Big Scare in Small Town 31 pages 13 full page illustrations $19.95 During October of 1998, the town of Culver held its first scarecrow contest. At that time, I was writing a column for the local paper and decided to cover the contest by creating a crow called D. J. Raven, who on his way to the radio station crosses paths with some of the scarecrows. He hurries to his post to broadcast a warning that strange creatures had invaded the town. He orders his listeners in Birdland to lay low while he examines the threatening aliens from outer space. What he discovers pretty much constitutes the plot of Big Scare in Small Town. At the conclusion of the column, I wondered if some artist in the community would like to collaborate on turning out a book. Years ago, Esther Powers Miller had lent me the services of her children to appear in plays that I was directing for the Culver Academies. Yes, she would lend me her artistic ability to illustrate the book and began by experimenting with wonderful scarecrow note cards. Only one scarecrow in the book was not among the entries in the scarecrow contests, and I hope you’ll buy the book to guess which one is the interloper. Thanks to Esther’s artistry the book is a best-seller in this area, with a readership from ages four to eighty four, and may be ordered on the Internet: www.painterandpoet.com. or purchased at her shop on Main Street in Culver. Harvey Firari hfirari@earthlink.net smokytown blog Update from Esther Harvey has had declining vision for a long time, and with dimming sight, he has left Culver and moved to Cazenovia, New York next door to his daughter Fairlie and her family. His mind, wit, and superb writing skills are intact, and with his monthly blog, he stays in touch with his loyal fans. You may enjoy reading his blogs at the address given above. In e-mailing him, be sure to use a large (22 point) bold font. He would appreciate hearing from you. This book is spiral bound and printed on sturdy card stock. Each of the 13 illustrations is on a separate page (with only text on the reverse side), making it possible to take the book apart to mat and frame the illustrations individually.

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