Happy Halloween!

Image via Wikipedia

Do you remember Halloween when you were a kid?

We used to wear our costumes to school and have parties to celebrate the fun day.

I tried to think of the earliest Halloween I could. It was when we lived in The Ford, way back in the day. I remember a party we had at my grandparents’ house when we all wore costumes, but I probably only remember that because of the picture of me and all my cousins in costumes. (It had to be a big picture to get all those cousins in.) 

The first one I remember for sure is the one right after we moved to C-Town. Sister Debbie and I were so excited to go trick-or-treating in our new Small Town World. And the best part was, our friends, Janie and Sally, were coming to trick-or-treat with us.

We got dressed and waited for them. It seemed as if they were never going to get there, so Mom let us go next door to trick-or-treat our neighbors, Tom and Jane.

Debbie dressed up as Minnie Mouse, with official (Minnie Mouse ears and everything!) and I dressed up as a witch. (My kids would tell you that was prophetic. Bwa-ha-ha-ha!) We took our t-0r-t bags and trailed up the small hill to the neighbors and rang the bell.

Tom was tall and slender with only a small rim of hair on his head. It seems he always had a funny tale to tell, and even if he wasn’t telling something funny, he had laughter in his voice, just saying hello. And Jane was one of the sweetest women I’d ever met. (Most women were sweet back then, come to think of it.)

They took us inside, took our pictures, talked to us a little, then let us choose something for our treat bags. I don’t really remember the treat. I do remember that they made us glad we rang their doorbell.

We wandered back home to watch out our big picture window while we waited for Janie and Sally. Finally, their car pulled up in front of our house. Then another car pulled up behind them. And another, and another, until a whole line of cars was there.

Mom and Dad’s friends from The Ford had come to C-Town to give them a surprise house-warming. Our new house, which had been empty and lonely just a few days before when we moved in, was filled with warmth and light because the great people from The Ford took their Halloween night to share their love with us.

I don’t remember if there was anything to eat or gifts, but I remember a bunch of people in our house and being very glad that C-Town really wasn’t that far from home at all.

Did you trick-or-treat as a kid? What’s the earliest Halloween you remember?