I knew Kent Rizley; Kent was a friend of mine. We graduated together from Sayre High School, Sayre, Oklahoma, in 1962. He died a few years ago and each year I post this video on Facebook as it cools down from the summer heat as a way of helping him keep his pledge to his father.
I come back here every year when the frost is indeed on the punkin to hear your beloved telling of this wonderful old poem...it’s been several years now by my count...Thank you~Sir.
That was done beautifully! Thank you so much! My mom used to read us James Whitcomb Riley poems. She read them in different seasons little orphat Annie at Halloween time and the frost on the pumpkin late fall as well the raggedy man that tge happy little cripple all just great . Thanks again for the poems and the memories
This brought tears to my eyes! My granny would recite this poem to me as a child every fall, just recently I sent a copy of it to my own daughter who is now married and living all the way across the country in California. I asked her if she remembered me reciting it to her as a child. Great memories! Thanks so much !
Again, I knew Kent Rizley, Kent Rizley was a friend of mine, we graduated from Sayre High School in Sayre, Oklahoma back in 1962. Kent died some years ago. I post this each year to keep his memory alive and to help him fulfill his promise to his dad, a great and good man.
You could be on any stage on this planet with a delivery like that. We had our first frost this morning and a friend sent me this link. What a delight and boon to my heart.
We just read this poem in our home school and this is an amazing presentation of the work. We loved it! Thank you so much for allowing others to see his recitation. Don't take it off! We are sorry that Kent Risley is no longer here. Blessings!
The best rendition I have ever heard! My now-gone family members loved JWR's poetry, as most grew up not far from his hometown. Thank you! We are sharing this for the grands.
Growing up in Indiana, I always had a soft spot for autumn time. Even though this poem is very very old, it still rings true for me, perfectly capturing that first frost morning of fall. I remember memorizing it in 4th grade and I've never forgotten it. Thank you for this!
Your recitation of this poem helped my 7th grade daughter to become more interested in her assignment, she giggled or smiled the whole time - We appreciate you!
I felt the richness of the lyric, the lost traditions thank you. Reminiscent of Garrison Keillor, the performer's inherent Americana makes one long for early mornings, for strong coffee and even stronger whisky, and for the days that still had promise. Here's to you, Henry David, here's to you, Dick Proennecke! Here's to you, Howard Mosher, here's to you, Golfdude3213!
I’ve spent my entire life in Southern California, and have often heard the lament of lack of seasons change in this region. Thanks to you I believe I’ve just experienced the feeling of a mid-western fall... here in San Diego in July. Beautiful work.
Thank you for making your video interpretation of this lovely poem. Your expression and love is felt as you recite each line. Please heed your father's words to continue reciting it each Fall, as it has blessed me immensely! : )
Thank you. I grew up in Bedford and heard Riley's poems for as long as I can remember. October was always my favorite time of year as it meant our librarian would do her annual reading of James Whitcomb Riley's works. "The Raggedy Man" was the first poem I ever recited myself. I'm now in Arizona, the land of No Autumn, longing for vibrant trees and picking time at Johnny's Orchard....so I searched for recitations of Riley's. This brought me to tears. Thank you for sharing a piece of home.
I love this! I heard the poem read a few years ago and have featured the poem on my blog before...then got to thinking and wondering could I hear it on You Tube...googled it and this was what I found. I featured it on my Pics & Pieces blog back in August, and had to hear it again. My husband turned down the TV and sat and listened with me...this is wonderful.
I was attempting to read this poem for our Homeschool morning but thought someone on RU-vid might do a better job so we found this ❤️ Perfect! My boys LOVE hunting with their dad too!
I homeschooled my son when he was 10 years old and in Grade 5. This is one of the poems that we memorized that year, that was 1991. I've been thinking of the poem this fall, and was delighted to see that you had videoed this presentation. You did a wonderful job, thank you very much.
my twins are having to memorize this poem for school...we had never heard of it and were having difficulty putting any meaning to it. what the heck is a fodder or a shock???..then we watched your presentation and have a whole new feeling about it, t!hank you for sharing. We will memorize and recite this poem for school but also we will pass it on to our next generation...thanks to you
This recitation is so perfect, the way I believe it was meant to be performed. My 5th grade son is memorizing it, and other videos with polished performing voices (with British accents?) totally miss the spirit of the poem. I love this version!
Thank you for posting this. I had heard the poem before, but this recitin' was perfection. The story before had me smiling and then dripping tears. It was assigned to my second grade daughter and she thinks it's funny that I cry for silly poems. :-)
My son is learning this for his fourth grade class, he loves your story and it really gave meaning to this poem. He enjoys your version the best :) your father would be proud :)
Thank you for sharing this video. It's nice to see someone recite it, the way it is meant to be read. The Riley Festival theme this year is "When the frost is on the Punkin." The Festival is October 02 - 05 2014, in Greenfield Indiana. Hope you can make it. You can tour James Whitcomb Riley childhood home.
Great telling of this poem. You're true to the words. Thanks for keeping your father's wishes alive. I love this poem and love your honest rendition. Brian
Wow...so FULL of emotion. YOU, sir...could win academy awards. I have just shown my 10 and 8 year old kids this video and they loved it. I can see why your father loved to hear you perform this. What a great memory, and thank you so much for posting this for us "strangers". It will be shared on my facebook page. :) Facebook.com/djlight
I said hello country bumpkin, how's the frost out on the punkin. I've seen some sights, but man, you're somethin. Where'd ya come from, country bumpkin. LOL
