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Knights Dungeon Haunted House Ends 2000
Here are some pictures from the Knights Dungeon haunted house which was a charity haunt which we operated for about a decade. The dungeon became a real big fund raiser for the K of C charities and was reasonably priced so that any size family could attend. Many people help contribute to the overall success of this Halloween event and I would like to thank them all.
The dungeon relied on a pole and curtain system that was supplied by the Hyatt Regency. the curtains would either be all black or alternate black and orange. On top of the supports camouflage netting was placed as we tried to create the illusion that they were not in a Knights of Columbus Hall. The Knights Dungeon used animatronics including air pressure to create some great effects such as a corpselator (where a corpse flies out of a coffin at you) and the werewolf. Most of these items were motion activated.
Unfortunately there was really no one to carry on the tradition so all that remains of the Knights Dungeon are memories and these few pictures.
James Dad Receives Knight of the Year Award 2000
James’ Dad got the Knight of the Year award from the Knights of Columbus for the time period of 1999 thru 2000, primarily for his work on the Knights Dungeon Haunted House and the Millenium 2000 New Years party.
Christmas 1999
We used to do the Christmas display in the basement since my father was pretty much living in the living room (he was unable to walk in his later years). This year, after over a decade of having Christmas parties in the basement, we moved it up to the living room and decorated the entire house. This made things easier for my mother who’s task was to feed the huddled masses and she did not have to go up and down the steps to do that. This was my mothers last Christmas I believe.
The Christmas party went well and everyone had a good time. While having the decorations upstairs did not have the same atmosphere as having it in the basement, it was much more convenient for everyone since the bathrooms, kitchens, cable televisions, etc are all upstairs.
Las Vegas Grand Canyon Tour 1999
I had always wanted to visit the Grand Canyon since I was a kid, and for whatever reason just simply never made it out to Arizona despite having relatives living in the state. Anyhow, I finally had my chance during a visit to Las Vegas. This was a helicopter trip that took you over the Lake Mead, the Hoover Dam, and dropped you off inside the Grand Canyon where you had a champagne lunch. The whole trip was great, but a warning to females who might want to take this trip, they ask for your weight and you can’t lie about it. On the way back to Vegas they flew down the strip and I was able to take some great pics of Stratos from the air, you can see those pics in the Las Vegas post.
Las Vegas Hoover Dam Tour 1999
I remember watching this dam crack and flood on Superman 1, but I guess Superman saved the day because the dam looks just fine. During the tour I asked how long they expect this dam to last, given that the Mackinaw bridge was designed to last 1000 years. The response was 2000 years which surprised me. I guess two thousand years from now people will wonder if aliens built the dam. They also mentioned that there were a few missing people who were working on the dam and most likely fell in the cement. Probably not the best way to go.
In all seriousness the dam is a fascinating tour, a little warning to the ladies that you have to wear a hard hat on the tour inside so don’t do too much with your hair that day, you might end up with “helmet head”.
Las Vegas Vacation 1999
Nothing like a trip to Vegas, we found that the best time to do this is right after New Years, the crowds are much smaller then. Went on a helicopter ride that took us around the city then finished off by going down the strip of Vegas. Under construction was a new hotel which will feature the Eiffel Tower from Paris, that should be very impressive when completed.
The highlight for me was a visit to the Star Trek theme at the Hilton hotel and having a beer at Quarks bar on the pavilion. Other highlights were seeing Mystere and a magic show a Caesars Palace, the Pendragons I believe were performing there.
Christmas 1998
There was a little more motivation for the Christmas display and Christmas party this year as we received recognition from the City for our window decorations, just think what we would have gotten if they came into the basement.
More structures built with Styrofoam this year, we buy the Styrofoam where they sell insulation, certainly not at a craft store as it would be too expensive there. Once we cut it to shape, we use toothpicks to hold it together, placing a toothpick into one side about a quarter of the way, then moving the part we want to attach on top of this which usually pushed the toothpick halfway on each side. It also conceals the toothpick. Next we take lights and garland and place these around the areas and borders which makes for a light up house which looks pretty good and is very easy to store. The windows are added to the front by using a knife and garland is added to where the Styrofoam was cut. The windows need to be big enough so that you can decorate the inside from the outside.
From the Styrofoam we are able to build some cool structures.
Christmas Eve 1998
This year was the biggest display of all as we actually decorated under the steps. We added Styrofoam insulation to the wall where the doorway is to under the steps and painted them to look like bricks by using masking tape and spray painting very lightly so as not to completely dissolve the Styrfoam.
Once underneath the steps we had more Christmas displays, but you could not walk all the way through, you had to turn around at the end because you would come out at the washing machines which really do not invoke the Christmas spirit.
Many more Styrofoam items this year including a ferris wheel.
City Beautification Award for Christmas Display
For Christmas we setup a display in our front window with an animated life size Santa. This is something we do every year to one extent or another. But this year was special as we added for the first time some icicle lights to the display. We did not really think much more of it, except trying to remember to turn it on at dusk during the holiday season. Someone must have driven by from the city and seen it and they gave us the “City Beautiful Commission Award”.
We were all surprised and enjoyed our little token of fame, even though they spelt the name wrong, it was still a very nice sentiment from city hall.
The letter said they were going to have a run off of all the houses and a winner would be announced in the paper, but since we were never contacted we assumed it wasn’t us that won the overall prize.
Remembering Brian Landis 1975 – 1998
When Leslie Brian Landis was born on December 1, 1975, in Nashville, Tennessee, his father, William, was 47 and his mother, Frances, was 27. He had two brothers and two sisters. He died on July 23, 1998, at the age of 22.
Brian is the son of Howard and half brother to Bill and Mary. Brian passed away before James was born. We do not have many pictures of Brian so if anyone can help us out that would be much appreciated.
Mary remembers that Brian loved to play with transformers as a child and he was the ring bearer at Bills wedding. They say the hardest thing in life is when a parent outlives their child, Brian will be missed by his family.
