Remembrance of Hallowe’ens Past

Posted by
Jill Stefko
Oct 5, 2009

In the late 1900s, we children looked forward to Hallowe’en. We carved Jack-O-Lanterns. We talked about costumes we would wear. One Hallowe’en, I was a Gypsy. Paying homage to my Gypsy ancestry, perhaps. There were school Hallowe’en parties. We’d parade about theneighborhood, then return to school where we had cider and decorated cupcakes. We eagerly anticipated Trick-or-Treat. The fun started several nights before Hallowe’en and ended that night. One of our schoolmates had a Hallowe’en party featuring walking through a cemetery at night. A couple of children screamed that they saw a ghost! We raced from the graveyard. To this day, I don’t know if the ghost was real.

While most of the customs remained the same, Trick-or-Treating changed. Some demented people hid razor blades in apples. As a result, fruit was no longer a treat. Parents were warned not to let their children to eat goodies before they were checked for evidence of tampering. One day was selected for Trick-or-Treat, usually during daylight hours. Parents were urged to accompany their children.

One year, I decided to give the Trick-or-Treaters a trick instead of a treat. I used a wooden pencil which I allowed the children to touch so they knew it was a regular pencil. I held it loosely between my thumb and forefinger and waved it up and down, so it looked like it was made of rubber. The children looked at me with puzzlement. I told them they said, “Trick or Treat,” so I showed them a trick. They knew they’d been had. Then, I gave them their treats.

These articles evoked memories of Hallowe’ens past.