CAP CITY
There’s a new online school-supply company for parents of children in Springfield elementary schools that’s giving back to the community with every purchase.
The company, called American Student Supply, sells name-brand materials that are grade-specific, called MyPacks, which come in a nifty nylon drawstring bag. The bag is child-safe, of course. MyPacks are not available for high school students.
In the spirit of giving, the MyPack Gives Back Mission provides free MyPack school supplies to homeless and underprivileged school-aged children with every MyPack purchase. The company contacts schools to provide free supplies to students in need.
Created by Fitch De-Noyer, a Springfield native and mother of five children, the company’s mission is to take the stress out of shopping for the right size and brand of school supplies.
De-Noyer chose to bring her business “back home” to Springfield after a discussion with a Springfield friend, who told De- Noyer he went to school every year without the required materials. The company had a large response after opening in the St. Louis area and plans to continue growing in central Illinois.
To find out more or to purchase a MyPack, visit www.americanstudentsupply.com.
A HAUNTED HAUNTED HOUSE
Every October since 1992, Vicky Tyler has turned either the local Forest City parks, her home or now a series of old properties into the ultimate haunting experience that visitors travel hours to see. Forest City, a town of about 300 residents, is about an hour north of Springfield, in Mason County.
“We’re bloody. We’re graphic. We do things other people don’t do,” Tyler says about “Fright Night,” a Halloween hot spot that gives its proceeds to local causes like food banks and the American Legion. She says one of the structures – a Victorian-era house at 310 S. Broadway – is really haunted, which is why producers with “My Ghost Story,” a television series on A&E Biography, will be visiting this Friday.
Rumor has it that the house used to be a bed and breakfast that doubled as a brothel when railroad crews came through town, Tyler says, suggesting that the hauntings may stem from that history. She says several past owners, who experienced several unexplainable events while they lived in the house, have contacted her wondering what paranormal investigators have found.
In recent years, Fright Night has brought in about $50,000 each year, down from the $100,000 it used to bring in before a location change and a year off in 1998. Tyler is hoping the showbiz buzz will result in more visitors to “Fright Night,” bringing it back to its peak.
“Fright Night,” which runs every weekend in October, includes four haunted sections plus a calm spot for those who aren’t up for the same scare as their friends. For more information, call 309-597-2922.
