Halloween, History, and Harry Potter
Salem Then & Now:
Salem State Universities HistoryAbout Salem State:
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Salem's HistoryThe Early Days:
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Students of Salem State:
My Salem Journey...
My name is Kira Higgins-Simmons. I am a Freshman at Salem State University and I am resident in Peabody Hall. I plan to attend Sale State from the fall of 2014 to the spring of 2018. I hope to graduate with a degree in History. I want to end up working a job that keeps me interested and always learning something new. I applied to Simmons College, Clark University, Bridgewater State, and Salem State. SSU was my first choice. The fact Heidi Getty is my aunt had very little influence on my decision to attend Salem State. Out of my choices Salem was a better fit for my interest, was more affordable, and had a more interesting community. Most of my tuition is being covered with loans and financial aid from the school. Though it sometimes seems that I can't handle another day here I don't plan to leave Salem State any time soon.
My overall experience at school hasn't been the worst experience of my life. The main issue is that I was put in a forced triple without warning and my roommates and I are very different people. We don't get along. They can be very rude and inconsiderate and as a result I avoid my room at all cost opting to sleep on my friends floor instead rather than attempt to sleep in my own bed. I won't be able to be switched out thanks to the overcrowding in the dorms. Even though my living situation is bad I still really like the school and the city.
I've been able to do a lot already thanks to this school. Within the first few weeks of school I was able to go to sky zone for free, something I've been wanting to do since they first opened up a few years ago. I was able to explore Salem and it's history more thoroughly, which again was something I've wanted to do since I was 11. I love history and I think it's a perfect place to get a degree for it. I've also met a ton of great and interesting people while living in the dorms. My friends are the reason that I've made it this far. Without them I would've left the moment my room situation went sour.
The city and campus is also beautiful. I love walking around the side streets that are over by the ocean or walking down to the beach on nice days and just enjoying the fresh air and the sound of the waves. The fact we are on the coast is a bonus to being here and was something that I hadn't even thought about it. I'm sure I can power through this year and hopefully get into a better rooming situation in the near future. I just have to keep moving forward.
My overall experience at school hasn't been the worst experience of my life. The main issue is that I was put in a forced triple without warning and my roommates and I are very different people. We don't get along. They can be very rude and inconsiderate and as a result I avoid my room at all cost opting to sleep on my friends floor instead rather than attempt to sleep in my own bed. I won't be able to be switched out thanks to the overcrowding in the dorms. Even though my living situation is bad I still really like the school and the city.
I've been able to do a lot already thanks to this school. Within the first few weeks of school I was able to go to sky zone for free, something I've been wanting to do since they first opened up a few years ago. I was able to explore Salem and it's history more thoroughly, which again was something I've wanted to do since I was 11. I love history and I think it's a perfect place to get a degree for it. I've also met a ton of great and interesting people while living in the dorms. My friends are the reason that I've made it this far. Without them I would've left the moment my room situation went sour.
The city and campus is also beautiful. I love walking around the side streets that are over by the ocean or walking down to the beach on nice days and just enjoying the fresh air and the sound of the waves. The fact we are on the coast is a bonus to being here and was something that I hadn't even thought about it. I'm sure I can power through this year and hopefully get into a better rooming situation in the near future. I just have to keep moving forward.
Footsteps to follow...
Heidi Getty attended Salem State College from the fall of 1986 to the summer of 1990. Due to the fact she finished her degree late she graduated in the spring of 1991. Salem State College was her first choice and initially she wanted to get a degree in Social work. Sometime around her Sophomore year she changed her major to Early Childhood Education and aimed to become a school teacher. Mrs. Getty was a full time resident student in her day. She worked part time as a chambermaid at the Coach House Inn down on Lafayette street.
Over the years Salem State has developed and changed. Much of what we see today did not exist in Mrs. Getty's time here. In her time, tuition and fees at Salem State were roughly $10,000 per year, almost 50% of what current students pay. The campus consisted of the South Campus classrooms, North Campus, and the old gym. She also noted that much of what is here today has been renovated and looks nothing like what they used to be. For example, each floor in Peabody Hall had a fully functioning kitchen rather than a common area on each floor. The services on campus are also a lot more extensive than they were in her day.
The school had many extra curricular activities but not to the extent of todays groups and clubs. Salem State College was a Soccer school as there was no football team. There was. Mrs. Getty once attended an Alternative Spring break trip with Appalachian Atlanta. In her time, it was run by the religious organization on campus rather than the community service group. She also was involved with student government, acting as the Senator and attending their trip to attend a conference in D.C. Of course she also worked so her time was limited.
The city has also changed with the times. In her day Engine house Pizza was incredibly popular and Laurie Cabot was becoming increasingly famous but she admitted its looks incredibly different that what used to look like. Shes not quite sure what has changed it still seems like the same old Salem, just with a facelift and a few new streets. Most of the stores downtown are new including Wynott Wands, The Trolley Depot, and Treasures Over Time. A few restaurants, including one over by Pickering Wharf, have survived the last 20 years and remain there to this day. One of Mrs. Gettys favorite spots, the Salem lighthouse, is just the same as it was when she was a student.
Halloween has developed over the last twenty four years or so. As a student shes would go downtown for halloween every year. When I asked her about Halloween in Salem as said "Salem would just get a little crazy for few days and then it was over." Haunted Happenings was no where near the size it is today. It was much smaller, only the length of a weekend, and had a couple of events for kids and families. She wasn't even sure if it was even called Haunted Happenings. Though todays month long celebration is considered to be a nuisance by some she felt that it was a good thing. In her opinion she felt that the money made with the increased tourism was good for the city and allowed Salem to thrive.
Heidi Getty's experience at Salem State college was different than today's students or the students that come before her. With the flow of time the school has adapted to the different decades. Things were added, changed, or taken away completely. Traditions were created and adapted. Salem the city has changed along with Salem State. Alot can happen in twenty four years to the point where its almost unrecognizable to past students and thats not necessarily a bad thing.
Over the years Salem State has developed and changed. Much of what we see today did not exist in Mrs. Getty's time here. In her time, tuition and fees at Salem State were roughly $10,000 per year, almost 50% of what current students pay. The campus consisted of the South Campus classrooms, North Campus, and the old gym. She also noted that much of what is here today has been renovated and looks nothing like what they used to be. For example, each floor in Peabody Hall had a fully functioning kitchen rather than a common area on each floor. The services on campus are also a lot more extensive than they were in her day.
The school had many extra curricular activities but not to the extent of todays groups and clubs. Salem State College was a Soccer school as there was no football team. There was. Mrs. Getty once attended an Alternative Spring break trip with Appalachian Atlanta. In her time, it was run by the religious organization on campus rather than the community service group. She also was involved with student government, acting as the Senator and attending their trip to attend a conference in D.C. Of course she also worked so her time was limited.
The city has also changed with the times. In her day Engine house Pizza was incredibly popular and Laurie Cabot was becoming increasingly famous but she admitted its looks incredibly different that what used to look like. Shes not quite sure what has changed it still seems like the same old Salem, just with a facelift and a few new streets. Most of the stores downtown are new including Wynott Wands, The Trolley Depot, and Treasures Over Time. A few restaurants, including one over by Pickering Wharf, have survived the last 20 years and remain there to this day. One of Mrs. Gettys favorite spots, the Salem lighthouse, is just the same as it was when she was a student.
Halloween has developed over the last twenty four years or so. As a student shes would go downtown for halloween every year. When I asked her about Halloween in Salem as said "Salem would just get a little crazy for few days and then it was over." Haunted Happenings was no where near the size it is today. It was much smaller, only the length of a weekend, and had a couple of events for kids and families. She wasn't even sure if it was even called Haunted Happenings. Though todays month long celebration is considered to be a nuisance by some she felt that it was a good thing. In her opinion she felt that the money made with the increased tourism was good for the city and allowed Salem to thrive.
Heidi Getty's experience at Salem State college was different than today's students or the students that come before her. With the flow of time the school has adapted to the different decades. Things were added, changed, or taken away completely. Traditions were created and adapted. Salem the city has changed along with Salem State. Alot can happen in twenty four years to the point where its almost unrecognizable to past students and thats not necessarily a bad thing.
Haunted Happenings Parade!
On October 2nd 2014 my friends and I set out ready to enjoy our time in our new city. We walked down Lafyette and made all the way to Essex Street within 20 minutes. Before the parade we did a little shopping. One of my friends bought Kinder eggs at a little Polish market nearby. We also stopped at a pizza place for some food that was inside the little Essex mall . By the time we finished eating everyone was lined up along Essex street long before the parade started and me and my friends settled down somewhere between a bookstore and the museum. The parade was amazing. There were people in costumes that were so well made it was astonishing. Characters Michael Myers, Frankenstein's monster, and Nosferatu were walking around catching people, including my friends, of guard. I personally enjoyed staring straight at them challenging them to try something. There was one time, when I got really excited because Remember Salem was coming down the street dressed in Harry Potter costumes and I grabbed my friend Alana. Well, at that moment, a person in a horror movie costume came over with a fake knife and tried to hug us. She was terrified and it was great. The kids costumes were so cute. I saw many harry potters, Disney princesses, zombies, werewolves, and so much more. Each costume was more creative than the last. At one point there were also Zombies. There was one male zombie with a little child zombie and the child would distract people and the man would rush at people when they weren't paying attention. Alana fell for that too. One marching band group up the kids in groups of four and each group small group were coordinated to match their chosen them which I thought was cool. Once the parade was over we went to the event at the Wax Museum. The food was really good. There were cookies, popcorn, and cinnamon buns as well as hot cocoa and cider. The wax museum was cool, although the figures were just a little creepy. I remembered the password so when we went in we got a wristband and a ticket for the haunted house. Most of our group didn't want to go to the haunted house so it dwindled down to Alana, Kiana, and I. In the line we were really nervous but excited. The wait wasn't long and soon we were at the front of the line. The two men in front of us chickened out and offered us up to be the first ones to go through. It was dark and creepy. Kiana was easily scared and kept screaming and pushing Alana into a wall/ It got so bad I had to grab them both by their jackets and shove them through. I wasn't really scared but I wasn't a fan of the strobe light section. It messed with my eyes and stuff I didn't like it. We stopped by Dunkin Donuts to by some hot chocolate, mainly to help with Kiana's nerves, and headed back. It was 9:30 when we finally walked safely into the front doors of Peabody Hall. It was a great adventure downtown and that night really set the tone for the rest of the halloween season.
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Salem: A place who could not forget
Salem Witch Trials (Sonnet)
Jenny Lee Salem Witch Trials (Sonnet)A traveler to the past on mind’s light beam. A visit to that City on a Hill; The sorcery of justice is the theme. The Puritans who seek to do God’s will. Misguided judgments of the most sincere. Protection of their fortress was the aim. The banishment of evil’s wicked leer, they didn't see that heinous sins remained. A Superstition blinds the righteous eye, a log protruding out blocks Christian’s sight. For pure desires innocents will die. And History lookd back at church’s blight. Piety of saints was not prevention. Reputation falling prey to good intention. |
Links:
Salem History:
Salem History:
- http://salem.org/history
- http://www.salemstate.edu/about/history.php
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_State_University
- Google Images
- Youtube