Tiger Tracks Our Mission To motivate young people to be better citizens In this issue: History of Halloween Main Street clean up Calendar Vol. 1, Issue #2 October 2009
Recipe for Pumpkin Pie: Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups of pumpkin puree, canned or fresh. 3/4 cup of sugar 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon of all purpose flour 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup of evaporated milk, undiluted 2 tablespoons of water 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. 1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inch) Preparation: Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, spices and flour in medium mixing bowl. Add eggs, mix well. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes; reduce heat to 350 and bake about 35 minutes longer, or until center is set. Columbus Day Columbus Day is a holiday celebrating the discovery of America. It was actually discovered by the Vikings about 500 years ago, but we still call it Columbus Day because that s what we have always called it. The first celebration took place on October 12, 1792, in New York City. In 1937, President Roosevelt proclaimed October 12 as Columbus Day, and that s where it remained until 1971, when Congress declared it a Federal holiday, taking place on the second Monday of October. If America was actually discovered by the Vikings, then why do we celebrate Columbus Day? Its difficult to understand, but 500 years ago when Columbus was alive, people thought that the world was flat and that people could sail right off of the edge of the world. It took a long time for Columbus to convince Queen Isabella of Spain that the world was indeed round and that it would be worth her while for him to find trade routes to the far East. The journey took longer than Columbus thought it would, so when they found land in October 1492, they automatically thought that it would be the East, specifically India. He made three more voyages to the new land ending up rich and famous, but he never understood the magnitude of his discovery. America celebrates Columbus Day because he brought the world s attention to America, regardless of what they called it the. That later led to the colonization of The New World and later the formation of the United States of America. America was named after the map maker Amerigo Vespucci. Page 2
Oktoberfest isn t just for Germans anymore. Its popularity has spread across the globe. Next to Christmas, Oktoberfest is the most popular holiday or celebration that Germany has given to the rest of the world. America celebrates Oktoberfest at various times in the year. Some places celebrate during the traditional late September to early October time, while others celebrate it any time between June and November. Oktoberfest is celebrated all over the United States, including in our home town. Gardnerville celebrated Oktoberfest on September 23 in Heritage Park. Oktoberfest started with the celebration of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxony Hildburghausen s wedding on October 12, 1810. Although the horse races (the original attraction for the party) are gone, many of the same characteristics have stayed the same. Munich s annual celebration is still held on the original site of the wedding celebration. The tradition of beer and food started in 1818 and continues today. Some of the common events include: a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster or water slide, a haunted house, a flea circus, game booths and much more. The celebration has expanded to 16 days, moving into September for better weather. Oktoberfest has become so popular that all attending have to make reservations well in advance. So make your reservations now and celebrate one of the biggest parties in the world! Each month, the Battalion conducts a Cadet of the Month Board to determine the top Cadet in each LET level. Company commanders and 1SG s decide on the best cadet and give the names to the Battalion staff. Cadets appear in uniform and they are asked a series of questions from the study guide, graded on their uniform, and are asked to demonstrate their bearing by completing a series of facing movements. These cadets are the September Cadets of the Month. Cadet of the Month C/PFC Mathew Ruben for LET I C/1SG Joe Clark for LET II. Halloween is the 3rd biggest party day of the year behind New Year s and Super Bowl Sunday. Page 3
Each goal counts as five points. Once the team has scored it they may try for an extra point, which is where the ball is set on the five yard line and at the referee s signal the team has one minute to try to get the ball into the goal. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. In the picture below, Alpha company is battling for control of the pushball and the lead in points. This year for PT we have a new exercise that we are going to add to our PT schedule. It is the game of Pushball. Pushball is played with two teams ranging from 10 to 50 cadets. When the whistle is blown the captains race to touch the ball. The team members are not able to touch the ball or move until the captain touches the ball. Once the ball is touched all of the team members can rush in and battle for the ball. The object of the game is to get the ball into the opponent s goal. Cadets do this by pushing it, passing it, carrying it, or any other method of moving it without kicking it. 90% of parents admit to sneaking goodies from their kids Halloween trick-or-treat bags! Page 4
On September 19 cadets aided the Gardnerville Main Street Committee in cleaning up Main Street. The cadets were broken up into four groups: one group helped to take hanging flower pots down from the street lamps, one group emptied the pots, one group collected the pots that were already on the ground and then the last group weeded and picked up trash. The groups worked until their assigned tasks were completed and then all of the groups came together and finished up the weeding. When all of the weeding was done cadets picked up trash on the way back to the office building, where they were given lunch. It was an event filled day and the cadets got a lot accomplished. Cadets Elizabeth Sims, Theresa Owens, and Billy Burgard. Cadets support Douglas County 4-H Club at Annual Event Douglas High School JROTC Cadets helped raise the flag at the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension Office by Lampe Park. for the beginning of National Participants: Joe Clark, Melissa Holcomb, and Ben Hyde. 4-H Week. This is the second year that JROTC has supported the 4-H club in the opening ceremony of their National 4-H week activities. The cadets met Chris Ranalla, Joshua Jenkins, Dennis Darter at the office a little before 8:00 a.m. and the ceremony went from 8:00 to 8:30. We hope to continue this tradition for years to come. The number one candy of choice for Halloween is Snickers Page 5
Halloween was started by the Celtic culture in Ireland. It began on October 31st because November 1st was the start of the new year. It was said that all the spirits of the people who died the year prior, would rise up and roam the earth on Day Halloween. The spirits were dangerous to the humans and they caused a lot of problems. Lord Samhain (the Lord of Darkness) would rise up and search for the roaming spirits to take them back to the under world. The Irish would wear costumes and masks on that day to avoid being recognized as human by the spirits. The Irish would put out Jack O Lanterns to keep spirits away. The original Jack O Lanterns were not carved pumpkins with fun faces on them, they were hollowed out turnips with candles in them. The Irish also started the tradition of Trick or Treating on Halloween. They would go door to door asking for food to contribute to the feast in the town. Now Halloween has become an American tradition. It is celebrated on October 31st every year regardless of the day of the week. It is the 2nd most expensive holiday for Americans (Christmas is 1st). $2.5 billion is spent by the consumers for Halloween every year. Nevada Day Nevada became the 36th state in the Union in 1864 on October 31st. It is the only state that still celebrates coming into the Union. It is celebrated on the last Friday of October by most workplaces and all schools taking the day off. The Nevada Day activities start on that Friday and continue until the end of that Sunday. Activities include the Nevada Day Parade, numerous contests, art, music, and numerous family-oriented activities. The parade takes place on Saturday. It goes all the way through the capital (Carson City). Every year there is a theme picked for the parade. They pick the theme by having people submit their ideas to the capital. Then a theme is randomly drawn 18 months before the parade. This year s theme is Nevada Day Salutes President Lincoln. Last year, the Tiger Battalion had over 50 cadets that marched in the parade. We hope to see all of you there. Cadets march down Carson Street in Carson city during the 2008 Nevada Day Parade Over 10% of pet owners dress their pets in Halloween costumes. Page 6
bat black cat broom candy clown cobweb coffin costume creepy Dracula Frankenstein ghost graveyard Halloween happy haunted house jack-o'- lantern mask monster mummy October party pillowcase pirate pumpkin scary skeleton spooky trick-ortreat vampire werewolf witch Tootsie rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America. Page 7
October 2009 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 3 4 5 Collaboration Day No school 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Parent Teacher Conference 22 23 24 Cougar drill Meet 25 26 27 28 29 30 Nevada Day 31 Nevada Day Parade