring a flock of bats would be a frightful sight.
Aw, he don’t eat the whole damn bunch;
He’ll pick out a weak or sick one…one that that ain’t quite right.
There, see that one, directly under the moon,
The one moving kinda jerky-like, not smoothly like the rest
If old owl shows up now, that one’s a goner.
Those that are easy to catch, old owl likes best!
SWOOSH!….Like an ominous shadow, owl enters the moon glow.
Bats disperse in all directions, except for that one unable to flee.
Owl slices smoothly through the moonlit sky,
And slams into the cripple that is his meal to be.
But now the owl moves oddly…thrashing about,
As if the bat had quills or at least a bad taste.
He flounders and thrashes right, left and down,
And then suddenly rockets up, moonward, with the greatest of haste.
Watch closely, Will, I have seen this before,
But you, I am sure, will find it an unbelievable site.
You will see a perversion of that beloved tale,
As that owl JUMPS OVER THE MOON on this extraordinary night.
I’m glad you’re here with me, Liza; Without you, I’d be scared.
Was it the others leaving, and what happened after, that caused all this?
Like I said, Will, everything changed back then;
Changed forever, and life as we knew it, we now miss.
Liza, it’s DARK: The moon didn’t set….it just went out!
What just happened? What did we see?
Beats the hell out of me, Will;
Beats the hell out of me!
Author's Note:
To provide fresh water for the residents of New York City, a network of upstate reservoirs was created by damming (damning, really) up some of the State's finest rivers. The Pepacton Reservoir was created by a dam across the East Branch of the Delaware River at Downsville. The water, backed up nearly to the village of Margaretville to the east, inundated several nice little country towns/villages. Among those lost forever to Pepacton's waters was Union Grove.
Work on the Pepacton Reservoir began in 1947, with the project completed in 1955. During the years 1953-54, friends and relatives of the deceased orchestrated the removal of remains from a number of cemeteries facing inundation by the soon to be rising reservoir water. Records can be found showing who participated in the removal of whom, along with the relationship shared. Parents removed children ... children removed parents ... friends removed friends ... etc. For two Union Grove decedents, Willie Ackerly, a young boy, and Eliza Lyn Jenkins, a middle-aged woman, the records indicate NO REMOVAL!
Not long after the reservoir was full, 20 years or so later, Pepacton began to give up some really big trout to fishermen from near and far. Many of these big trout are caught on live bait, saw bellies, while fishing at night. The most common approach is to row to a hot spot and then suspend a Coleman lantern, or other bright light, off the side of the boat to attract the saw bellies. It is common for the bait fish to show up at boat side in fairly large schools ... a little like moths drawn to a flame. The bait fish in turn attract the trout. It is, indeed, an awesome sight to see a large brown trout slash through the schooled bait. The fisherman's bait, somewhat crippled by the fish hook in its back is often the target of the hungry trout. Once hooked, the trout puts on a ferocious fight before being unceremoniously hauled up and into the boat.
And that, dear friends, along with years of thought and much imagination, gave birth to MIDNIGHT MOONLIGHT IN UNION GROVE.
As old Paul would say, “Now you have the rest of the story.”
To provide fresh water for the residents of New York City, a network of upstate reservoirs was created by damming (damning, really) up some of the State's finest rivers. The Pepacton Reservoir was created by a dam across the East Branch of the Delaware River at Downsville. The water, backed up nearly to the village of Margaretville to the east, inundated several nice little country towns/villages. Among those lost forever to Pepacton's waters was Union Grove.
Work on the Pepacton Reservoir began in 1947, with the project completed in 1955. During the years 1953-54, friends and relatives of the deceased orchestrated the removal of remains from a number of cemeteries facing inundation by the soon to be rising reservoir water. Records can be found showing who participated in the removal of whom, along with the relationship shared. Parents removed children ... children removed parents ... friends removed friends ... etc. For two Union Grove decedents, Willie Ackerly, a young boy, and Eliza Lyn Jenkins, a middle-aged woman, the records indicate NO REMOVAL!
Not long after the reservoir was full, 20 years or so later, Pepacton began to give up some really big trout to fishermen from near and far. Many of these big trout are caught on live bait, saw bellies, while fishing at night. The most common approach is to row to a hot spot and then suspend a Coleman lantern, or other bright light, off the side of the boat to attract the saw bellies. It is common for the bait fish to show up at boat side in fairly large schools ... a little like moths drawn to a flame. The bait fish in turn attract the trout. It is, indeed, an awesome sight to see a large brown trout slash through the schooled bait. The fisherman's bait, somewhat crippled by the fish hook in its back is often the target of the hungry trout. Once hooked, the trout puts on a ferocious fight before being unceremoniously hauled up and into the boat.
And that, dear friends, along with years of thought and much imagination, gave birth to MIDNIGHT MOONLIGHT IN UNION GROVE.
As old Paul would say, “Now you have the rest of the story.”
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