By Dylan Waer

One day in a high tree that had the biggest nuts in the world, there lived a squirrel named Jumpy.  He was like all other normal squirrels.  He was brown except for his tail, which was silvery gray with a black and white stripe.  Jumpy hated the huge nuts.  Everyday one of them would end up falling on his head.  Jumpy ran down the tree and saw the neighborhood dog chewing on a scrap of meat.  “Good day, Barky,” said Jumpy.  Barky was the only name Jumpy could think of for the dog.  “Bark! Bark! Bark!”
Since the huge nuts in the tree were too hard to crack open, Jumpy needed to get food because winter was only one month away.  There was a house near his tree that was owned by a single man.  This was fortunate for Jumpy because the man was a nut lover.  But he wasn’t a squirrel lover.  Jumpy went into the house and found some nuts on the kitchen counter.  “These will do nicely for winter,” said Jumpy, “but where’s the man?”  “Get out of here you nut raider you!” screamed the man.  “Oh, there he is,” said Jumpy, “I better get out of here.”  The man was flinging a broom at him.  Jumpy swerved and almost lost his tail.  He zoomed out of the kitchen and into the living room and hid behind the T.V. Jumpy barely got away from the man.  He found some nut crumbs and gathered them up.  He jumped out of the window and escaped.  But to his surprise, a few kids were building a tree house in his tree!  Jumpy ran up the tree and told the kids to stop, but they didn’t speak squirrel.  He wasn’t happy because the tree house took up half the tree.  “I hereby declare war on humans!  I better get my relatives and form an army of squirrels with nut catapults and chili peppers.  Man, do they turn red when they eat chili peppers.  I don’t understand why they go to that restaurant that they call Chili’s,” said Jumpy, “Now off to Mississippi to get my relatives into an army.  If only I had what humans call phones, I could get my relatives to come to me.  Oh well, I better build a nut car.”
Jumpy went up his tree and pulled a nut off a branch.  He ran down the tree, and down the road.  Jumpy had built nut cars before and they were quite easy to build. He ran to the department store and found a plastic cup in the trashcan.  Next, he needed batteries, an engine, and a small saw to cut the nut open.  He ran to the electronics aisle and found the batteries.  “Okay, I just need five,” said Jumpy.  He ran up and grabbed a five-pack.  “Now I just need the engine and the saw,” said Jumpy.  Luckily, they were on the same aisle and he got them quickly.  He went to pay but realized he didn’t have money so he paid with nuts and ran to his tree.  “Now I can build my nut car,” he said.  Using the saw, he hollowed out the bottom half of the nut and attached the engine to the batteries.  He then put it in the nut.  Next, he cut a hole in the bottom of the cup and attached it to the nut.  He carved out a cockpit and used the plastic to cut from the cup to form a windshield.  He took some wires and hooked them to the engine through the nut and into the cockpit.  He got a button that he already had and got a steering wheel.  He put on his helmet and goggles and turned his nut car on.  A blast of fire came from behind the car and he shot forward.  “If I only hadn’t used so many batteries, I wouldn’t be going so fast!”  One hour later, he finally reached the tree in Mississippi where his relatives lived.  “Hello, Hello, is anybody home?” asked Jumpy.  Twelve heads popped out of a hole in the tree.  “ Jumpy, you came to visit.  How wonderful,” said Jumpy’s Uncle Max.  “Oh, Uncle Max, he is nuts about nuts,” said Jumpy, “Listen, I need you to…”  “OOOH…nice car,” said Uncle Max. 

Call The Auburn Parks and Rec Department at 501-2963.

Ages:              7 years and older
When:              Monday – Friday · 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
                      Session II · June 23 – 27
                      Session III · July 14 – 18
                      Session IV · July 28 – Aug. 1
Location:          Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center
Coordinator:      Chichi Lovett / Auburn Arts Association
Fee:                $60.00 per week per child / $50.00 for each additional child · Payable to the Auburn Arts Association

Ages:              4 - 6 years
When:              Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays · 10 a.m. - noon
                      Session II · July 8 – 10
                      Session III · July 22 - 23
Location:          Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center
Coordinator:      Chichi Lovett / Auburn Arts Association
Fee:                $40.00 per week per child · Payable to the Auburn Arts Association

Ages:              12 - 15
When:              Monday – Friday · 10 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. · June 16 – 20
Location:          Jan Dempsey Community Arts Center
Coordinator:      Chichi Lovett / Auburn Arts Association
Fee:                $75 per week per child · Payable to the Auburn Arts Association

By Savanah Eve Stewart, age 12

Today I got to visit Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama.  It is the oldest ballpark in America.  We were there to celebrate the 13th year of the Rickwood Classic.  It was loud and the air was filled with excitement and anticipation of the game.  I was thrilled to spend the day with my best friend Leah Street, my mom and my dad.
I have had the opportunity to go to the Rickwood Classic for the past 6 years.  My dad, Chuck Stewart always brings his vast collection of the Birmingham Barons and Rickwood Field memorabilia to put on display.  It is extremely interesting to see what he and other collectors will bring every year.
This was Leah’s first baseball game, ever!  So, I had the opportunity to show her around.  We sat in the stands behind home plate and watched the beginning of the game.  The teams that played were the Birmingham Barons and the Jacksonville Suns.  The players were dressed in uniforms from the early 1950’s.  The umpires were all dressed in white dress shirts, dress pants, caps, and bow ties.  Near the 6th inning my dad, Leah and I climbed the old wooden stairs that led to the roof at Rickwood Field and watched the game.  It was incredible.  You could see everything from up there.  My dad pointed out to us where the stands at one time were segregated and where it was once divided.  Thank goodness those days are in the past.
At the end of the game I had the chance to interview David Brewer.  He is the director of the “Friends of Rickwood .”  These are the questions that I got to ask him…
1.    When was Rickwood Field built and by whom?
“It was built in August 1910 and by a local businessman named Rick Woodward.”
2.      Who are some famous players that have played on this field?
“Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Jimmy Piersal, Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Micky Mantle, and Reggie Jackson to just name a few.” 
3.    What can children learn about the history of Rickwood Field?
“People can learn a lot by just looking at the ballpark.”  “It is not only about the baseball but what Birmingham and the community as a whole has been through the past 98 years.”  “It is extremely important for everyone that we keep this historical landmark going on for future generations to learn from.”
4.    What is your favorite part of being involved with Rickwood?
“In college I majored in history but did not want to be just a teacher or professor.”  “I wanted to be a “historian” but in a fun way.”  “Working at Rickwood has given me that opportunity.”
5.    When did the Rickwood Classic start?
“It began in 1996 and we are celebrating the 13th year though there have actually been 14 classics in all.”  “One year we had a rain out and we had two classics in one year.”
6.    Do you think that there will ever be a museum built for Rickwood?
“It is possible and definitely on the “to do” list.”  “ The main reason that one has not been built yet is due to lack of money.”  “It costs a lot of money for the upkeep and maintenance of the park and as of now we have been unsuccessful in raising enough money to do that.”

After talking with Mr. Brewer I thanked him for his time and all the information he gave me about Rickwood Field.  As my dad packed up and the ballpark emptied there was an eerie silence there as Leah and I walked out onto the field.  We both knew we were walking where many famous ball players had played the all American favorite pastime of baseball and we too were now a part of the history here.