Posted by bakercounty

Hundreds of kids will fill the neighborhood streets of Baker County this weekend, trick-or-treating and attending Halloween block parties. It's meant to be a fun time, but the celebration can quickly turn very scary if safety precautions aren't taken. If you're the parent of an exited young reveler, keep these Halloween safety tips in mind:

• Help your child choose a costume wisely. Encourage close-fitting costumes without long, flowing pieces that can prove a tripping hazard or catch fire brushing against a candle-lit jack-o-lantern. Check fabric labels to assure they're flame-resistant and choose props made of soft, flexible materials that won't easily break or shatter. Remember that emergency room visits by children with eye injuries tend to spike on Halloween night due in large part to props like swords, wands and scepters. And, encourage both safety and creativity by skipping masks that can limit your child's peripheral vision and opting instead for makeup. 
• Keep visibility in mind. Remember that adults celebrate Halloween, too. And many of them celebrate with a cocktail or two. Driving under the influence of alcohol is part of the reason that more children are killed or seriously injured in vehicle/pedestrian accidents on Halloween than any other day of the year. Make sure your child is accompanied by a responsible and trusted adult at all times while trick-or-treating. Also have your child carry a flashlight or glow stick, or mark their costumes, props and candy bags with reflective tape to make them more visible to oncoming drivers. 
• Make 'em wait. Insist that your children not eat any trick-or-treat candies or treats until you've had a chance to inspect their haul. Toss any treats that are not factory-wrapped, are unwrapped or appear to have been tampered with. Also, avoid any homemade treats unless you personally know and trust the person who made them.

From all of us here at the Baker County Chamber of Commerce, have a safe and fun Halloween.

Posted by bakercounty

The Halloween season is here and, right on cue, there's a slew of media stories listing purportedly haunted places and spaces. Among them is Baker County's Olustee Civil War battlefield.
Back in 1984, Major General Quincy A. Gillmore, commander of the Union's Department of the South at Hilton Head, SC, ordered troops led by Brigadier General Truman Seymour to North Florida to secure Union enclaves, sever Confederate supply routes for been and salt, and recruit black soldiers. But while preparing for the mission, Seymour's moves had caught the eye of the Confederate command in the key port city of Charleston. General P.G.T. Beauregard acted on a hunch that Seymour was headed for Florida and dispatched reinforcements from Georgia brigades to serve under the command of Brigadier General Joseph Finnegan at Ocean Pond.
Sure enough, Seymour had his eye on not just Florida's northern region but the entire state. Without the knowledge or blessing of Gillmore, Seymour and his 5,500 troops set out westward along the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad, likely planning to seize Tallahassee, the state's capital and the center of the Cotton Belt's slave trade. He didn't get far.
On February 20 nearly 150 years ago, Seymour, Finnegan and their Union and Confederate troops emerged from the Olustee pine trees and battled it out on the open field. The battle lasted four hours and killed 1,861 Union troops and 946 Confederates. A beaten Seymour then ordered his troops to retreat to Union-secured Jacksonville where they remained throughout the rest of the war.
Today, visitors regularly report hearing the sounds of gunfire, shouting men and galloping horses coming from the empty field, particularly while camping nearby during the annual reenactment of the historic battle each February. Some claim to have captured strange orbs in photographs and attribute them to the spirits of soldiers who lost their lives on what is now the Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park.
Whether you're a whole-hearted believer or a stone-cold skeptic, there's no arguing that a purported haunting is great for business, driving tourism and selling merchandise. This is especially true during the Halloween season. Are you a Baker County business owner cashing in on the stories of local frights and sights? Tell us about your spooky specials and promotions. And while you're at it, check out this episode of TV's Local Haunts featuring our Olustee battlefield.