I love Halloween. Always have. When I was a kid we lived in a rural community near Erick, Oklahoma, a small town of about 1,500 people. At that time, the late 1940s and 50s, there seemed to be a young family living on each quarter-section of land, a young farm family usually with 2 to 4 children. It was a good life and the proximity to Erick made it all the better.
Erick was our town. It was where we went to church and where our family and friends lived. It was where we went on Saturdays to sell cream and while we were there we visited with other farm families. Erick was a social gathering place.
Halloween was a special holiday in Erick. A block of Main Street, where the primary businesses were situated, was roped off and limited to foot traffic. The businesses all stayed open late and the various school classes set up booths on the street. It was all innocent fun, intended to provide something wholesome for the children who took over the town. It was a large number of children, all the kids in town and all the country kids who came to town for the carnival
For the kids, it was a glorious and innocent time. We dressed in costume, usually something we made with maybe a store-bought item such as a ten cent mask, and were there by the time the sun went down. We ran in small groups throughout the town to trick-or-treat every house we could find. I don’t remember ever leaving a house empty handed. We got some candy, some fruit, some homemade items. It was all special to us.
We worked a section of the town and then went to the carnival. We usually had just enough money given us to participate in some of the various booths. Then we would hit another section of town. Back to the carnival and then trick-or-treat each business. There was always another section of the town to go to. We could eventually cover the entire town and only slow down when someone asked if we hadn’t been there earlier. It was time to go back to Main Street. A half-block over was Cal’s Café, opened in 1946 after World War II had ended. Cal was my uncle and he was usually there. I don’t know what he gave the other kids, but he always gave me a soft drink and a sandwich, along with the candy.
Halloween was fun. Masks, costumes and stalking through the night. People were kind and sharing. There were enough respectful screams and terrified looks to keep us contented that we were doing our share to carry on the spirit of the holiday.
All of this was a great time. Why was it so good? In part it may have been because we had so little that this was a special time in which the cornucopia was exposed to our view. It would happen again at Thanksgiving, my very favorite holiday. Christmas, probably most people’s favorite, has a uniqueness all its own. It is a religious experience, not a secular holiday. Thanksgiving is a time of memories of family in the harvest time of the year, the great and joyous time of an agrarian society. Halloween, to me, was closely related to the season of harvest and it provides memories of community.
Erick was our town. It was where we went to church and where our family and friends lived. It was where we went on Saturdays to sell cream and while we were there we visited with other farm families. Erick was a social gathering place.
Halloween was a special holiday in Erick. A block of Main Street, where the primary businesses were situated, was roped off and limited to foot traffic. The businesses all stayed open late and the various school classes set up booths on the street. It was all innocent fun, intended to provide something wholesome for the children who took over the town. It was a large number of children, all the kids in town and all the country kids who came to town for the carnival
For the kids, it was a glorious and innocent time. We dressed in costume, usually something we made with maybe a store-bought item such as a ten cent mask, and were there by the time the sun went down. We ran in small groups throughout the town to trick-or-treat every house we could find. I don’t remember ever leaving a house empty handed. We got some candy, some fruit, some homemade items. It was all special to us.
We worked a section of the town and then went to the carnival. We usually had just enough money given us to participate in some of the various booths. Then we would hit another section of town. Back to the carnival and then trick-or-treat each business. There was always another section of the town to go to. We could eventually cover the entire town and only slow down when someone asked if we hadn’t been there earlier. It was time to go back to Main Street. A half-block over was Cal’s Café, opened in 1946 after World War II had ended. Cal was my uncle and he was usually there. I don’t know what he gave the other kids, but he always gave me a soft drink and a sandwich, along with the candy.
Halloween was fun. Masks, costumes and stalking through the night. People were kind and sharing. There were enough respectful screams and terrified looks to keep us contented that we were doing our share to carry on the spirit of the holiday.
All of this was a great time. Why was it so good? In part it may have been because we had so little that this was a special time in which the cornucopia was exposed to our view. It would happen again at Thanksgiving, my very favorite holiday. Christmas, probably most people’s favorite, has a uniqueness all its own. It is a religious experience, not a secular holiday. Thanksgiving is a time of memories of family in the harvest time of the year, the great and joyous time of an agrarian society. Halloween, to me, was closely related to the season of harvest and it provides memories of community.
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