“Haunted House “ Fun

Story ID:	3090
Written by:	Gail Lee Martin
Organization:	Kansas Authors Club
Story type:	Only Here
Location:	El Dorado Kansas USA
Year:	1974
Person:	Shannon Martin & 4-H friends

“Haunted House “ Fun
150 kids enjoy library’s
creepie-crawlie program

Goose bumps galore popped out on the 150 boys and girls who watched the praying mantis, ant lions, cicadas, apple aphids, milk-weed beetles, and salt-marsh caterpillars creeping and crawling around inside Shannon Martin’s terrarium at the Bradford Memorial Library Tuesday morning.

This was the second program in the Bradford Memorial library’s “Haunted House” 1974 summer reading plans for the children of the El Dorado area.

Miss Martin had arranged a varied exhibit of insects. She was assisted by Mary Tighe, Kevin Colebank and Arthur Tighe. Debbie Nielsen had participated in earlier preparations for the exhibit. These young people are the members of the Bluestem 4-H club of El Dorado.

Miss Martin’s insect terrarium is an unusual display, since most often plants or reptiles are exhibited in this manner instead of insects. In addition to her terrarium, Miss Martin exhibited several cases of mounted Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera and Hemiptera. Mary and Kevin answered children’s questions about the terrarium and a case labeled “Thirteen Orders of Insects.”

Arthur Tighe explained his enlarged transparency of a grasshopper, showing its parts and sections. He also exhibited how he made a mount of a Monarch butterfly and a Cecropia Moth for his 4-H fair exhibit.

The program included the showing of two color films. “Insects Are Interesting” described camouflage, life cycles and other fascinating facts about the insect world. “Caterpillar” was a carton which featured a green caterpillar, who could dance to a tune a small boy played on his harmonica. After becoming a television star, Caterpillar one day disappeared. The cartoon’s surprise ending pictured a lovely butterfly - which danced to the same tune the small boy played at his window.

Mrs. Wesley Edwards, children’s services librarian, was in charge of the getting the 4-H’ers in to do the program. The youths were told to expect around twenty-five guests, so everyone including the librarian was totally overwhelmed when one hundred and fifty children show up.