My Buddy

By Andrea Baumann, LCJM Art Director

Autumn is hands-down my favorite time of year. It takes me back to my childhood — the smell of fallen leaves on a warm day, the Halloween candy my mother bought early and quickly hid (and which we always found and ate), and the annual "Building of the Buddy."

Buddy, as we decided to call him, was a scarecrow — of sorts. He wasn't really made to scare crows and wasn't even remotely scary, most of the time. He was compiled of my Dad's old flannel shirts, work jeans, and the occasional pair of shoes (I think I once got in trouble for using someone’s sneakers).

Since I was the “artsy” one in the family it was usually my job to make Buddy. I'd stuff his pants and shirt with old newspaper, plastic bags, and once in a while I'd get lucky and find some straw to poke out his neck or cuffs. Building his body was always the easy part. The big challenge was his head.

Through the years Buddy had many different "toppers.” Basically, I’d use whatever was semi-round and looked somewhat like a head. One year it was a milk jug, another year a pumpkin, and yet another year an old mask (like the Ronald Reagan one in this picture of Buddy around 1987) that was past its prime. Adding an old hat always helped. Buddy wasn't a high-cost project and that was the point. The fun was in making him out of whatever could be found around the house.

When he was finally complete, we'd haul him down to the end of our driveway, plunk him in an old lawn chair and stand there feeling a bit more in the spirit of the season. Halloween would come and go and Buddy would remain at his post. Many years he sat until spring, his paper and cloth body slumped in the chair, looking more like a snow-covered body than a scarecrow. I thought it was fun when neighbors drove by and later told us, "Geez! I thought there was somebody sitting down by your road the other night!"

This year I'm going to carry on the “Building of the Buddy” tradition with my son. We'll pick through my husband's old clothes and stuff Buddy’s arms, legs and belly with crumpled newspaper and leaves. We’ll find something head-like to perch on top. Then we’ll carry Buddy down to the end of the driveway and sit him in his chair and wait for one of our neighbors to come by and say "Geez!"

LCJM Web Editor’s Note: Build your own Buddy! It’s the perfect way to spend a beautiful fall day in Lake Country. Here are some tips to get you started.»