Page 131 - The Exceptional Harley Fetterman

THE EXCEPTIONAL HARLEY FETTERMAN

The next summer, their travel quest headed through Louisiana,
Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas. They stopped at New Orleans,
Memphis, St. Louis, and Hot Springs. In Memphis, they met up with
Madeline, Harley's best friend who had moved there with her family
the year they had been in kindergarten together. This happy reunion
created an opportunity to renew and celebrate their friendship.
Soon Harley and his parents resumed their predetermined route.
While driving along Scenic 7 Byway in Arkansas, they came across
Booger Hollow, an abandoned, tourist attraction.

Figure 82: Population sign for Booger Hollow.

“Booger,” or boogie man, is derived from an old Welsh word
which meant “to scare.” The term “hollow” means a narrow valley
between hills. Together the terms indicated something frightening. In
the early 1800's on either side of the hollow were two cemeteries
which led locals to believe the area was haunted. The term “Booger
Hollow” has persisted to this day.

A sign near the town's entrance reads "Population 7...countin' one
coon dog". By the time Harley and his parents actually arrived at the
site's entrance, there was no way they were not going to stop and
investigate what they discovered was essentially a ghost town.

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