A lot of things have happened since 2011 , the last “ double-year ” we had . Eleven years is a long time . People forget . People move away . Some die . People change positions or get promotions and appointments . And people forget . Sometimes , they simply forget . Or want to .
But some of us remember . Some of us will never forget , even though we don ’ t bring it up or even talk about it with those we know that do know … and remember .
It ’ s 2022 . Another “ double year .” Halloween is just around the corner . Is Bagface ?
It all started in October 1966 , just before Halloween , out there on Second Rd . It looked innocent enough . A scarecrow with an over-stuffed brown shopping bag for a head . It was standing out there in old Mr . Viggiano ’ s field . I remember seeing it for days , walking to and from school , thinking to myself that if it rains , that head and face are gonna fall apart .
But the weird thing was , every time I walked past it , I thought I heard a strange little tune being whistled . It almost sounded like someone was playing a flute , or one of those slide-whistles like they sell in the Berlin Mart . Seven little notes . Strange sounding , like they were off-kilter , or something . I remember it gave me the shivers every time I heard it . And once , I thought I heard it say something , but I knew it must have been the wind or something . And then , one day , thankfully , that scarecrow was gone .
But that very same scarecrow wound up standing across town in a field on Boyer Ave ., off Moss Mill Rd ., a couple of days later . Johnny Alessi , who was in my class , told me that he had thought he heard the same little tune being whistled when he ’ d walked past it , and that it actually whispered , “ Hey , you ! It ’ s Me-me !” to him twice . What we couldn ’ t figure out was , how did it get all the way across town ? Unscathed .
Who moved it , and why ? We were only eleven and twelve back then and didn ’ t want people thinking we were crazy or liars , saying we heard a scarecrow whistle and whisper , so we kept it to ourselves .
I went with Johnny , and we stood behind some bushes , watching it after
A TWISTED TALE OF FICTION
school , one day . After a while , we started yelling and whistling at it , and threw sticks and rocks at it .
Nothing . No reaction . Finally , we ran over and tore it apart , limb by limb . We pulled all the stuffing out of it and tore that bag head and face to little pieces . That was it . We high-fived each other as we laughed and walked all the way into town , victorious warriors that we were . We drank chocolate Cokes at the drug store , retelling and savoring the afternoon ’ s saga over and over again , then went our separate ways home .
Dad was getting ready to go on duty that evening when the phone rang in the kitchen . I heard him say “ What ?”, and then , “ Ok . I ’ ll be right there !” Mom asked him what the matter was , and he said , as he was heading to the door , “ That was the chief . Says the Allessi ’ s are freaked out about a scarecrow somebody just put in their back
yard …”
And that ’ s how it started . And every year since , when we have a “ doubleyear ,” in ‘ 77 , ‘ 88 , ‘ 99 , and then 2011 , that scarecrow shows up just before Halloween , and some very peculiar things happen when it does . One can only wonder what 2022 will bring . ( Oh ! And by the way — somebody put an ad in the local newspaper in October 2000 that simply read , “ Three zero ’ s don ’ t count !”)
In 1977 , ten days before Halloween , some children at the Elementary School were seen playing “ ringaround-the-Rosie ” with the scarecrow during recess , until several of the teachers came running out and
THE HAMMONTONIAN | OCTOBER 2022 | P . 27
Will 2022 mark the return of ‘ Bagface ’ to town ?
by PAUL EVANS PEDERSEN JR .
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chased it away . Police were called , but it ran and escaped to parts unknown . Strangely enough , all of the children that were present were whistling the same little seven-note tune “ that the bagfaced scarecrow taught us ,” they said .
In 1988 , Elenora Ricci was hanging her sheets on the lines in her back yard when she heard someone whistling a tune . Wondering what she was hearing , she stopped , only to hear someone whisper , “ Hey , Ellie . It ’ s Me-me , remember …?” Looking in between the several rows of sheets , she saw the scarecrow with the bag head , standing there smiling at her .
In 1999 , Blake and Linda Russo swear they saw and heard it as they were leaving the Silver Fox the night of the annual Halloween Party . They said that the scarecrow , with the shopping bag head , was sitting in the front seat of Foxy ’ s Caddy with the driver ’ s side window rolled down . As they walked towards the car , they heard a low , strange whistling coming from it . Then , as they walked past it , it whispered to them , “ Hey . You ’ se two ! It ’ s Me-me ! Wanna go for a ride ?” When they came back in the next night and told everyone , trying to find out who was wearing the scarecrow costume , they were laughed out of the place , never to return . “ Those winda ’ s ain ’ t been rolled down in years !” Foxy reportedly laughed . Then , in 2011 , things got quite interesting . A week before Halloween , the music teacher , Billy Korvina , heard one of his students trying to fit a sevennote guitar lead into a song during a lesson , and it just didn ’ t sound right . “ Why are you using the ‘ B ’ instead of the ‘ C ’”? It doesn ’ t fit the run ”, he said to his student .
“ He said it would ”, the young student said . “ He ?”, asked Billy . “ Yes . The scarecrow up in the loft of dad ’ s barn . He whistled this lead , and whispered to Me-me it would fit . He said the notes are B-A-G-F-A-C-E , and that everyone in town that knows … will ‘ get ’ the tune … and remember .”
Halloween 2022 is right around the corner . Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open , right ?
Oh . And trick … or treat ?
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