"Hall Over the Road", Part 2

The trip back home took a short detour, when Mrs. H. realized how close they were to her brother’s new home in Brighton, MI. A few sharp turns on the freeway and the next thing you know, they were splashing back a few with Mr. and Mrs. Pranitis, noted raconteur and famous authoress. Mrs. H. can always be counted on to make a beeline for a good swig of scotch and Mr. P. stocks some of the best.
The Halls were barely home from that trip when they darted out to Nia-gara Falls, not once, but twice more this summer! The Arntz’ were so swayed by the descriptions of New York in the fall that they came out to check it out for themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Acton took a long awaited second honeymoon trip there in June and the Halls went back to raise to a toast to them as well.
Of course, no summer season would be complete without the family reunion in Waverly. What a turn-out this year! Forty-one of the planet’s most handsome relatives gathered for this afternoon of good food and great memories. The larger afternoon affair spawned many smaller gatherings over the weekend at the hotel, and not even a couple of false fire alarms could quell the laughter and gaiety.
As part of the family clan migrated east across the Southern Tier of New York, Mrs. Hall and Colleen met up with them later in the week. Raucous lunches are de rigueur for the Pranitis folk, and this one certainly lived up to the bill. Gracing the lunchroom of the Binghamton Regency, trading bon mot and trenchant insights: (shown left , clockwise from top); Peggy, Pat, Colleen and Beverly.

Tale of Two Cars- Late “Breaking” News

Even as this blog goes to press, there is fresh news regarding the Rockford High School roadster. The first photo (shown in the previous blog) of Jerry’s car was taken at the June 19th reunion outside of Grand Rapids. The second one (shown here) came to us July 21st, with word that “it looks like the Berlin raceway affair on August 25th is off”. Jerry had been placing fairly high in his last races and it’s a cinch he was pushing that little Toyota pretty hard. Happily, however, word has just reached Penguin Hall via e-mail that Jerry Vogel is back on to race at the Berlin Raceway. His newest acquisition sports its “traditional” silver and red colors, along with the red polka dots that were the hallmark, so to speak, of his father’s race car. Here are Jerry’s own words: “I bought another car and I’m ready to race. I got 2nd in the heat race from 9th and 2nd in the feature from 5th first night out. Harley Farkle's back!”

“Hall Over The Road”

Mr. and Mrs. H. polished up the Cadillac, filled it full of gas, de-iced the wings and hit the high road to points west– to put some miles behind them and a few friendly faces in front. First stop: Rockford, Michigan.
Rockford High School, Class of ‘66 felt it needed something to really put them on the map. Car racing is red-hot right now and Rockford H.S. being no piker when it comes to trends -they jumped on the band wagon and sponsored a race car of their own.
Rockford High School, Class of ‘66 felt it needed something to really put them on the map. Car racing is red-hot right now and Rockford H.S. being no piker when it comes to trends -they jumped on the band wagon and sponsored a race car of their own.
The photo included shows a group of the Rockford High grads with the Class of ‘66 “Farklemobile.” Jerry Vogel, the driver of this monster of the track, is seen third from left, top row. Jerry has had a pretty impressive record with this baby, and only time will tell where Jerry and the "Farklemobile" will end up!

Hail to the Chief, he’s the chief and he needs hailing...

Make room for another line in Mr. Hall’s bio. Congratulations to F. Samuel Hall, new President of the Onondaga-Oswego Funeral Directors Association.
Mr. Hall has been on the board of directors for three years, but it was a distinct honor to be elected president of the group. He immediately called another meeting and set forth his plans for the future of the organization. Never one to rest on his laurels (“Laurels make for lousy resting”, he has been known to remark) Mr. H. has been working tirelessly to organize the finances and the structure of the group. His goals for this term include: positioning OOFDA to become a more politically strong force to benefit its members in local legislation and designing a new corporate identity for the group. Political pundits and gossip columnists are all a-twitter as to what will be his next move. Only time will tell...

Deadly Dinner Party Really Slays 'Em

Missing this invitation could really be murder.
Twelve unsuspecting citizens of Marcellus received invitations to cocktails and laughter; but what came after chilled more than just their drinks. About 30 minutes into the evening, the air and the merriment was split by the sound of a piercing scream. The charming hostess Miss Colleen was discovered lying on the floor of the upper dining room. Who dun it, indeed?

As each guest arrived, they were handed an envelope that described, in detail, their relationship with the hostess and a variety of reasons why they might want her, shall we say, out of the picture. By engaging in conversation with each other and discovering who was where and when, each guest attempted to solve the puzzle before “the authorities” had to be brought in.
More calculating than the murderer himself, was Master Christopher, who wrote the scenarios and the character stories, then sat back and let the evening unfold. His role was to be the omnipresent and ever faithful servant of the manor.
There was considerable concern that the dinner guests would show up, munch up all the goodies, solve the puzzle in 10 minutes and leave for more exciting pursuits, like hanging out at the local mall or watching TV. Instead, what was feared would only last 30-45 minutes, went well over an hour and a half. Period music played on into the night as the “character guests” enthusiastically attempted to solve the murder. They re-enacted their every moves of the evening, thoughtfully stepping over the now-covered “victim” on the floor of the dining room.
Finally, with the appearance of an “officer of the law”, a poll was taken of the guests to see who should be “handed over to the authorities.” Only two of the guests guessed correctly, and at the end, the “murderer” revealed his actions and his motives.
The party went on gaily after that and Chris is now working on a second “evening” of merriment and malice.