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A4 APG News • October 8, 2020 BY THE NUMB#RS 4,903,185 The population of Alabama, as of 2019, making it the 24th most populous state. 101,821 The seating capacity of Bryant–Denny Stadium, home of the University of Alabama football team, and the fifth largest stadium in America. 52,419 The number of square miles in Alabama, making it the 30th largest state in the country. 2,413 The height, in feet, of the highest point in Alabama, Mount Cheaha. It’s the 35th highest point in the country. 946 As of 2018, the number of amendments made in Alabama’s constitution. At 310,296 words, the document is 12 times longer than the average state constitution, 44 times longer than the U.S. Constitution, and is the longest and most amended constitution still operative anywhere in the world. By JON BLEIWEIS, APG News Alabama became the nation’s 22nd state on Dec. 14, 1819. Here are some facts about the Yellowhammer State. By LAUREN FINNEGAN, APG News “Are you doing it?” “No, I swear I’m not. Are you? ” “Guys, it’s not me. I’m not moving it.” People all over the world have had con- versations similar to this while they sat in darkened rooms with their fingertips light- ly touching a plastic “teardrop” or planchette through which spirits reveal answers to ques- tions about the past, present and future. The Ouija Board, a simple invention and cultural phenomenon, got its start in Mary- land in 1886, when Charles Kennard, the owner of a failing fertilizer business, saw a popular Associated Press article about a spir- itualists’ camp in Ohio. The campers in the article said they used a talking board, similar to the modern version of the Ouija Board, to communicate with the dead. In an age in which 50 was the average life expectancy, the article inspired hope and intrigue from the masses about the possibility of communicating with departed loved ones. Kennard was inspired to start a new business. While he had an idea, he didn’t have the know-how, so he recruited his office mate in Chestertown, Maryland, E.C. Reiche, a Prus- sian immigrant and coffin maker, to design and build the boards. The business saw some success, and in 1890, when Kennard moved his business to Baltimore, he looked for investors using the original designs, and called the board, “Kennard’s Talking Board.” The time was ripe for Kennard’s inven- tion. Elijah Bond, Col. Washington Bow- ie, Harry Welles Rusk, William Maupin, and John F. Green decided to invest in Kennard, and the Kennard Novelty Company was cer- tified on Oct. 30, 1890. The Ouija Board arrived during the Amer- ican Spiritualism movement, when séances and attempts to communicate with the dead were common Friday night activities. People had lost patience with traditional attempts to reach deceased relatives, one of which involved calling out a letter and waiting for a spirit to knock, in the hope that a meaning- ful message would come across. The “Ken- nard Talking Board,” made talking to the dead nearly as quick and easy as talking to the living. The name “Ouija” came about when a medium, and the sister-in-law of Elijah Bond, Helen Peters, held a séance using the board. One of the questions asked what the board wanted to be called. “Ouija” was what it spelled out, and when the participants asked what it meant, the board answered, “Good Luck.” Good luck or good planning also got the board its patent, when in 1891, Bond brought Peters with him to the patent office. Howev- er, the chief patent officer would not certi- fy a patent for the “Ouija Board” unless they proved the board worked. They were stumped, but the officer had a plan. He asked the Ouija Board to accu- rately spell his name, which was supposed- ly unknown to both Bond and Peters. When the “board” did just that, the shaken officer awarded the patent, and the “Ouija Board” was officially born. The game took off right away, and by 1892, the Kennard Novelty Company grew from one Baltimore factory to two, in addi- tion to two in New York, two in Chicago and one in London. After its initial success, the company changed hands several times, and eventual- ly went to William Fuld, a former employee and stockholder. Years later, Fuld said the board told him to, “prepare for big business. ” He built a large factory on Harford Avenue to produce the board as well as other toys and novelties. One day, while replacing a flag pole on the roof of the building, Fuld fell and was mor- tally wounded. On his deathbed, though his children promised to never sell the rights to the “Ouija Board,” 40 years later it was sold to Parker Brothers for the sum of $1 million. But it wasn’t until the board’s appear- ance in the 1973 film, “The Exorcist,” that its reputation as a fun weekend activity turned sinister. The film told the story of the demon- ic possession of a young girl named Regan, and displayed the Ouija Board as the portal through which spiritual beings pass to enter this world. It struck fear in people all over the world. According to Ouija Board rules, those who attempt to contact a spirit through the board should be sure to move the planchette to the “Goodbye” area on the board before putting it away, to avoid ending up like Regan. Editor’s note: This article previously appeared in the Nov. 3, 2016, edition of APG News. Cultural Icon Ouija Board Traces History to Chestertown APG News file photo
