Halloween back in the day

[George Cassidy]

My favorite take on this is the Gary Larson [["Far Side") recollection thagt his parents used to dress him as the Black Ghost and then send him out in the night to trick or treat.

[d2dyeah]

Sometime in October we would take a ride out into the country to buy pumpkins, donuts, cider and apples. Usually out Armada way, with Dad driving too fast and my sister, her boyfriend and me in the back seat, our teeth gritted, waiting for Mom to start yelling at Dad to slow the hell down.
We always got home in one piece, one step closer to Halloween.
My mother always made my costumes. She was an excellent seamstress and liked to show me off. I usually had two costumes; one religious one for St. Jude's Halloween party and parade [[the whole school walked around the block)and one for trick or treat. I remember being St. Catherine of Sienna, the Blessed Mother and one of the wise men at school and a pilgrim, a flapper and Cleopatra in my secular life. How many kids can say that?

Those Halloween parade's were a big deal at my school as well. We walked for blocks then went back to our classroom and our "Room Mother's" had a Halloween party in each classroom set up. Those plastic witch or pumpkin toys, which held candy on their back, were placed at your desk with your name on it, you sat down, and then ate SUGAr for the next 2 hours. Kid Heaven...

[hamtown mike]

To this day, the smell of burnt cork reminds me of being a hobo on holloween, and my parents burning a cork to put a "beard" on me as part of my costume.

Me too. Wow, as soon as I read that I could smell it! thanks for that memory!

[smogboy]

I think for me Halloween really started in the classroom long before it hit the streets. I just remember the decorations there were that much more elaborate and we were well sugared up before making the mad dash home to go trick or treating that night.

[Dfd]

Great stuff here. Thanks!

[Downriviera]

It was always a fun two nights. Started on Devils night soaping windows of all the non tipping customers of my Free Press route. Halloween was always running from porch to porch never using the sidewalk. Fill one pillow case, drop it off at home and grab another. The stores on the main street always gave out the full size candy so we hit them up first before they ran out. As I got a little older and a little smarter, I realized we were losing time taking full pillow bags back to the house. So I had my dad meet us with the car at strategic locations for a drop off and a fresh pillow case so we could keep moving. I remember those cheap plastic masks smelled pretty bad when they got some sweat on them. After it was over for the night we layed all the candy on the floor for inventory, cursing the people that gave us pennies or apples.

[LakeviewStreetBoy]

I lived on Lakeview near Canfield in the 50's and remember so many "trick-or-treaters" on Halloween night that sometimes you had to wait out by the street and approach the house in groups as others moved on.But we rarely said trick-or-treat; we usually said "Help the Poor", and always referred to it as "Halloweening"or "Begging". Sometimes we had to run home for a new empty paper bag when the first one got full. Once I carried a pail, but never did that again as it didn't hold enough "loot". We never carried pillowcases - it just seemed makeshift and tacky. The worst part was if it was cold and mom made you wear a coat UNDER your costume and you got all sweaty. And we never needed to leave the few blocks around our house - these are some of my favorite Detroit memories.

[Prairiestreetgirl]

As a child in the early 1950's, I recall my grandmother being the one who would take me around "begging." We didn't call it "trick-or-treating" or "halloweening" back then. We started out just after dark [[usually around 6 p.m.) for the [[at least) two-hour door-to-door trek. I don't remember if others said "trick or treat" like kids do now, as most of us kids would yell "Help the poor!" instead. Most of the costumes back then were homemade or just thrown-together. I don't remember ever having a Halloween costume that was "store-bought." Rather, I dressed up in my mom's tulle orange formal dress [[she really had one that color), my dad made a matching "silver" crown and scepter, and there I was - the local Princess of Prairie Street. As we made the rounds on that glorious night, we used pillow cases in which to carry all the loot. Usually one stop was made back home sometime after an hour or so, as the pillow case would be getting heavy by then. The goodies were dropped off, and then round two of the "begging" began. People's houses were -by far- not as elaborately decorated as they are now, so when you did come to one that had more than the obligatory pumpkin [[we NEVER said "Jack-O-Lantern"), you often went back a second time awhile later, hoping the residents didn't realize that you were "double-dipping." It really was special if someone gave candy bars as treats- usually it was some type of penny candy. The most impressive treat to me was always a bag of potato chips, as it seemed so BIG compared to the other treats. On a good Halloween, the begging lasted until 9 p.m. - that was a good three hours of time. Generally, only two or three city blocks were covered, so LOTS of people must have been doling out candy. Dots - those small bits of "icing" on adding machine-like strips of paper were also a favorite- not for the taste, but just for the uniqueness. Sometimes,someone would hand out a "NickleNip" wax "soda bottle" or Pixie Stix, and those too were well-received.
> The only bad memory I have of the time is when the weather was so cold that you had to wear a coat [[or even the dreaded "leggings") UNDER your costume - every kid hated that...it ruined your mystique!

[Dave70]

I did my trickrtreatin' between Morang and Moross on Payton, Riad, Dutchess, maybe Laing or Landsdowne too. That was probably from '75 through '85.

It was great! We always got tons of candy, fillin' up our pillowcases... all sorts of treats and chips, a bunch of change too. There were always so many houses with their porch lights on giving out stuff.

I remember a house on Payton that always had the outside done up with scary things and creepy music playing, I think one of the biker guys that lived there dressed up in a werewolf costume to scare the kids too.

My favorite costume had to be the vampire outfit that I put together, found a cool cloth cape with red lining at a garage sale, an old medallion to wear over my dress shirt, black pants and those plastic fanged teeth with the blood and I was ready to go, hehe.

[jcole]

I loved trick or treating on Kelly Rd. back in the 60's. We went to all the stores and they gave out really good stuff. Popcorn balls, full sized candy bars, bags of chips. The bar across Kelly from Maddelein [[The Candlelite which is still there) gave out cash; dollar bills sometimes. And the patrons gave us money too. It was the best.

[d2dyeah]

I seem to remember getting little milk cartons, from the nuns at school, that were used to collect coins for the poor on Halloween night. It wasn't the Goodfellows it was another charity I can't remember. Anyone else have to do that?

[fanniemae]

I seem to remember getting little milk cartons, from the nuns at school, that were used to collect coins for the poor on Halloween night. It wasn't the Goodfellows it was another charity I can't remember. Anyone else have to do that?

Maybe orange little cartons, for UNICEF ? Did that for a couple of years. Maybe got 20 cents in pennies the whole night. I had a Bugs Bunny costume I remember well. Think my family bought it for me at the old dime store at Eastgate by Federals on Gratiot. The costumes came in flimsy boxes, cellophane on the top where you could see the face of the costume. Probably cost around 3.99 back in the day. The best was when one neighbor gave out bags of Better Made chips.

[d2dyeah]

Maybe orange little cartons, for UNICEF ? Did that for a couple of years. Maybe got 20 cents in pennies the whole night. I had a Bugs Bunny costume I remember well. Think my family bought it for me at the old dime store at Eastgate by Federals on Gratiot. The costumes came in flimsy boxes, cellophane on the top where you could see the face of the costume. Probably cost around 3.99 back in the day. The best was when one neighbor gave out bags of Better Made chips.

That was it...Unicef Thanks for jogging my memory. I think the most I got was about 2 dollars from the neighbors, and 5.00 from my Grandpa, to save face with Sister for my "effort". The balance of a Trick or treat bag and that carton was difficult. I was Bugs Bunny once too, and my Dad made me carry a carrot for the full effect.

[fanniemae]

That was it...Unicef Thanks for jogging my memory. I think the most I got was about 2 dollars from the neighbors, and 5.00 from my Grandpa, to save face with Sister for my "effort". The balance of a Trick or treat bag and that carton was difficult. I was Bugs Bunny once too, and my Dad made me carry a carrot for the full effect.

I wore that costume for a few years till I wore it out. Or got too big. The mask was plastic, the body of it was grey nylon and tied around your neck in the back. I don't think I carried a carrot. Maybe I should have , would have gotten more treats. We had Hallowwen decorations at school, but no parties. It was all good though. Nice memories.

[Dfd]

Just a few days to go! Any other stories?

[jackie5275]

Oh yes, the Halloween festivities always started at school with a costumed parade & a party in the afternoon that went up to the day's end. My immediate neighborhood, in the Pontiac area, consisted of 7 streets. My dad usually took us every year. We would start out at our house and went the first 5 streets. My dad would always prod us into going an extra street even though he knew we were getting tired. He'd always say let's hit one more street.
Then it was back home for my mom to inspect all the candy for razors, etc. She'd open a candy bar, take a bite, & say "This one's okay. I'll finish it though". Then my dad would look at our stash & start taking the candy he liked saying "Oh, I know you don't like Baby Ruths, so I'll take all yours".
I think the tainted candy has been proven to be an urban legend with the exception of one case from 1975 where a guy wanted to kill his kids & put poison in their Pixie Stix. But what happened with the candy that got x-rayed at police stations? I guess no radiation harm.

[Hermod]

East side of Detroit...Three Mile Drive between Mack and Warren...we used to be out for 3-4 hours visiting each house, both sides of the street, with stop at selected retail establishments on Mack like Carra's Party Store! Our candy lasted well into the next year!!

One of my favorite Halloween memories are the two spinster sisters who lived on our block...made gingerbread cookies shaped like pumpkins with orange icing!! They were the best! and they were given only to the kids on the immediate block.

Yes, my mother and grandmother [[lived with us) made up real nice goody bags for the "A-list" kids and a bowl of junk stuff to dole out to the interlopers on the block.

[cman710]

Oh yes, the Halloween festivities always started at school with a costumed parade & a party in the afternoon that went up to the day's end. My immediate neighborhood, in the Pontiac area, consisted of 7 streets. My dad usually took us every year. We would start out at our house and went the first 5 streets. My dad would always prod us into going an extra street even though he knew we were getting tired. He'd always say let's hit one more street.
Then it was back home for my mom to inspect all the candy for razors, etc. She'd open a candy bar, take a bite, & say "This one's okay. I'll finish it though". Then my dad would look at our stash & start taking the candy he liked saying "Oh, I know you don't like Baby Ruths, so I'll take all yours".
I think the tainted candy has been proven to be an urban legend with the exception of one case from 1975 where a guy wanted to kill his kids & put poison in their Pixie Stix. But what happened with the candy that got x-rayed at police stations? I guess no radiation harm.

Yes, this article on Halloween dangers [[or non-dangers) describes this well. Apparently, besides the case you mentioned, there is no evidence any child has ever been hurt by poisoned candy.

[GPCharles]

Here in Grosse Pointe we would send the help around the neighborhood to collect for all of the children in our family. What a hoot seeing the maids, butlers and chauffeurs walking around the neighborhood in their uniforms holding Gucci and Louis Vuitton bags monogrammed with the initials of all the children and collecting candy from the other maids and butlers manning the various house doors!

Of course, we donated the candy to the poor. Who knew where that candy had been? And most of it was domestic! I have to admit, I would keep the Cadbury bars...

[d2dyeah]

Those orange pumpkin face cookies, PRE MARTHA STEWART, from the Pillsbury cook book sure got around. Our mom made tons of them for our school Halloween party every year. The chocolate drizzled faces were different on every one. Eating those with cups of apple cider, it didn't get better for this second grader.

[mittengal]

Here in Grosse Pointe we would send the help around the neighborhood to collect for all of the children in our family. What a hoot seeing the maids, butlers and chauffeurs walking around the neighborhood in their uniforms holding Gucci and Louis Vuitton bags monogrammed with the initials of all the children and collecting candy from the other maids and butlers manning the various house doors!

Of course, we donated the candy to the poor. Who knew where that candy had been? And most of it was domestic! I have to admit, I would keep the Cadbury bars...

Someone is dressed up as a Troll for Halloween!

[Dfd]

Well thanks everyone. That was fun to read. Hope you had a good one.