Trick or Treat

When I was a girl, October meant the end of the harvest season.  It also meant there'd be big Hubbard and Banana squash roasting in Mother's wood-stove and pots of soup as the weather cooled.  It wasn't unusual to have the first snow fall sometime during the month.  For Halloween, there were church and school parties.  My mother was always involved, if her health permitted it.

My brothers could probably tell some stories of Halloween tricks and pranks they've been a part of but by the time I came along, the day was more about the treats and the costumes.

Mother liked to re-tell her stories about how she helped my siblings--six of them--get dressed up to go to the Halloween party.  I remember a few ward family affairs.  There was always tons of food, lots of homemade treats, a program, dancing and a spooky alley to pass through.  But before my time, as Mother would tell her story, she made some excuse about not going to the party with her family.  After her kids had left our house, she would rat up her natural curly hair to greatly increase the volume, take out her false teeth, put on her worn-out duds, apply a bit of make-up in all the right places and tune up her best cackle, then slip into the crowd, unannounced.  Sometimes, she'd been ask by the party planners to assume the role of an old witch.  Other times, she would be a fortune teller and work the crowd.  As the party wound down, Mother would slip out silently into the night.  As the family returned home, they'd tell her what a good time she had missed.  Her kids had not recognized their own mother at the party!

Halloween was a fun time when I was a kid.  We didn't give thought to or dwell on its history.  It was a time to get dressed up silly in whatever you could find at home.  We didn't buy costumes or special masks.  We used our mother's lipstick if she had any.  And we weren't afraid of our neighbors.  We could have eaten anything they gave us.  If we had any candy, we could have eaten as much as we wanted without having it X-rayed.  If we made ourselves sick?  Well, there was a remedy for that, too.  And you didn't get to miss school or get out of doing your chores, either!  When Mother and I moved off the farm up into greater downtown Weston, we had kids come to the door.  We didn't buy candy to hand out but she always had a pot of chili or soup or hot chocolate made and maybe homemade donuts or her molasses taffy, popcorn balls or raisin-filled cookies.  Before they could enjoy a treat, Mother insisted on a "trick"!  That to her meant, "Tell me a joke, sing me a song, recite a poem, do a little dance."  Then they got their treat.

Going house to house has never been my thing.  My kids were not allowed to roam neighborhoods with pillow cases to beg or cause a commotion.  We were busy with church and school parties.  Sometimes, a friend would host a home party, as the kids got older.  We did visit homes of close friends or nearby neighbors.  I often went in costume, too.  On one such occasion, I remodeled Todd's old astronaut costume to fit me, attached a couple of pointed ears to my own, donned a bald cap and joined my costumed kids on Bessie Wegman's front porch.  She co-owned Simmy's Flower Shop. Please Don't Send Me Flowers Anymore    We rang the doorbell.  Bessie answered.  As she turned her back to us to retrieve her candy bowl, I could hear her muttering, "I don't mind the little kids but when the BIG kids come to the door.....".  She didn't realize we could hear her every word and this made me laugh.  She whirled around, recognizing my voice.  I had fooled her, big-time, and it was great!

Todd was a showman from day one.  He loved to be costumed.  He loved the make-up.  He loved a little gimmick, if I could come up with one.  He loved magic and had a kid's starter set of props so of course, I made him a magician's costume, complete with a fabulous cape with red lining.  At his elementary school, it was custom to form a parade, starting the lineup in one classroom, adding the next and the next, ending in a parade around the gym before returning to their rooms for class parties.  Todd had perfected one trick, as a first grader, I think it was.  Oh, he worked the room when the parading was done, using his cape, removing his white gloves, one finger at a time, making sure everyone appreciated his top hat and wand.  Then he performed the 'Broken Toothpick Magically Made Whole Again' slight of hand...perfectly!

Jenn was such a charmer that in any costume I created for her, she looked just so cute.  Her witch costume, for example, was made from Mother's quilting scraps--bright yellow with black pock-a-dots and black silky something.  I made her a hat, added springs of real wheat and perched a wee birdie in the bow.  By adding a tiny cape, a little apron and a smaller-than-kid-sized broom, she was Jenn-Jenn, the adorable!  She got to go to all Todd's class parties because I room-mothered, his first few years of  elementary school.  She was quite the crowd-pleaser and often, to her brother's dismay, stole the show.

Frank carved the best pumpkins!  Although he traveled often, if he was at home near Halloween, I could count on a masterpiece.  I kept those until the pumpkin flesh fell in on itself and had grown a whole other Eco system inside--just too artsy to toss sooner.

My grandkids have submitted themselves to years of costuming, too.  That has been great fun, to do them as a group theme, as in Toy Story, Popeye, George of the Jungle, A Bug's Life, King Arthur's Court, The Peanut's Gang, to name a few.  Morgan's Face Book Page costume she made for herself drew lots of attention as did Topher's creepy clown.  He also created quite a stir, as a blond.  Jessi loved being a princess.  Zach, what was your favorite?  Gage loved being a Transformer.  He has loved whatever his costume was, every year, I think.  Max was the cutest elephant when he was little but I hear he has moved on to Captain America, for this year.  

Todd and his wife, Lisa created haunting scenes and alleys at their house that became a tradition in their neighborhood for a time.  The kids had fun acting out roles in these dramas.  It was 'Lights, Cue Sound Effects, Action', for days leading up to Halloween, then food for all who stopped by, once they had been sufficiently scared and dared to come to the themed eats and drink table.

Tom, Jenn's husband, a real pro when it comes to house decoration for holidays, has made such fun for their boys and the rest of us with his special lighting and effects.  And you know if you are at Jenn's, she is gonna feed you well.  As our family outgrew my house, the Bailies hosted our annual 'Halloween Cookie Bake and Decorate', and the 'Great Pumpkin Carving' event.  When you get a dozen or more grownups and kids wielding carving tools, it's quite a party!

Because I hadn't changed my mind about kids out scavenging neighborhoods on Halloween, making pinatas in the weeks before the holiday, to be enjoyed on that day, became an almost annual tradition.  After attending school and church parties, the whole lot of us--parents, steps, grands, aunties and uncs and wannabes--would party at home, the grandkids breaking open the pinatas, the adults hoping to score some of that candy, and everyone enjoying homemade caramel apples and popcorn balls.

Todd and Jenn may remember making pumpkin candles as kids.  I haven't tried that with the grandkids.  Nor have I pulled taffy with them as I did with my mother at this time of the year.   Still, we've had a lot of fun, made lots of memories, continued old traditions, and established new ones.  I love traditions.  They are a big part of who I am.