Latest / Two Tools, No Clue / E18 Jack O' Lantern Lore

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E18 Jack O' Lantern Lore · Two Tools, No Clue

• Jeidan and Anna: Hey everyone, welcome to the two tools, no clue podcast. I'm Anna. And I'm Jeidan. And today we have no clue about jack-o-lanterns. How did they start? And dear God, why? Yeah. Why? Why? But first what's going on around the homestead? Well, we caught another kitty you guys. Heck yeah. This is our fourth cat that we've caught. We finally purchased our own havaheart trap. Yeah, we've been using my best friend's mom's havaheart trap for God two years at this point. Never gave it back, but now we can finally give it back. Yep. We got a fancy two door one. It's a nice forest green color. I'm obsessed with it. Yeah. So that it doesn't rust as easy. So that's pretty cool. And Was inspired we we had like a makeshift Little shelter area where we were putting cat food underneath And I decided to make an actual Kitty condo rescue retreat and it's pretty cool That's where we put all of our food, but I made it with a bunch of scrap wood And then I had one little panel of plastic roofing Leftover so we use that right up on our porch the perfect size. Meant to be it's pretty awesome I'll I'll have Anna put some pictures on our Social medias for you guys to see the final project, but yeah Jey essentially made a little cat shed. Yeah It's pretty beautiful Right on our porch. Yep, and we have a camera pointing at the food that we leave it out at night so we can see when is a good time to put the trap out because my biggest fear is trapping a skunk or one of the foxes around here. Yes, both have been on the porch. My last day off, Stevie and I went outside like we usually do in the morning and got Anna one of those, heated houses last Christmas. actually it wasn't. Christmas it was just a random present because she was feeling bad because all the cats were cold outside and so I got her one of those and was hanging and it's out on our porch right now it's actually right next to the chair that I sit in on the porch Stevie was the garden just sniffing around and then she came back up on the porch and I was sitting on my chair and little fox came out of the little heated hut and I felt so bad because Stevie literally chased it right back in to the woods. It didn't go straight into the woods. went underneath our actual shed where the fox den has always been. And then it popped right back up to see if Stevie was still looking at it and Stevie very much was still looking at it. And so then it kind of just ran away and I haven't seen it since but. I feel particularly bad because there was a mom and a baby who had is it mange have mange and it's basically like they're overtaken by mites and they can't like produce body heat they have a hard time eating and that definitely was one of them and they were looking better than they were before but I just felt really bad because Stevie you know obviously scared it and it was just trying to sneak away. I was shocked that I had been, that it hadn't ran away right at the get-go. We walked right onto that porch. was causing, I was moving things around on the porch, did not. It was like definitely waiting, you know, like Fox stealth-like manner to try and sneak away, but Stevie, nothing gets by Stevie. So hopefully they're good out there, but I did feel a little bit bad. I ruined their peace, but I also was grateful that nothing bad happened. Yeah. It makes me want to get another one of those guys just to put in the woods for him. Yeah. Cause I, I don't know if it's going to survive the winter. I know. So sad. Sorry. Anyway, you always bring these what's going on around the homesteads down. That's what happened. And we're going to plant our daffodils today. Yeah, I'm excited about that. It's rainy. It's definitely a daffodil day. If you haven't yet, now is the perfect time to plant your daffodils. Yep. So do you have any prior knowledge about the history of jack-o-lanterns, Jei-dan? No, I do not. Do you want to guess where they first started? You know? Some white people somewhere. Yeah, you'd be correct about that. That's exactly right. Some white people somewhere. Wasting f*cking food somewhere. Sorry. So does the Irish folklore about Stingy Jack ring any bells to you? No, I can't believe it's the Irish. What have you done? What have you done? Well, it's a Scottish too. It kind bled over a little bit. So there are many different versions of the legend, but the one I'm going to be telling mainly comes from the source history mysteries.com. Sorry, not history mysteries, historic mysteries. Although history mysteries sounds way better. That does sound better. So just to clarify historic mysteries.com history mysteries. Stingy Jack was a drunken blacksmith described as many things, manipulative, foul, selfish, two-faced and vile, just to name a few. Quote, his selfish spirit possessed not a shred of humanity or kindness for anyone and the homeless beggars only repulsed him, end quote. So he was a great guy. He was apparently such a monster of a man that Satan himself decided he wanted to meet him. He'd heard some things. So in some versions, Satan goes to meet him himself, but in this version, he sends one of his devils to do his dirty work. So he sends one of his devils to pose as a dead man on the street to wait until Stingy Jack came across him. When Stingy Jack did stumble across him, he knew right away that this was a devil come to collect his soul. because of the dead man's evil grin. I think he just like knew deep down that he was a horrible person. So how does he know that the grin there was some devilish grin. I don't know. really did believe back then. Yeah, they did. So he begged the devil for one final request, which the devil kindly granted. Do you want to guess what his one last request was? Jack-o-lanterns? No. One last drink because the man's a drunk. So obviously. my God. He took the devil to the nearest tavern. One drink turned into two, then three, and then four. And before long, the two had drank the tavern dry. Of course, when it's time to settle the bill, Jack didn't have any money because he's a terrible person. And being a man of opportunity, he turned to his drinking buddy and suggested since had magical devil powers after all that he should turn himself into a silver coin to pay the tab. And he told the devil he could just turn himself back when the bartender wasn't looking. And so the devil who, if I was Satan, I'd be like, I'd never trust this guy again with my dirty work. Like you're fired. He agreed. So he turns himself into a coin. and Jack puts the coin in his pocket, which also housed a crucifix trapping the devil inside the coin. Whoa, I am not that brave. The devil was fighting to get out, but he was obviously trapped by the crucifix. So Jack told the devil if he agreed to leave him alone for a decade, he would let him free. again, the devil agreed. But like a decade right off the bat, I'd be like, you leave me alone forever. my boss is waiting for me. I can't be gone for a decade during this one mission. Satan's pissed. I know it so a decade impressed He's pissed he sent this guy for one thing now he's got to wait a decade for it so a decade passed without incident because apparently Satan's a man of his word and the day the day of all the Devil the Devil came in all of us for stingy Jack once again and again Jack begged the devil for one last earthly request. He asked for an apple from a nearby tree to satisfy his hunger before his long journey to hell. He's like, please, all I want is just a simple apple. The tree is right there. Can you just climb up and get me one? And so again, the devil agreed. And as he was climbing up into the branches to get an apple, Jack took the opportunity to carve four crucifixes into the back of the apple tree. Trapping the devil in the branches. And once again, he offered the devil his freedom if he would never take him to hell. Now he's learned his lesson. Now he's saying never come back. And again, the devil agreed. So the devil fucked Satan. And if I was saying, I'd be definitely sending a new guy next time. yeah, this guy's getting thrown into the fires of hell when he gets back. He's useless. You probably shouldn't go back. Yeah. You should just stay in the tree. Yeah, for real. So many years later, alcoholism took its toll and Stingy Jack passed away of natural causes. When he arrived at the pearly gates, St. Peter took one look and turned him away because obviously, hello. Cause of the grin. I'm just kidding. Cause of the, yeah, he knew right away he was the devil. But Jack was not concerned. He just shrugged and made his way to the gates of hell where his nemesis would surely be waiting for him. It's been his entire life. Yeah. He's like, Hey buddy. You wanted to meet him. But unfortunately upon his arrival, Satan also turned him away because Satan is a man of his word. And even though Stingy Jack had died, the deal between him was alive and well, and Jack would never be taken to hell. no. Satan must've felt bad for Jack or something because he ended up granting him one last wish. This man does not deserve any more wishes. So Jack requested an ember from the fiery depths of hell to light his path into the darkness of purgatory. He's like, please just give me a light. So Jack couldn't carry the burning ember with his bare hands. So he found a turnip of all things to carve out and place the ember into to make a makeshift lantern. Okay. I understand now. Okay. Why a turnip? Of all things. There's just a turnip laying around. Irish people love turnips Like you couldn't I don't know what else you would put an ember in Where do the pumpkins come from? okay. Well, we're getting to that. Sorry Hold your horses. I Thought the story was over. No, I'm just speculating why a f*cking turnip? who knows so since then stingy Jack's ghost could be seen wandering the Irish countryside And whenever locals saw him in the woods, they would say that's just Jack O the lantern And I'm assuming O means of here like cup O coffee Lots O luck. So it's Jack of the lantern like old-timey speech Very Irishy. Also, can we just take a second to talk about how the locals are seeing lights in the woods? Yeah, and they basically just made up the story to make the unknown something familiar? what the f*ck were those lights? Yeah. Aliens. Anyway. Yeah, no, that's what I thought. Aliens or ghosts, but mostly aliens or the devil himself. Yeah. No, it's aliens. OK. You can't convince me otherwise. So with Stingy Jack roaming the earth until Judgment Day, the Gaelic Irish community feared that he would pay their homes a visit. So precautions were taken on October 31st, which is the Celtic festival of Samhain The Gaelic Irish community believed spirits from the nether world could pass through to the world of the living on this one day because the veil separating the two was at thinnest. They would carve terrifying faces into turnips and rutabagas. Put small embers inside and place them on their doorsteps to ward off the evil spirits. my God. I don't even know what a f*cking rutabaga is. So like what? Did the pumpkin come from when like they just moved and we'd grow more pumpkins in America than in? I'm going to get there when I get there. I'm just going to let you keep speculating. I'm not going to tell you if you're right or wrong. Turnips and rutabagas. That sounds more Irish. Like when you were starting to talk about pumpkins I was laughing when we saw those pumpkins in Scotland. I was like, where did they import these from? Like what is going on? I've never seen a pumpkin patch in my damn life in Scotland. Well, you're not looking hard enough. Apparently not. So in the 19th and early 20th century, the Irish. Here we go. Here we go. This is what you're waiting for. I am. In the 19th and early 20th century, the Irish started migrating to America. I knew it. And brought with them their beliefs, holidays and traditions. This, Jeidan, is where pumpkins come in. I knew it. knew it. knew it. Pumpkins just so happened to be native in North America and ready to harvest right around Samhain So they quickly replaced the smaller, more difficult to carve turnips and rutabagas. Everything's bigger in America. We all know what jack-o-lanterns look like today. Here's what they used to look like when they were made out of turnips. They're like little coney heads. They probably look so scary. And for those listening, Jeidan is going to describe to you what he sees, but I implore you to hop over to YouTube to look at these pictures. I picture horrible things. the first two pictures I'm gonna show are like people today carved out a turnip. But the last picture looks very like museum picture-esque. So I think it's like a genuine old ass jack-o-lantern. I think I'm ready. So this is the first one. I knew it was gonna have just a. horrible looking teeth. Okay, so this looks like a pumpkin that I would have carved. It's a turnip. It's a turnip one. it's got oval eyes and then a same shaped mouth with really like one row of teeth on the bottom. It looks like it's no teeth up top, no nose, nothing else going on. I like how they carved it so that the root. point of the turnip is at the top. So it looks like it has little hair. It reminds me of one of those mummified the shrunken head. yeah. shape of it. Like, God. OK, here's the second picture. This one's lit up. my God. It's lit up. OK, this looks like one of those masks. The hockey mask. yeah. Like the what's his name? Jason? Yeah, the Jason mask. But a little scarier. don't know what the very pronounced nose. Yeah, the nose are like teardrop stains down into his eyes. Yeah, that's it. There is no nose. It's really creepy looking and it's lit up too. That's not all right. So I saved the best for last. Here's the museum quality. I'm not very good at describing these. in shock. think the pumpkin. I really need you to try your best to describe this one. Okay. my my God. It's looking dissatisfied alien. my God. Shriveled alien. my God. Okay. So, God, it's horrible looking. It's got these. black vacant eyes. No nose. No nose. Just like gouges where a nose should be. It does have two rows of teeth. They're not like, God, it's horrible. And its lips are red. And it's literally like, and the holes around its eyes are blue and its forehead is huge. I don't like it at all. It definitely has an alien forehead. And the other ones were purple. This one's like a weird brown tan blue color. It's probably molded at this point. Like God knows what it looks like inside. This looks like a very old one, which and it's also a very good picture, which makes me think it's from a museum. Very creepy. So that's what they used to look like. You know, I knew America had something to do with this bullshit. I knew it. They saved us from this terrifying terrifying bullshit. They did and they didn't, okay? I guess... turnips aren't as gross inside. Yeah, but they're harder to carve. There's no cavity. I'm sure. You have to make that cavity. Yeah, I know. I'm just saying. Like they did it and they didn't. If anyone doesn't know this about me, I hate the smell of pumpkins. I hate the feeling of the inside of a pumpkin. is literally my least favorite holiday hobby that is forced upon me every year. The smell is just. Turnip smell horrible. They don't have that Stringy. Just... Goop happening inside of them. Well, you hate carving pumpkins, but fun fact, around 158 million people bought pumpkins to carve for Halloween in 2025 in America. Okay, like I'm not saying we should eat them instead. That's 46 % of the population. I get that, but like... I guess all the pigs usually get to eat them. But like you better not be throwing out your pumpkin after. And chickens and goats and wildlife. That's all my big Yeah. And don't bleach your pumpkins, people. People bleach them to keep them standing for longer. Don't do it. That's gross. Because then a poor little squirrel is going to try to nibble on your pumpkin, which as it should, it's a food product that you left outside. What do you expect? Yeah. And then it's going to go off and die in a hole because you bleached your pumpkin. So don't fricking do that. I'm looking at you. Don't do it. like a dog could eat it too. Dogs are dumb. They love pumpkins. So many people, including myself, enjoy roasting the seeds after carving pumpkins for a healthy little snack. But did you know that there are a ton of ways to use the guts as well? Ew. Your favorite part? Ew, ew, ew. Guts are packed with nutrients, vitamins and fiber. So think. twice before relegating them to the trash this pumpkin season. Guts can be made into pumpkin puree for Stevie, broth and soup, chutneys, hummus, baked goods and pastries, and of course dog treats. They can also be used for crunchier purposes and crunchier meaning like hippier, more granola-esque purposes like homebody scrubs, face masks, garden fertilizer, or even stuffing for pillows and stuffed animals, which I meant to look into and then completely got sidetracked. So I don't understand how that works. In your pillow? Versatile. The smell. The smell. Your worst nightmare. The slime. No, I think you dry it out. It turns into stuffing. You're not just stuffing your pillows with slimy, wet guts. don't know about that, Anna. Here's some fun facts for you so that you feel better. Okay. That I learned about our beloved pumpkins. Pumpkins are technically classified as the berry. Because they have seeds. Ask a scientist. I have no idea. but apparently they are a berry, more specifically a type of berry called a Pepo. A Pepo! origin of the word pumpkin comes from the Greek word pepon. Illinois is the top producing pumpkin state with twice as many acres dedicated to their growth than any other state in the country. I didn't expect that. I know, right? There are more than 45 different kinds of pumpkin What? At work, we sell a lot of different pumpkins. What kind of pumpkin is this? like, I don't know, a jumbo one. Sorry. are you supposed to know? I don't know. But that's what the tag says. Jumbo. It's green and jumbo. I don't know what you want from me. Ask a farmer. Yeah. Sorry. I suppose that just makes me think of. The heaviest pumpkin ever grown. Do you want to guess? I do. I've seen huge, probably like 500 pounds. Was 2,749 pounds. Where in Illinois? It was grown by a Minnesota, Minnesota horticultural teacher named Travis Geinger. Minnesota, ay, holy crap. That's two thousand. Yeah, almost 3,000. 2,749 pounds. You're right. Wow. That's a big pumpkin. Yeah. I don't understand how people can grow pumpkins of that size and I can't even grow like a small pumpkin. They're just green for eternity and then the deer eat them. man. The oldest recorded pumpkins date back to 7,000 BC E in modern day Mexico. And today. Like you were talking about earlier, pumpkins are grown on every continent except Antarctica. So they are grown in Scotland. You've just never seen them in. Do you do remember what I'm talking about though? Right. And we ended up in that random loch town. Yeah. Through the center. I was like, was it, Luss? Yeah. Yeah. was like, what the hell is going on here? Seeing Halloween decorations up in Scotland was very cool because like It's not the same. No, it's not. I don't even know how to describe it. It's like... People around here, it's like blood and gore and you're trying to be scary and make your house a haunted house type deal. Yeah. And I don't know that little cafe. Like it was just very, it was like quirky. Yeah. they had a witch and a, and some other guy, like a skeleton at a, at a table together. Yeah. I don't know the decorations are just like not. This they were the same decorations, but they were used differently. Yeah. Like this is really comedy factor. Yeah. And not, I'm going to scare the shit out of your shoulders today. More novelty than like, spook factor. Cause over here it's all spoopy. Yeah, you're right. Okay. Last but not least, if we're talking about pumpkins, we have to talk. about the Keene Pumpkin Festival. Okay, I'm here for it. If you're from New England, especially New Hampshire, you probably know what I'm talking about. Rest in peace. For those that don't, Keene New Hampshire started hosting a pumpkin festival in 1991 thanks to the brainchild of Nancy Sporborg. Love it. Here is her original pitch for the festival according to pumpkinfestival.org. Quote. Get out there and join your neighbors. Did you just flinch? Get out there and join your neighbors, businesses, schools, volunteers, organizations, and residents who are knee deep in pumpkin guts and glory. The spotlight is on. Revel in it. Carve a pumpkin, which will represent you in this heartfelt effort. Make your pumpkin personal by carving your name. a special date, message to a loved one, design or logo. Register it at the pumpkin shop on Central Square. Do you remember the pumpkin shop? No. Then walk around and find the perfect location for your creation. Check out the incredible glowing pumpkin creativity. Welcome people to your hometown. Be courteous. Smile. Take pride in what your community can do. Wait for the count with anticipation knowing you helped. Know that this special event on the Eastern seaboard found away into the hearts of hundreds of thousands on the planet. Stand in the flickering light of thousands of jack-o-lanterns and take a bow." End quote. Which sounds very AI written to me. If this wasn't 1991, I would be like, She's like, I have this many words that I can put in this document. that's definitely what it is. pumpkin shop. By the time I got to Keene, they were using just an open retail space for events rather than like, don't think it, I don't think that existed anymore. So that's pretty cool. didn't know that was a thing. Yeah. I think it, my biggest memory of pumpkin fest was when I was like six or seven years old. Wow. So from my, memory which is off. I remember it being like a tent in the central square area and you went up with your pumpkin. That's what I remember and like merch and stuff like that. But I guess I also have a very skewed version as a student rather than like a local. Yeah. So the event. This is interesting because we have both sides as we continue on. For those who don't know what's going to happen, don't spoil it until I get there. OK, just even registration alone. Like I didn't register my own pumpkin. You know what I mean? Yeah. And the thing like they and you weren't close enough in Connecticut to do it with your school. Correct. Yeah, that's really cool. Yeah. as we're talking about it, bringing a pumpkin to pumpkin fest as it's lovingly called today was a big deal. Like pumpkin. Yeah. Yeah. So you would either carve it with your family and go and register it at the pumpkin shop like that just said, and they would take it from you or sometimes you could either choose whether they placed it somewhere. Cause like they would have to put it on. They had this huge scaffolding. It was very impressive. As tall as the church steeple. Yeah. And it was just full of lit pumpkins. And so if you wanted it on something like that, you would hand it over. But then otherwise, you could like find a spot for it along the main street. See, I think by the time I finally got to being involved in it, it was like 2008. So it was already a really big thing. I remember doing 20 years of pumpkin fest. that was a pretty big deal. I was at keene State when that happened. I don't know. It was very different because we didn't get to choose. So if you went to Keene state, like you said, you did it with one of your schools as well. Yeah. So every year, because I'm obviously local to Keene when I like now, and when I was a kid, all the schools in the area would make it would be an art class project. always wondered how they did it. So like, did you ever do it with Keene state or no? Yeah, don't, don't ruin it. So the day before the count, they would have a pumpkin carving day on the quad. that's cool. And they would bring in all of these pumpkins. So we didn't have to pay for our pumpkin. I thought it was really cool. and it was a huge campus event and you would just go and you would get your pumpkin and you could either bring your own stuff or they had carving utensils that your group would have to like share or whatever. And it was just this whole thing. Like they had like music playing on the quad and it was just a really cool event that I don't know. I just liked it because pumpkin fest when you're at Keene state, like as a college kid, the partying aspect part of it was like very, very big, right? It wasn't like the event itself, but like you're like, I'm going to rage tonight, you know? But the other, the parts that were my favorite were the very things that you did as a kid, when you went carving and then we had to go find our pumpkin because you didn't get to bring your pumpkin to registration for Keene State because it would be a shit show. So they would literally empty the pumpkins and at the end you would hand over your pumpkin and you would write your name there. But the tent was at Keene State and then they would haul them all off in the trailer once they were all complete. So we didn't have a part of that. But I remember the first pumpkin fest, I literally refused to leave until I found my pumpkin. Yeah. And my friends were so upset with me and I'm like, I need to find this pumpkin. it's all for not. If I don't find this pumpkin. I did, but it took, it took me all day right on the center. No, that's where mine was too. Right at the edge. see there. And then one year it was in the Rows, by where, what's it called now? Railroad used to be, now don't know the hell it's called now. Sherees. Madam Sherri's So like that little area. My favorite pumpkin, still remember it to this day. Somebody made like kind of like a snowman, put multiple pumpkins on top of each other and they found one that looked like a butt crack. So they put pants on it and had it like a plumber's crack. So good. People got really creative with their pumpkins. Some of the pumpkins that you would see like the detail. like, how did you do that? Yeah. Pumpkin Fest was so magical back in the day. I'm just going to like kind of tell you what I remember from the year that I remembered the most. I was probably like six or seven, like I said, I think I was a witch. And so you would park in like PC connection lot and they would shuttle you in and school buses. And then you get there and it's just like the entire downtown main street is closed off. People are everywhere, pumpkins everywhere. There's smell of food. Everywhere. It was like so amazing. You'd bring your pumpkins that you had as a family. You would chuck them in and then you would go from storefront to storefront getting candy. Like it was trick or treating. And I remember like there was loud music, like just bouncing off all the buildings. no matter where you went, there was music. And I'm pretty sure some of it was like big speakers, but I'm pretty sure there was live music in some. Little pockets of town being live music, some spots as well. And then what else? The scaffolding. The Dunkin Donut truck there. Yes, the Dunks. I forgot about that. I also remember getting like a candy apple from just like a street car vendor, like some little cart. Yeah, It was just so cool. Everyone was dressed up in costume. so wholesome, it brought the whole community together, multiple communities. It brought them all together. And it was just I can still smell the air. You know what I mean? and feel the briskness of the day. it's, and the thing is it would end with fireworks at like six because it gets dark so early at that time. yeah, it would end with fireworks and then that was it. Like it wasn't a festival that continued on into the night, which is why it's so crazy. What unfortunately ended up happening because it's not like, anyway, here we go. So before we get into it, every year, the goal was to outdo the previous year's record with the amount of carved pumpkins displayed. Like it was a really big deal. And that's why they would hand out pumpkins to all the schools because they were like, we are getting another record. We're going to beat last year. it was a thing. So the festival actually broke multiple world records. I believe it. And I'm just going to. So for the 25th anniversary, they made shirts with all the stats on the back, concert shirts with tour dates and locations. And I actually knew about this previously because I worked at a screen print. shop and I came across the old, like it was multiple of them like every year added on another one. So I'm just going to read off the world records. So the first Harvest Festival, which is what it says on here, first Harvest Festival. It wasn't even the Pumpkin Fest yet. It was in 1991. They had 600 pumpkins. that's so Baby. In 1992, they set the first world record with 1,628. 1993, second world record, 4,817. 1994, third world record with 10,540. Like it popped off. The next year was rainy. 1996. Fourth world record, 13,044 pumpkins. 1997 fifth world record, 13,432 pumpkins. 1998 sixth world record, 17,693 pumpkins. Next year was just a regular festival, didn't break any records. 2000 7th world record, 23,727 pumpkins. And these are all being lit, mind you. on a main street. Like they're not just pumpkins sitting there. They all have candles in them. God, it was so impressive. 2001, 2002, nothing to say there. 2003, eighth world record, 28,952 pumpkins. 2004. regular year 2005 year of the flood they still had 22,157 pumpkins. believe that year of the flood still have over 20,000 pumpkins. That's insane. is what I mean. communities, the communities came together to fricking rock this out. Even when the, their literal backyards are flooding. They're like, we're bringing our pumpkins to pumpkin fest. all, most of Keene state was flooded. In 2006, Boston sets a record of 30,128 pumpkins. So for the next three years after that, actually for quite a few years after that, let's see, one, two. For six years, we don't have another world record. But then in 2013, the ninth world record with 30,581 pumpkins. And that is the most pumpkins Pumpkin Festival ever got because unfortunately the next year. was the pumpkin fest riot. Yeah. They still got 21,912 pumpkins out of it, but it was the last genuine pumpkin fest that ever happened. Really it continues today, but it is not the same. It's not the same at all. Unfortunately, that evening very well. Yeah. Well, I don't. So it was really bad and it was like. Not OK at all, honestly, like it just didn't need you were in school at the time. I had literally just graduated the year before. Yeah. Or that year. that previous spring I had graduated, I graduated in. May and then October came and yes, this was really the first year I was out there in the world with my Keene State degree. And. Every single time I told someone I graduated from, Keene State that's all they said. Yeah, my family lives in Scotland and it was on the BBC News, little old Keene Little old Keene, New Hampshire. And they were like, wow, that's where Jeidan went to school. How embarrassing. It was really embarrassing, honestly, but it was also just like. Real shameful, you know, I remember I actually I was working at Panera Bread and so I remember that day I had the morning shift and so my roommate and I, we both worked at Panera and where we lived. I live right off the Main Street And so they always put those big cement blocks out. So you can't Either you leave for the day and you don't come back or you just walk everywhere. So we brought all of our we just walked to work that morning because we knew we weren't going to be able to get back in by the time we got out because we worked like the five a.m. shift. Yeah. I just remember leaving work at one p.m. And by then it was already really bad. like as we were walking, we could tell that it was already really uneasy just by the way people were walking down the street. It was like a mixture of just like regular people and then just like really intoxicated, belligerent, drunk students. Okay. So let me, let me get into it. So backing up for people who don't know what's going on in 2014 on the 24th anniversary of our beloved pumpkin fest, college kids ruined it for everyone. So from my understanding, a bunch of Plymouth state kids and like maybe a couple of other schools were visiting Keene State College, which seriously escalated things. Like party schools colliding. Just terrible, terrible. But basically the darting, darting, daytime partying for those who don't know. 1 p.m. get out. They got out of hand and a full blown riot ensued at pumpkin fast all over the town in the middle of the day and like. What I think is crazy is where it started is literally like 10 blocks away from Main Street. So the fact that it just like then spread because all these kids left and you know, yeah, relocating everywhere like it just got really bad really quick. for honestly, think absolutely no reason. Like all of those kids should have just been wrangled up. Who fricking cares who's guilty or not? You're guilty by association at that point. know what I mean? Like. Drunk college kids were throwing beer bottles, rocks, skateboards, pumpkins, basically anything that they could get their hands on at police who were literally just there to keep people safe. Make sure everything was running smoothly. they just started antagonizing these poor police officers over nothing over nothing. They were also f*cking overturning cars. I think at least one car got overturned and they were setting fires in the streets. Yeah. So they actually took a pool table and a couch out of somebody's home. And this was towards the end of the evening. And they put it in the middle of the street in a suburb that is like Heavily populated. a lot of trees, a lot of electrical lines, like very consolidated and it was a very big fire. And I remember just seeing videos of it on Facebook and people's Snapchats. And I remember even one of one of my old friends was like out on the street and they were like all Kumbaya-ing. I'm like, this is not a Kumbaya moment. you are literally rioting and causing property destruction. Yeah. That you're, you're inciting a riot. that's not a Kumbaya situation. Right. You're lighting people's furniture on fire. pool tables aren't cheap. No, not at all. Somebody's parents are pissed. Yeah. I mean, like, don't care how rich you are. Like, that's just weird. But yeah, they flipped over. Well, these kids half these kids weren't even from around here. They don't give a f*ck about your furniture. And so, like, typically what would happen is every pumpkin fest, Plymouth State Security would come. had. But they just didn't bring enough people and they didn't really put down ground rules for their own students to be like, hey, you need to be appropriate because like what people don't, I'm sure a lot of people don't know, Plymouth State and Keene State are a part of the UNH system. They're no longer their own identities. They were bought over by UNH. So they are sister schools. Yeah. So they should be coordinating a lot better. yeah. Yeah, it was horrible. was horrible. There was freaking helicopters out by the end of the night. Yeah. So police responded by using tear gas and pepper spray. Apparently the crowd started chanting, bring out the bear cat, which for those who don't know is a heavily armored SWAT vehicle. So they're literally antagonizing these people. And by the end of the day, like you said, helicopters were flying overhead with megaphone saying, go home. Nobody wants you here. Yep. It was a mandate. were literally, what's that word? Not in shelter, but we were. locked down. Yeah, we were. They everyone had to go home. I remember I was trying to walk my friend home and there was this like rent a cop who they all fled onto the scene and they were just like, you can't walk down here. I go, sir, we live here and we were very much walking down here. He was like, are you? He was like, OK, get home safe. I was like, that is what we are trying to do. Yeah, people are not going to let her. We were not going to let her walk all the way home. Like it's just not happening. He was like, OK. And I was like, we are going to be walking right past the space. Like, please let us pass. And he was like, I will. I was like, OK, you better be here when we get back. And he was. like. I was worried he was going to be like, no, you can't. It's just like, how are we supposed to get home? we're not up to no good. yeah, we look of college age. We had all literally just graduated. And it's just we are not the problem. you're terrified. Thank you for being here. I'm sorry you're here. Yeah. So at least 30 people were injured before evening with 20 hospitalized. I believe it. Like I said, I got out of work at 1 p.m. and the vibe was already you could tell parents were leaving. Yeah. quickly all these kids in their cute little outfits. And then it's just like, what is this is not what you expect? I had been to four other pumpkin fest by that point. And yeah, it's a lot of people and it's a busy day. Nothing like that. Holy moly. I blame Four Loco. 84 people were arrested, which is honestly a sizable number. they did, I think what they could to arrest people. another 16 were arrested in the following weeks for a total of a hundred people, which is pretty freaking good for a small town trying to recover from this. Yeah. And the FBI helped them. with camera footage. I thought that was pretty intense. hey, you guys are screwed. I remember during the email threads that you would get as an alumni, it was still if you were a part of this day, you need to come forward and you will be in less trouble than if we identify you in these photos. Because we are heavily assisting at this point. And they were like, well, it wasn't me. Yeah. All the alumni are like, we are not donating this year. Shame. I'm like, I'm especially bummed out and angry at these f*cking people because I was 17 the year it happened. I unfortunately was stuck at work and by the time I got out of work, it would have been over because pumpkin fest did it right. And they didn't continue it in the evening to avoid this exact situation and just people being ornery. But, if I had been able to go, it would have been my first year going without my parents because I had just gotten my license and I would have been able to go with my friends. So somebody was looking out. No, for sure. Yeah. how bummed I was. Somebody was looking out. Yeah. Because I would have been alone. Yeah. but it's just, it's incredibly sad to me because I had so many amazing memories at pumpkin fest as like a small child. can't imagine it put keene on the map. we were so proud as a community to break all of these records every year. all like schools came together. Yeah. Families came together to like just make this beautiful scene in downtown. And I was so excited to start going with my friends and be able to like be my own person at these at this festival. And disrespectful, drunk college kids had to ruin it for everyone. Yeah. And 12 years later, I'm still really f*cking bitter about it. No, yeah, there's a very large disconnect from community to campus since pumpkin fest that i don't think they will ever get around townies look at that college different now yeah even after all of the you know keene state as a campus did a lot for the community during covid and i think that helped a little bit, but there's still this distrust. We don't trust you. Yeah, we don't trust you in our communities. And you can tell just by the way they confront the youth in general on the main streets during festivals now in Keene, y'know, not necessarily the students, the college students that are getting the brunt of it, but you can definitely, you can feel it. Yeah. Even just over the summer, a lot a lot of things happening between community and campus now and it's just all disgruntled. Yeah. It's just you don't belong here. This is my community. It's not your home. It's my home kind of thing. Right. That's a shame because when I came to Keene, Keene State was community. Mm You know they loved welcoming the new students in and showing them around and doing the welcome tours on Main Street were very welcoming. And now you can just there. They're different. Yeah. I don't even know if they do those anymore. I don't think they do. They walk those all the way up and down the main street and showed us all the time. Well, I did start halfway through the year. So maybe that was part of orientation. But I don't remember it as like a business manager on the downtown. I don't remember them coming in like they used to. When I first started managing. I remember them coming in and we give them like the free smoothie and free bagel coupons in their welcome packet. But like they stopped doing that. Yeah. I mean, the CDC, which is where I went to preschool is connected to Keene State and we would go on like little field trips around town all the time. Like we would walk down to Athens and we made our own pizza one day. that's so cool. And I remember that to this day. and I don't think they do that anymore. Probably not. No. Yeah. Things have definitely changed. Yeah. You know, the start being pumpkin fest. I'm sure COVID didn't help, but yeah. Pumpkin fest really did, change our community for the good and then kind of separated us right back up again. Yeah. So Laconia, where every motorcycle enthusiast in New Hampshire goes for bike week for those who aren't familiar, they tried to revive Pumpkin Fast for its 25th anniversary in 2015, but they only totaled 9,567 pumpkins compared to 21,912 the year before, which was the Year of the Riot. I mean, it's still a good feat, but... I find it more sad because it's not just the community aspect that we lost. Like a lot of businesses lost a lot of money. Yeah, for sure. They make their money off of things like that. Now it doesn't exist. know, yeah, like the main street has changed so much. Yeah. People are really struggling now. Yeah. Cause Keene still has a pumpkin fest every year, but it is a fraction. A speck of what it used to be. Correct me if I'm wrong. It took them a few years to come back though. Like it was a hard, like it is absolutely not happening. And then I also recall the first year. I was like, I'm definitely going to this. Like I will honor this until ever, y'know? Yeah. But you're right. It was definitely not the same. And it was really sad too. Cause I remember the first year that they did bring it back. rained. it was just like, overall. Omen right. a heavy reminder of what it will never be. I feel like all Keene festivals have been different ever since. there's more of a focus on vendors. Yeah. it's more of a farmer's market. Yeah. Then it is a festival. Yeah. I think they're worried. Honestly. Yeah. nothing good has been coming out of festival oriented things. Unfortunately. Yeah. Well, it's been. 12 years and like we've been saying, it still has not found its way back to its former glory. No. Those stupid ass college kids have moved on with their lives. Some are probably in their forties now and whoa. No, I'm 36. I'd already graduated. But they're old enough. I'm sure. Whoa, I'm 36. Are you sure? I'm positive. but they're in their mid thirties and they better have their lives together at this point. hope they know that they destroyed Keene's best community event to this very day. And I hope they feel the weight of that on their hearts. Yeah. Every f*cking October. Yeah. I hate you. Yeah. You better be paying some good alumni money, honey. Yeah. For real. That's all I gotta say. Truly. So onto the farmer's almanac to cheer us all up after that spicy ending. The spider keeps creeping me out. Is it touching you? It looks like it's going to in the footage. I'm always like, for our listeners, I hung up a big ass spider behind us for Halloween. So So today is October 22nd. The FDA approved aspartame sweetener for tabletop use in 1981. Thanks so much FDA for protecting our health. Yeah, you're great. For those who don't know, aspartame causes cancer. Today is the best day to make jams or jelly, not with aspartame. Yeah, please. No. Cut hair to encourage growth. wash your floors. And that's it. Yikes. Make some jam and then wash your floor. Yeah. Well, we hope you all have a safe and spoopy Halloween. I think we have one more episode before it's actually Halloween. but yes. As you're getting into your spoopy season, I hope you're being safe and keeping warm. yeah, I gotta take the ACs out. That's what you should also do on the 20th. that's your ACs out. Take the ACs out. It's time. All right. So you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or TikTok @TwoToolsNoCluepodcast. You can subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TwoToolsNoClue. Or you could email us and say happy Halloween and be a nice person at TwoToolsNoCluepodcast@gmail.com. Yeah, send us your pictures of your Carved Turnips. yeah, Carve a Turnip, send it in. I'm Carving a Turnip this year. Fuck a pumpkin. We should do that for Patreon. It smells so bad. Carve a pumpkin for Patreon. No, sorry, Carve a Turnip for Pumpkin. Carve a Turnip for Pumpkin. What am I? Who am I? OK, goodbye. Goodbye. Bye bye.