AJ, Me and Company: Halloween

I remember Halloween as a Child (with my 2 Sibs) not really being all that fun. In Illinois where I grew up by Oct. 31st it was 99% of the time very cold. You could not wear a costume because you needed heavy winter coats and something on your legs. What kiddo wants to dress in a Princess or Skeleton Costume then cover it up with a coat, long corduroy pants and boots. So, usually all we wore were masks. It was kind of fun going to the Ben Franklin Dime Store and picking out a new mask every year. Back then the masks were made of rubber and after wearing them for a couple of hours your face and the inside of the masks were a sweaty, wet mess. Half the time you could not see where you were walking, so you kept the mask raised and planted on top of your head.

Back when I was a Child you carried a Brown Paper Grocery Sack or a Pillowcase to put your Goodies in. Treats were not always candy back in the days when people trusted their Neighbors. There would be candy of course, but there also would be Home Made Cookies, Cup Cakes, Pop Corn Balls and Peanut Butter Fudge with a Candy Corn stuck on top. There was no Saran Wrap or Plastic Bags so alot of Goodies were just tossed in you bag as is. You might get lucky and have a piece of Waxed Paper on some. There was also always the neighbors that gave you an Apple or Orange. Of course these were just tossed in ontop of the Cookies and Cup Cakes. The large Sack or Pillow Case would start to get pretty heavy for a little one so it usually was just dragged on the ground door-to-door.

We usually only went to our Neighbor Hood, but there was 1 house a little off the beaten path we would hit. This was a man that lived alone and always gave out Nickles. So his house was a must. After a trip up one side of the Neighbor Hood and down the other side, we were more then ready to go home. Mom always took Me, Cher and John Trick or Treating and my Dad stayed home and gave out our Treats.

When we got home it was so much fun to pick through the Goodies to see just what we had got. Of course the Cookies were crumbs and all the candy was covered with the Frosting off of the Cup Cake and the Pop Corn Ball had drawn moisture and was a bit tough. But oh how proud we were of our Treats we had gathered. We were allowed to eat some of the candy before we went to bed. Candy was never a real Biggie to us because Mom was very good at letting us have treats all year long. Now this happened every year I can remember. After Me and my Sibs went to bed my Dad would DUMP all 3 bags in one Big Bowl. He then would of course help himself to a few Treats. In the morning our candy was no longer OURS it had become A Community Candy Bowl. And the Nickles just disapeared???? Probably some time just before Christmas, the left over Trick-or-Treat Candy was tossed out. I don't think we ever ate it all.