Read Stuff
Magnolia (Widow) Woebe
The librarian at Sunken Bridge Middle School can't get enough of the books she loves. Here she is, at the Ashboro Public Library, where she has pages from The Lure of Burnt Swamp open and ready for you to read.
preface as it sets the tone for the whole Gavin adventure.
Now, settle back and enjoy your read.
Forces of evil or natural disaster?
Fire remains mystery after ten years
By Di Cook, Senior Staff Reporter, dcook@thedailyencounter.com
ASHBORO - The ultimate fireworks display, triggered by a freak fire that assaulted Burnt Swamp nearly ten years ago, continues to baffle state environmentalists. No Fourth of July man-made fireworks can compare to the mysterious Halloween blaze that still smolders and flares in a swamp east of the town limits of this Eastern Shore community.
The four-alarmer struck just before midnight on October 31, 1997, bringing volunteer firefighters from the neighboring communities of Trevorton, Natsville, Kade's Cove, and Saigebury to fight the inferno. Twelve men were injured, one critically, as they struggled to bring the flames under control.
"This is the most unusual fire we've encountered in my lifetime," says Wesley Wyatt, assistant state fire marshal. "Even now, it shows no sign of burning itself out. The state has invested more time and money than we can justify, so we're putting it on the back burner - no pun intended."
Though there is no evidence of arson, Wyatt says he believes mischief makers started the blaze, but local residents don't agree. Some attribute it to a freak storm they say appeared out of nowhere and hovered over the cypress swamp. Officials from the National Weather Service at Mount Holly, NJ, say that no storm appeared on their radar that night.
Warnard Elijah Stokes, 84, who lives in the swamp, says the fires are evil. "Them fools at the weather service don't know what they're talkin' about. I saw them lightnin' bolts myself, and they weren't from no trick-or-treaters. They came straight from the talons of them fallen angels that were cast out of heaven. You can scoff about ghosts and goblins if ya want, but I know evil when I see it. And that was pure evil, clean through."
When asked to confirm a rumor that he inherited a diary that holds the key to extinguishing the current blaze where modern technology has failed, Stokes refused to comment.
According to Ashboro mayor Bruce Goodfellow, "Stokes is an eccentric with no clear grasp of reality." Right or wrong, the good people of Ashboro still clean Burnt Swamp's debris off their porches and sidewalks every day, endure the slight "rotten egg" odor, and have grown accustomed to a perpetual cloudy haze that blocks the afternoon sun.
"We can live with a little inconvenience," Goodfellow says. "After all, no place on earth is perfect."
this nuisence of a fire we're been living with for the
past ten years. Let's read on, then. Are you ready to
meet Gavin?
Read Chapter 1: Dumbfounded
Click a link below to read Chapter 1 of Gavin Goodfellow: The Lure of Burnt Swamp.
Christian Library Journal - Gavin Goodfellow Review
Click the link below to read the review of Gavin Goodfellow: The Lure of Burnt Swamp from the Christian Library Journal in the September 2007 issue.
