Halloween back in the day

[Alfie1a]

Mom and dad always confiscated half of our candy. They told us it was going to the orphanage. My sisters and I always thought that was b.s. I'll have to try to remember to ask mom where the candy went.

[unclefrank]

I had moved to Sterling Heights a number of years back, and I took my little girls out. I left a large plastic bowl of Candy on my porch with a note to take one. When I got back, the bowl was smashed to bits, and the candy tossed about all over my lawn. That and the fact that there didn't seem to be much going on kind of turned me off to Halloween. I now live in Roseville, and my street is deserted Halloween night.

[SMRJim]

Halloween was great back in the day. We'd go out as soon as it started getting dark with a pillowcase in hand, go all through the neighborhood til about 9:00 or so. The big scare I remember [[late 60s, early 70ss) was razor blades in the apples. When my sisters and I got home, we'd each dump our candy into a pile on the living room floor. Check stuff for any suspicious signs, get rid of the stuff we didn't want, make trades. I was always either a bum or football or baseball player. We just threw costumes together with whatever we had around the house. Halloween was like a holiday, rihgt up there with Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving.

Saint Marys of Redford always had a big Halloween candy sale in the new gym. The grade school students would go around to houses to get people to sign up for bags of candy. It was like a competition - there were prizes for selling the most candy. I remember going over to the gym the Saturday before Halloween, when people came to pick up their candy - my dad always volunteered there [[I think the Dads' Club worked the candy sale). And I would just drool over the tables full of candy.

[ronaldj]

I grew up on the west side. Junction between Herbert and Horatio. Did the pillow case and ran all over the neighborhood. Highlight was going into the local bars. With some trepidation. Always got loose change from the patrons.

Begged a couple of years in Dearborn Heights Dearborn. Can not believe how far we walked.

Now it seems Halloween has been relegated to adults. Check the ads in Metro Times and Real Detroit. Baby boomers [[and their kids) trying to relieve the days of old?

[ronaldj]

Sorry. Should be "relive".

[agirlintheD]

What great memories. We, too, would make a pit stop in between to dump our pillow cases before heading out again. We never walked on anyone's lawn and always said "THANK YOU" and you didn't go to the houses with no lights on! Grew up in the Warrendale area. The businesses on Warren Avenue would give the best "treats". The kids today have no idea what they missed out on back then....Detroit was the absolute best place to grow up. And we walked everywhere. Nobody took us to another [[translated...better????) neighborhood. And for the record, I still call it Devil's Night. [[Just because the hoodlums of today have made it something ugly, doesn't change how we knew it...the soaping, toilet paper, etc).

[detroitbred]

agirlintheD I couldn't agree with you more, Detroit back then was a great place to grow up. I have so many wonderful memories of Halloween's and Christmases, and so many other great times. I recently drove thru my old neighborhood near Telegraph and Schoolcraft and was so saddened to see what it has become. It was such a safe, family freindly community, and I was actually a little scared driving thru it....many homes with bars on the front door and windows, some boareded up as well. My old elementary shcool no longer in use and boarded up as well.I can't even imagine anyone trick or treating there now, although I would think there will be some. I wish I hadn't gone there, and just kept my memories as they were. I guess you really can't go home again [[ or shouldn't try?)

[Bearinabox]

I guess you really can't go home again [[ or shouldn't try?)

It's entirely possible that you can't or shouldn't, but I don't think the rule is by any means universal.

[9936Sussex]

I always connect burning leaves with Halloween too. My dad would always rake huge piles of leaves in the street by the curb in front of our house. After jumping in them, he would re-rake them, and then burn them. I LOVED that smell.....Growing up in Detroit WAS a wonderful thing, and it is a shame that kids nowadays [[including my own) will never experience it. I, too have driven in my old neighborhood, and it was almost unrecognizable. I could not believe it could look that bad.

[Meddle]

I wouldn't even want to drive through the Greenfield/Fenkell area today.

[agirlintheD]

detroitbred...funny you mentioned the school being boarded up. Drove past George Washington Carver Elementary School a few months ago, only someone took the George Washington Carver Elementary and left "School". Actually, I think it might have even been spray painted. I think they took all the metal letters and tagged it "school". Good thing, otherwise it might be questionable. I'll have to take a drive by soon to see if my memory is completely mush.

[SMRJim]

I wouldn't even want to drive through the Greenfield/Fenkell area today.

I still drive through there at least once a year, over by Saint Marys and by our old house on Prevost. Still end up back over there sometimes for Saint Marys-related functions, though with both schools now closed I imagine that won't happen much any more. We trick or treated from Winthrop over to St Marys, between Grand River and Chalfonte [[or Hackett on the non-through streets), plus on Hackett and Chalfonte too. That was a lot of houses! Never had any luck in the businesses on Grand River. Only one pillow-case's worth, but it was heavy by the end of the night! No parental escorts - we just went with a group of siblings/friends. I can remember every now and then hearing about some kid having their candy stolen - I remember thinking what a tragedy that would be to have your candy taken.

Devil's nights were fairly harmless back then, though cleaning soap or eggs off your house was a drag. I remember spending a couple of them protecting our houses. My next door neighbor had a bb gun - he'd shoot at someone if they went to soap or egg a nearby house. We'd sit up in his room upstairs with the window open, keeping a vigilant watch out front, feeling like the defenders of the neighborhood.

[eriedearie]

We did "help the poor!" begging on Halloween. Our area to hit included some of Bessemore Street, cause the lady next door to my friend always gave out about 1/4 pound of her boxed homemade fudge to the kids she knew. Plus, if you went inside to show off your costume you got a piece to eat right away! Then we would work our way down Georgia to Van Dyke where we would go into all the stores to get the really good candy bars. Robert Hall, the clothing store, always gave out Hershey Bars. There was no such thing as mini candy bars in the mid to late 50s. Then we would travel up Marcus to Erwin, weaving our way down Marion back to Van Dyke and then up Badger Street and work our way through Fisher, and finally to my street.

Then we'd get home and dump it all out on the kitchen table to sort. Anything chocolate in one pile, hard candies in another, apples & oranges went into the fruit bowl, no worries about them "back in the day" - popcorn balls were put aside for munching on when we watched TV. We had so much stuff, it would last till Easter.

When I stayed home to hand out treats, I always dressed up. And was always something scary. One year I had this monster mask and a black hooded cloak that I wore. One sassy, and lone teenaged boy came on the porch hollering "trick or treat" - I opened the door real fast and when he saw me - Oh the look of total terror on his face. He turned and ran off the porch. I don't think his feet hit the stairs, he was at the fence in no time, and running down the street screaming and waving his arms. He never did get the excellent treat I was about to drop in his sack!

[tahleel]

I remember all the tainted candy scares of the 70s and how some police stations would use an x-ray machine rather than a metal detector to scan the candy. Looking back, it's kind of a funny thought-We'll expose your candy to radiation to make sure there's no metal in it.

Almost as bad as exposing your children to harmful radiation to have fitting shoes.

http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/s...fluor/shoe.htm

-Tahleel

[birwood]

We used to head out Trick or Treating as soon as it started to get dark covering an area from Meyers to Wyoming and from Schoolcraft to Intervale. I still remember what businesses gave out the best loot, Hank & Pauls Standard Station on Schoolcraft, Al Pisa Drugs, Safer Drug, Tower Bowling Alley, the Kendall Bar at Meyers and Kendall. The Superior Potatoe Chip Factory at Birwood & Intervale would give out bags of chips by the box if you got there around 8:30, they were getting ready to go home and Bond Bakery would give out boxes of little baby donuts. For some reason not a lot of kids would venture that side of Intervale cause it was all factorys. Devils Nite was always a blast, the nuns we had at St. Brigids would always load us down with homework to keep us in...didn't want us doing the Devils Work... but we always crammed as soon as we got home from school, and we were always ready to head out about 6:30, with Harmless Fun..soaping windows.. building barricades across Kendal with trash cans from the alley...ringing the Convent Door Bell [[ Pay Back)... ringing door bells...ambushing the kids from the other side of Wyoming with eggs or tomatoes. When I was in High School, several of us about 1030 at night, and did take a neighbors VW and lift and turn it side way between the houses...the guy was a prof at WSU...his kids could do no wrong and he was perfect according to him, a real pain in the ass type of neighbor, alway complaining about other kids. The next morning was I was leaving for school, a scout car from No. 14 was taking a report and as I was walking toward Wyoming they passed and the officer driving smiled and shook his head...funny how you remember stuff like that from 45 yrs ago.

[swiburn]

My first Halloween Trick or Treat was about l954-a bit older than most of the responses here. It was on Field Street between Vernor and Kercheval. I was an Indian girl and we went out for candy in the neighborhood.
And on rainy days It would sit in my room and read "Child's Garden of Verses" and look out on Vernor and the rain on the street. Very good memories.

[mtm49269]

I guess that I'm lucky that my old neighborhood, still in Detroit, is pretty much as it was. Dad, at 88, can't give out candy any more but he's still pretty safe.

There was a housing project a few blocks away and, when he would run out of candy, Dad would give out five pennies wrapped together with tape. Kids from the projects always seemed especially grateful for those - more than candy. And we never got tp'd or anything like that which I always though was retribution for not giving good stuf.

[bobby wobby]

We grew up in the 50s and 60s in the Plymouth rd and Evergreen area Halloween was fantastic! Patton street was lined with lit railroad fuses [[the kind cops use on freeways} lighting up the street, We went door to door shouting "HELP THE POOR" never trick or treat ,costumes were basic you where either a hobo or a beatnik you stayed out till the porch lights went out usually around 9 pm .We used a pillow case to hold our candy.

[Maxine1958]

I grew up in the Gratiot/Conner area on the east side of Detroit. My Mom would always have a decorated carved pumpkin on our porch. Many of those years the pumpkin was decorated to match whatever my costume was. It was good to be an only child. LOL

As I recall, many years my Mom would take me and two of my cousins out. We would hit my neighborhood for a few blocks/streets, my cousins neighborhood, a few blocks/streets around my parents store, right there on the corner of Gratiot & Conner, and a few blocks/streets around my grandparents house. Then we would all end up at my grandparents house to dump, sort and trade our loot. No worries about anything in the candy or other 'home made' treats we collected. My Grandpa would always collect what he called 'the house's share' since we were using his house to divide and conquure all that candy.

As a matter of fact, many of the houses we went to would be all decorated inside. We would walk through those houses with no fear at all. My Mom would chat with the housewife and we three would explore all the cool decorations inside. Then on to the next house for more loot!

So many great memories of that time. I could go on and on.

[Sludgedaddy]

Ray 1936....You might get a chuckle out of this...Around the mid 1960's I was no angel on Devil's Night. Collected a bunch of jack-o-lanterns and lit them across Van Dyke near Forestlawn Cemetery. Detroit's Finest put my 14 yr. old punk ass in the back of the squad car and took me home to my folks. Upon seeing the officers, my Dad took off his belt, and the cops told my Pop, "Guess our job is done here". My butt glowed like a pumpkin with a railroad flare inside it for about a week therafter.

[shirlselects]

Trick or treat was Help the Poor! Don't know when kids started saying Trick or Treat. It was fun going in to the Greenwood Theater on Hamilton because they let you in free. We would stay for a few minutes that come back out and get more goodies. Mostly though, we seemed to get a lot of apples. Maybe it cheaper then candy.

[MrJones]

Times are WAY different from when many of us were kids. Candy was a treat that you didn't have at will like now. Candy was rationed and scarce and I hardly ever had more than I could eat all at once except at Halloween and Easter.
Several years ago I was in my son's room and he had a big bowl with candy in it. When I asked him where the candy came from, he said it's from Halloween. This was in like January. Mine barely made it two weeks from Halloween.
Now the kids order it online and have it shipped to the house with their tooth-fairy money! [Joke]

[Slipkid]

Rosedale Park.....our best night we stayed out to about 11pm...did the neighborhood around Grandland

[reddog289]

Though I grew up in Garden City, My best treats came from the Grandparents in Detroit. Big candy bars and quarters.
But I can think back to when my Dad would take me trick or treating. My Dad walked with crutches and on Halloween he would take me to get candy. I started out with "Help the poor" which after a few years gave way to Trick or Treat.
My Dad was a former reserve cop and he had to inspect the candy which of couse was the big deal in the 70's and all that. Guess I need to take this to the STATION. That ment it was going to the basement where he would eat it.
This would be a " traditon" for him till he passed when I was 13.
But the biggest "scam" was when I was 5. Not only did my Dad get his cut, So did my cousins who had recently moved to Pinckney. It was "Oh they live out in the country, with no houses by to Trick or Treat". So once again, Many hands dipped into the pillow case.
Best Halloweens were taking my younger cousin out.By then I had my car and I was young enough to still go BEGGIN. I would hide my candy in the car TILL I sorted it. Then take it into the house where my Mom and StepDad would pick through it.
This is actully the first year I can hand out treats at my own house. I am looking forward to it. My yard ain't the scariest or most lit, Yet I hope in time I can build on It. So however you celebrate and whatever you do have a Happy Halloween.

[sumas]

Have great memories of Halloween. I think it sad that it seems to have been co opted by adults. We have piles of candy but the weather today will possibly cut down on the kids we see.

When I was a kid we would say "Help the poor, my britches are tore, give me some money, I'll buy some more".

Not lots of kids in our neighborhood. Kids are trucked in by bus loads. Neighbors are generous. I just hope the kids that come here for treats appreciate the basic kindness towards our youth.

I particulately like the very little ones in costume. I really dislike adults who claim they are collecting for ill children at home.