The Greatest American Heroes
The stories behind Y’alloween’s icons
Billy the Kid
Let’s start with a more well known man in American culture. A brave young cattle rancher, orphaned at age 14, he would grow up to be an outstanding young man despite the tragedy in his life. Born in New York City, after the death of his father he and his family moved to Kansas and later New Mexico, where his mother sadly died of tuberculosis.
But that didn’t keep him down. Taken in by the owner of a boarding house, Billy worked hard to provide for himself. After being wrongfully accused of theft, he left and started work as a God-loving cattle rancher, before becoming a veteran in the Lincoln County War. He was accidentally shot and killed by a friend in 1881, but his legacy lives on until this day.
Billy the Kid Cattle Roping
Help Billy round up the cattle!
What you’ll need:
Step one: take the boxes and tape three flaps down. Leave the fourth up.
Step two: using a cutting tool, cut the remaining flap into the shape of a cow’s head (see figure 1)
Step 3: cover the boxes in the construction paper and decorate.
Step 4: tie one end of the rope into a lasso (see figure 2)
Step 5: have fun!
Figure 1
Figure 2
Jesse James
Now here’s the story of our greatest hero: Jesse James. A veteran turned philanthropist, his life was tragically cut short by a greedy villain.
Jesse was born and raised in Missouri, and he and his brother loved God, and their state. They ended joining one of the greatest groups in the Civil War, Quantrill’s Raiders. After the war, Jesse and his brother Frank wanted to continue spreading God’s word and love and helping their country, and began borrowing money from trains, coaches, and wagons carrying the rich and giving that money to the poor. However, one of his friends got greedy, and shot poor Jesse in the head and killed him in 1882. But his story has inspired countless tales, including Robin Hood!
Jesse James Train Holdup
Jesse needs your help finding all the gold!
What you’ll need:
Step one: connect the boxes and decorate with paper to look like a train
Step two: place the coins inside the boxes
Step three: place the animals on top of the coins, hiding them from view.
Step four: have fun
Pearl Hart
Despite being born in Canada, Pearl still became an awesome American hero!
After finding out her husband was not a good Christian, she left him and moved to the Wild West. But then, tragedy struck. Her mother fell ill. But Pearl knew God would help her. Instead of being sad, she became a strong young woman, stopping stagecoaches and asking them for money. She raised over $400 ($12986)! She later went on to settle down with her family, and died of natural causes. What an amazing role model for all the young women today!
Pearl Hart’s Medicine Maze
Help Pearl get the medicine for her mother!
What you’ll need:
Step one: cut the paper into circles and place them on the floor, creating 4 paths.
Step two: place the empty bottles at the end of each path
Step three: line the children up at the beginning and spin the spinner. The object of the game is to retrieve the medicine and bring it back first. Each child at the beginning of the line must wait their turn before moving according to the spinner.
Step four: have fun!
Game setup,where x represents the “medicine”
Robert Clay Allison
Robert Clay Allison was an amazing man. The son of a minister, he would grow up to be a good Christian.
Robert loved God and his country, so when the Civil War broke out, he joined the Army. After being discharged, he wanted to show his love for God and his community, and became a sort of “law enforcer”. When he saw that the Union army was trying to take his farm, he fought back, sending their greedy sinful souls to Hell. Later he would save another town from a man who murdered his son, sending the murderer’s soul to Hell too. He would go on to persecute sinners until his death in 1887.
Robert Clay Allison’s shootout
Help Robert stop the bad guys by shooting them!
What you’ll need:
Step one: line the water bottles up.
Step two. Have each child take a turn shooting at the bottles. Each child has one try per bottle. After each turn, stand the fallen bottles back up.
Step three: encourage the children to practice their quick draw skills by having them stand off against each other.
Step four: have fun!