By Linda Manning
Halloween hasn’t changed much through the years, just the way we celebrate it. Kids have safe places they can go to, like church or school parties, the big malls, or even house parties. Places where they can have fun. It’s imperative for parents to be with them if they are going house-to-house these days.
It wasn’t like that when I was a kid. We’d roam all over the neighborhood and not worry. Mom would go with us if there was a younger sibling in the group. Most of the time we didn’t have store bought costumes. She would make them and we’d have cheap masks, or she’d do makeup. She could sew up some pretty neat costumes! We’d have a great time going door-to-door saying “trick or treat”. Greedily eyeing all that went into our bags.
When we got home, Mom would put a slight damper on our expectations of what we could eat. She’d have us dump our bags onto the kitchen table in front of ourselves, then tell us to take a couple of small pieces or one big one. Of course, being kids, we’d go for the big, like an Oh Henry bar or Hershey bar if we had one. She’d then take charge of it all and dole it out a little at a time until it was all gone. I’m sure she and dad had a piece or two themselves.
Putting on a costume is fun. When I worked for Goodwill, we’d wear costumes on Halloween every year. My favorite year was being a bag lady. Everyone said I looked just like the ones you see on the street. I messed my hair all up so it hung stringy down around my face and wore an old felt beat up hat. Old men’s pants under a raggedy dress, an old moth-eaten sweater, and a pair of old shoes. I put on makeup to make me look old and didn’t wear my dentures!
I have some good memories of Halloween. My most cherished; however, is marrying my husband Karl. We didn’t have a formal wedding. Neither of us wanted that. Instead, we went to Morrison, Colorado, a tiny town along the western foothills. Morrison is well known for its famous red rocks amphitheater, all carved out of red sandstone. Many famous concerts were held there (still are) including the Beatles and John Denver. Easter sunrise services were held every year as well. Being the seating faces east, there could be some spectacular sunrises.
We were married by a justice of the peace, last name Sawyer. Mr. and Mrs. Nutt stood up for us. He was William, she Pearl, but their nicknames were Walnut and Peanut, friends who owned a little resort (cabins and all) up Bear Creek Canyon where we later stayed the night. It was always a family joke that we got married on Halloween and a couple of nuts attended our marriage vows. My parents thought we were nuts too, so I guess there was at least four nuts in town!
After getting hitched, we were shivareed down main street. Karl had to put me in a wheelbarrow and push me as fast as he dared to go, with everyone hooting and hollering from the side lines in a good-natured manner. Then the party started! Lots of food, drinks and dancing. Seems everyone in town was celebrating Halloween and our marriage to boot. What a day; what a night! You’d thought we were at the Mardi Gras.
Karl and I were married forty-six and a half years before he passed away after a long, hard fight with cancer and COPD. On that long-ago date of October 31, 1955, he was my “trick or treat”. My bag full of wonderful memories!
Lakewood, Washington 9/26/2018
