The kids had a Halloween deal down at the Dance Studio last night and it got me remembering Halloween's in Alpine growing up. When I was young, I didn't care much for trick or treating because there were no street lights, houses were scattered along our street and it was really dark. But as we got older we covered some serious territory, walking up Main Street, over Cemetary Hill and over into the center of town... I can remember how I hated trick or treating to the Hegorhorst house (later would be Despains up on Main Street)... but you would say "Trick or Treat" and they would let you in the house and then say, "You have to do a trick before you get a treat." I think they made me sing once. Hated going there, but candy was at a premium in those days so you took your lumps to get the goods!!
And I always used to get ticked off and wonder why I kept going back to the May's house (next to Reicherts over by the Elementary School)... they always gave out Apples and I felt like I got totally robbed when people would give out Apples. Funny thing is years later, when I was in college a fellow Alpiner complained about the May's handing out apples too, so it wasn't just me.
I remember one year we made it clear over to Bobby and Ethyl Bennett's house trick or treating and that was uh... interesting. (Serious diplomacy and restraint being shown here)
But trick or treating in Alpine back in the good 'ol days, and what about Elzira's Spook Alley every year down on the corner? And the "urban legend" back then was that people would put razor blades in Apples and hand them out on Halloween, so we were always looking out for hidden razor blades. LOL
Thinking back, a number of people in that town didn't really even need a costume for Halloween, they could have just walked around like normal and it would have been a great costume. Wasn't it on Halloween that Gordon Taylor and Kim Turner were scaring everyone with the giant Pig Man? Or maybe not...
But I sure logged some miles on my feet trick or treating in that town growing up. One year we somehow ended up clear up on Grove Drive hitting all the Pack's houses. We were apparently very desperate for candy back then!!! -Brent
3 comments:
I remember Pitchers gave out full size candy bars, which at that time seemed like giving away $20 bills. Kids would change their costumes and go back to their house for another round. I also remember a few years when Mom tried out some new experimental extra healthy food for dinner, knowing that she had leverage over us on Halloween night like no other. We all knew that no dinner meant no trick or treating--truly some tough love!
Halloween was yet another time when the older kids engaged in some serious "trading" of candy with the younger kids. I use the word "trading" loosely, because the words "highway robbery" or "pilfering" seem a bit strong for a family blog.
Highway robbery? I call it shrewd business! LOL
As for Halloween, my favorite memories was grabbing Patterson's Green Machine and "cleaning up the neighbor's pumpkins." Unfortunately, the pumpkins always seemed to find their way onto some poor sap's lawn. Interestingly, the pumpkins seemed to self destruct into thousands of smaller pieces...btw, where is that old machete we had stashed in the hall closet?
I remember Waldo telling me about his posse on a search and destroy mission for pumpkins... and they found a HUGE one and Danny Broadbent and someone else got in the truck, and they did a speedy drive by at maybe Mike and Clista Pennies house... threw the pumpkin at the mailbox and it was so big, it ripped the entire mailbox, post and all, right out of the ground. I still laugh thinking about that. LOL
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