Back the the day, at Washington Elementary, Halloween meant going home for lunch and dressing up in my chosen costume. Pat Bullock had a sewing machine, but the only things I remember her ever sewing was two costumes - a clown and a black cat with a long black tail.
I'm sure I was each of those two things sometime through the years. In sixth grade Paula Bacon and I dressed in my dad's Korean War uniforms, complete with boots. But I don't really recall many of my costumes. I think we often went the purchased costume with plastic mask and a rubber band to hold it on. After we'd walk back to school on Halloween Day, we'd await the younger classes to start the parade through each classroom, ending up in the gymnasium where parents were in the audience. It was quite exciting.
Then in the evening, we'd begin our trek around the neighborhood with brown paper grocery sack clutched in hand. We'd walk door to door, block to block, coming home with several pounds of candy. And oh we knew where the good stuff was. The Crabtrees always gave out quarters and popcorn balls.
Even back when I was young, people started doing evil things to candy to injure kids. Is there anything creepier? But hell, we considered our whole side of town our neighbors. Few people left their porch lights off. The "old folks" (they were probaby 52 years old..) seemed to be so tickled at seeing each costume.
One year tragedy struck Atlantic on Halloween. One of the Hackwell children was struck by a car and killed crossing the street in the dark. The Hackwells were a notorious family in town. They had lots of children and lived on the edge of town in a rickety farmhouse by the cemetery. Glen was in our class. While I didn't realize why at the time, we shunned Glen throughout grade school.
Today I realize it was a social class thing, but back then I just thought (as everyone in class said) Glen Hackwell had cooties and germs. We'd inoculate ourselves from the germs if he touched us. Poor kid. I feel bad about it today. I recall Glen attended our 20th class reunion, bringing his grandchild along. He was a trucker, and was featured in a news story for moving a home from outside of town into town.
As with everything, it seems, Halloween today is much more commercialized and flashy. I still like it, but a little part of me longs for the days when kids swarmed the streets wrangling sweets from willing townfolk.
I'm sure I was each of those two things sometime through the years. In sixth grade Paula Bacon and I dressed in my dad's Korean War uniforms, complete with boots. But I don't really recall many of my costumes. I think we often went the purchased costume with plastic mask and a rubber band to hold it on. After we'd walk back to school on Halloween Day, we'd await the younger classes to start the parade through each classroom, ending up in the gymnasium where parents were in the audience. It was quite exciting.
Then in the evening, we'd begin our trek around the neighborhood with brown paper grocery sack clutched in hand. We'd walk door to door, block to block, coming home with several pounds of candy. And oh we knew where the good stuff was. The Crabtrees always gave out quarters and popcorn balls.
Even back when I was young, people started doing evil things to candy to injure kids. Is there anything creepier? But hell, we considered our whole side of town our neighbors. Few people left their porch lights off. The "old folks" (they were probaby 52 years old..) seemed to be so tickled at seeing each costume.
One year tragedy struck Atlantic on Halloween. One of the Hackwell children was struck by a car and killed crossing the street in the dark. The Hackwells were a notorious family in town. They had lots of children and lived on the edge of town in a rickety farmhouse by the cemetery. Glen was in our class. While I didn't realize why at the time, we shunned Glen throughout grade school.
Today I realize it was a social class thing, but back then I just thought (as everyone in class said) Glen Hackwell had cooties and germs. We'd inoculate ourselves from the germs if he touched us. Poor kid. I feel bad about it today. I recall Glen attended our 20th class reunion, bringing his grandchild along. He was a trucker, and was featured in a news story for moving a home from outside of town into town.
As with everything, it seems, Halloween today is much more commercialized and flashy. I still like it, but a little part of me longs for the days when kids swarmed the streets wrangling sweets from willing townfolk.
This is one of my fave pics of my kids at Halloween.
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