Flagpole Hill at White Rock Lake, located in the Lake Highlands neighborhood, is a great Dallas family park. Famous for the magnificent American flag at one of the highest points in Dallas, this park is a beautiful sight to see year around. During the winters, kids bobsled down the hills with the rare but exciting snow falls in Dallas and during the summers families enjoy fire works on the Fourth of July. A wide range of events are held here from family picnics and outdoor concerts to political rallies and speeches. The park is equipped for gatherings, picnics, and even skateboarding! Flag Pole Hill is also home to the City of Dallas Athletic Club building and the park department headquarters complex.
Halloween is marked by crisp Fall air, children trick-or-treating, and the occasional ghost story being shared. “The Lady of the Lake” is the stuff of legends here in Dallas. Natives have told multiple variations over the years, but a woman named Anne Clark wrote what may be the earliest published account of the myth. Titled "The Ghost of White Rock," Clark's brief story was included in the Texas Folklore Society's 1943 publication, Backwoods to Border.
One hot July night a young city couple, having driven out and parked on the shore of White Rock Lake, switched on the headlights of the car and saw a white figure approaching. As the figure came straight to the driver's window, they saw it was a young girl dressed in a sheer white dress that was dripping wet. She spoke in a somewhat faltering voice.
I'm sorry to intrude, and I would not under any other circumstances, but I must find a way home immediately. I was in a boat that overturned. The others are safe. But I must get home.
She climbed into the middle seat, saying that she did not wish to get the young lady wet, and gave them an address in Oak Cliff, on the opposite side of Dallas. The young couple felt an uneasiness concerning their strange passenger, and as they neared the destination the girl, to avoid hunting the address, turned to the middle seat to ask directions. The middle seat was empty, but still wet.
After a brief, futile search for the girl in white, the couple went to the address she had given and were met at the door by a man whose face showed lines of worry. When he had heard the couple's story, the man replied in a troubled voice. "This is a very strange thing. You are the third couple who has come to me with this story. Three weeks ago, while sailing on White Rock Lake, my daughter was drowned."
Happy Halloween!
