HALLOWEEN remembered.......

It was the October of 1953, one of the only Halloween nights I remember as being really, really nice. We had scavenged the neighborhood and beyond and I, at least, had retired with my loot. Greg, at 13 may have gone again. My grand parents had run out of candy and came to visit my parents. It may not have been that late, but like all Halloween eves in was.

The door bell continued to ring. Mother ran out of candy and took the items I had given her, you know, cupcakes, and popcorn balls to pass out. The stream of beggars continued. Once out of my gatherings, she started given dimes.

Now a dime in 1953 could get you into the movies!

The word must have spread, the next thing you know, there were tall kids pretending to be little by begging while resting on their knees. There was no age limit at that time. But there was a limit to the dimes and mother turned off the porch light. Teenage goblins continued to knock, when mother didn't answer, the lined up next to the picture window and watched television; mother pulled the drapes.

My question to you is, were there rules printed in the newspaper then as there were in Lawrence? Was it all about trick or treating between 6:30-8:30? Was there a porch light rule? Did we knock on doors when there was not a light to guide our way? Why did mother pick 125 as the number of children who would visit?

Remembering.....questioning......

e