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Page 14 FORT TYSON FROM PAGE 8 The next day was Halloween and I was helping get the schoolhouse ready for the party and putting the finishing touches on game booths. Around 7 o'clock groups of trick-or-treaters started trickling in. Most of the kids were comparing their candy loot when Patty, Hellen, Ralphy, Frank and Vickie came in hol- lering that a ghost in the old fort had chased them. "Well," I said, "Sounds like you kids have a great Halloween ghost story to share." "No, it's not a story Rosalee" Ralphy said. "We re- ally did see a ghost in the fort. Patty added, "Momma, our last stop was at the Leach's and Mrs. Leach had fixed up their house real scary with eerie music. We had to duck down to get past a black tarp she had hung over the porch so we could knock on the door. No one answered and we had started to leave, then the door slowly opened." Frank told how Mrs. Leach had given them candy and told us she was about to leave for the school- Palo Verde Cafe & Lounge NOW OPEN! 11AM-7PM DAILY Great American Food Lunch Special Mon-Fri 12-2 $ Friday Fish $ 599 799 Prime Rib Sat. 4-close Happy Hour 2pm-5pm 305 N. Central (Hwy. 95) 928-927-7676 www.DesertMessenger.com house, "So we hurried off taking a short cut through the fort." Ralphy interrupted, "I thought I heard a voice from inside the fort but I didn't see anything. Then I heard it again. Vickie started whimpering and want- ed to know what it was. I told her I didn't know. I put a finger to my lips and told everyone to be quiet." As if from the same mouth, together Frank and Ralphy reported, "It said, ' Go away, this is my fort' and then we heard the rattling of chains." Frank grabbed his sister by the hand and raced for the high- way. Patty said she looked back and caught a glimpse of a figure in a flowing white gown mov- ing up behind them with outstretched arms. Ralphy said he saw it too as he scrambled up the embank- ment. "Wait," the shadowy figure called out to the scream- ing children. "Oh my gosh, the highway—please stop," as the kids continued across the highway. The shadowy figure dashed back to the Leach home tear- ing away at the white sheet that covered him. Patrolman Jim Leach got into his car and headed for the schoolhouse. He rushed in and wanted to know if we were all okay. Ralphy assured him, "Yeah, we're okay, but the ghost scared us half to death. How did you know? Did you see the ghost too?" Desert Messenger @DesertMessenger SWEET DARLENE'S RESTAURANT & BAKERY Sunday Dinner Specials! Roast Chicken or Pork Chops $ 795 Served with real mash potatoes & gravy, vegetables, choice of soup or salad. 56250 Hwy 60 Vicksburg Area • Open 11am-8pm 928-859-3054 Take a short drive... you'll be happy you did ! New for November Salad Bar with any dinner Only $ extra (in lieu of soup or salad) 199 Open Daily 7am-7pm • Coffee only 50¢ 776 E. MAIN ST., QUARTZSITE (at the I-10 Exit 19 off ramp) 928-927-9338 November 2, 2011 "No Ralphy, I didn't see the ghost." He stooped down and mumbled, "There was no ghost. It was me. I wanted to give you kids a real scare this Hal- loween. But I never dreamed you would run up onto the highway." Big Jim's hands were trembling and his voice cracked as he said, "Thank God you're all okay." On the way home, Big Jim's kids begged to hear more about the ghost that lived next door. Later a series of dams from the Glenn Canyon in the north to the Hoover, Davis, Parker, Headgate, Palo Verde, Impe- rial, and Morelos Dams to the south stored water for flood control, irrigation, and then later for hydro-electric proj- ects. Today, barely a trickle of water flows out into the Gulf of California. Colorado River water has long been in dispute among the seven states that line her basin. In 1922, those states met and agreed to the Santa Fe Com- pact. The Compact stated that fifteen million-acre feet of annual flow would be evenly divided between the Upper Basin states of Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California, and Nevada. Even today the dispute continues as more and more people visit the South- west, fall in love with all of its attributes, then pick up stakes and relocate here. I suppose we've come full circle— it is no different today than it was over a hundred years ago —people with vision are still flooding to Southwestern Arizona. DEADLINE is WED. NOV. 9th for Nov. 16th issue of "the Messenger" 541-218-2560 MOUNTAIN QUAIL CAFE FOR THE SEASON! NOW OPEN Open Tuesday-Sunday 7 a.m.-7p.m. (closed Mondays) 490 N. Moon Mt. Rd., Quartzsite (corner of Moon Mt. & Quail Trail) N CALL IN FOR TAKE OUT! 928-927-8890 Credit Cards Accepted! B-10, Main St. Quail Trail X Moon Mountain Rd. Hwy. 95, N. Central