Growing up as a kid in a big city had its merits, especially on Halloween. Back then it was fun. Just pure and simple fun. We used our imagination and carved pumpkins without stencils or directions, made scarecrows using dad’s old clothes stuffing them with fallen leaves, and created our own costumes from stuff we found in closets, the cellar and the attic and borrowed a lot of mom’s make up. We loved to get scared too! Those Saturday Creature Features on TV hosted by Dr. Paul Bearer were enough to give us goose bumps for a month. Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Werewolf, you name it, we had to watch them all and get the heck scared out of us. Our Halloween heros were Bella Lagosi, Lon Chaney and Vincent Price. If there was a haunted house around, we were there. If we weren’t at a Halloween party, we were hosting one. Halloween season was a great event.
“Whatchagonnabe?” “Whatchagonnabe?” was the all time question of the month. We could never sit still during class when that day arrived, so the nuns at St. Peters let us have a little Halloween party before we went home. We were so excited waiting for school to let out so we could hurry home and get ready; but before the dismissal bell rang, we knew who was coming to visit the class. The Monsignor himself, in the flesh. He was going class by class giving us annual talk. He was every bit of no-nonsense large bodied 6’3 icon and nary a smile did he share in all of my years at St. Peters grades 1 through 8. He would be accompanied by, oh no…….Mother Superior. Help. We’re doomed. So here they came in their usual timely manor. We shuttered in horror as we could hear the approaching pounding of his footsteps coming to our classroom door; As he entered the classroom in front of Mother S. we all stood up at attention scared straight like a board was shoved up our spines, and in unison in our sing songy voices, the class belted out “Good Afternoon Monsignor;” and “Good Afternoon Mother Superior.” He would nod, then order us to take our seats by his hand motions. Gosh, that was always so tense. Our knees clamored together shaking out of control as we sweated bullets awaiting the annual announcement. In his loud and commanding deep voice he gave us our instructions: “There will be NO soaping and toilet papering of the convent or rectory. Anyone caught doing so will pay the penalty. Be at the rectory for your treats before 8:00 o’clock. Next, Mother Superior’s turn: “Anyone caught dressing up as a nun or a priest will do ten thousand Our Fathers and one million Hail Mary’s on your knees for the rest of the year every day after school. Now, go home and have a very fun night.”
They did not have to warn us twice! Yep, we got it! No way will we be disobeying the rules or mess around with toilet paper and soap. Let the public school kids do it and get caught and hang for their crimes, but nope, not us, no way, no how.
The bell rang and the nuns bid us a happy night, reminding us to stop at the convent for goodies so they could enjoy seeing us in costume. They were as excited as we were. We rushed home as fast as we could and got into our costumes, too excited to eat dinner and waited for dusk. Our parents reviewed what streets they wanted us to stay on and we agreed not to stray into another part of the city, and be home promptly at 9:00. It was time to hit the streets. Big brother and I were off.
We met a lot of ghosts and goblins and scary monsters along the way and we loved seeing so many great costumes. Most of them were home-made by our moms and very creative. We walked the streets in the neighborhood catching up with our friends going door to door at every house that had a light on or a jack-o-lantern lit. “Trick or Treat” were the magic words we said and plop, there went candy in our bag. Each group had a big brother or big sister with them for safety, maybe a parent here and there, and there were no big problems on our jaunt, just fun. My big brother was big enough to be a safety net to a whole army of kids so our group was huge. Our trek would not be complete without scaling over the stone walls and running through Mountain Grove Cemetary looking for ghosts. That was the cemetery where Tom Thumb and his wife Lavinia Warren were buried and local legend insisted they came up to see the kids pass by their plot on Halloween. We were certain we saw them.
We knew we had to make our way over to the convent and rectory before 8:00 PM their shut down time so onward we paraded on our school route about a mile from our homes. The front porch lights were on glaring at the rectory and the convent across the street. The rectory wasn’t much fun because let’s face it, we were terrified to run into the Monsignor; but when we heard that nice smiling Father Pratley was in charge of handing out the candy, we were there. The nuns invited us into their parlor were happy to see us. They were so kind and it was great to see them laughing and admiring our costumes and they had some really good candy to give out too. That was the only time any of us ever got inside to see the convent so we starred at all their furnishings and hoped to get a glimpse of a nun not wearing her habit, but that didn’t happen. We thought for years they had wheels under those long black habits instead of legs and we needed proof, but that’s a whole nuther story.
Back home with our bags brimming with candy, big brother and I dumped our bags out all over the floor and began to make trades; tootsie rolls for Bazooka Bubble Gum was always good trade; then we stuffed ourselves silly until mom and dad said that was enough and time for bed. It was good night. Halloween was over that fast.
The next morning we walked our usual trek to school through the streets; down Poplar St., right on Maplewood Ave, left on Colorado Ave, right on Beechwood, until we approached school again. The convent and rectory were on both sides of the school and oh what did we see?????? Toilet paper on every bush, tree, shrub, blade of grass on the convent and rectory both. Soap on Monsignor’s car windows and on the nun-mobile. Oh man…….oh man, oh man, oh man, what a mess…….some one is going to get hung up by their shorts for that big time. Some one is in the biggest trouble you’d ever could imagine. Oh man. We did not do it. Nope, wasn’t us. It just was not one of us. No student of St. Peter’s could ever do that. Had to be those public school kids who were rowdy as heck cause they have a lot more guts than we do.
On November 1st, the students attended morning mass before school as we did every school day. Then we silently marched single file through the courtyard to the classrooms gazing at the wonderment of the toilet paper flowing in the breeze. White, yellow, blue, and even light green toilet paper was used! We arrived at our classrooms and were scared to death knowing what was coming next. Every single student had their nervous knees trembling and their sweat glands working over time. And so it came to pass, the great inquisition began. Beginning with the 1st graders, one by one all day long, each and every student reported to the office and sat on a stiff black leather chair big enough to swallow up a kid and make us girls with jumpers stick to it by the back of our now drenched in sweat scared stiff legs. We were all interrogated by Mother Superior and Monsignor to see if anyone knew who defaced the convent and rectory and the cars. And when they said they would find out who did it, they meant it because they always got their man. They were hopeful someone was going to rat fink on somebody; a little brother or sister would surely spill the beans on their older siblings. Finally, as it was every year, a few 8th graders were found guilty and forced to confess their sins on their knees, while the rest of us giggled and smirked under our breaths. I’ll bet they couldn’t sit down for a week.
“All Hallows Eve” is in fact a combination of pagan and Christian celebrations of past centurys. It it the night before All Saints Day, a day celebrated in the Catholic faith to honor the Saints on November 1st, and it was also set to replace a Roman pagan celebration of the dead. In the British Isles, November 1st was also a celebration of the walking dead which included lighting bonfires, and leaving food rewards to those wearing costumes. So, once this mixture of celebrations was grouped together, it spiraled from there and took on a life of it’s own, now called Halloween. But to me, it was always just an innocent night of kids getting dressed up in costume promising a little trick if we didn’t receive a candy treat.
Today, unfortunately it is no longer like that and many tend to ignore it and maybe with good reason. In my childhood, the monsters were fiction unlike many real monsters at large now. There were no kidnappings; no crazy kids wheeling knives around or shooting each other, no muggings and candy laced with drugs or pins stuck inside of candy bars. We did not take our candy to the hospital for X rays which were unheard of and yes, we went to houses where we did not know the people and we were not drug in their foyer and raped, thrown down the cellar and killed. We didn’t vandalize and use spray paint and paint ball guns and cause severe and permanent damage to property either.
Here’s a few little tips for those of you planning a great Halloween night:
Eat dinner before you leave so you don’t fill up on candy all night.
Make sure your costume allows you to see and breathe easily.
Map out your route ahead of time so you will know exactly which way your kids went.
Stay away from alleys and dark un-populated places.
Travel in groups. An adult should be in every group.
Only go to houses with lights on that obviously is welcoming trick or treaters.
Bring a glow stick or flashlight.
Wear a watch with an alarm so you will know what time you need to start back home.
Be careful you don’t knock over a candle lit pumpkin on someone’s porch and start a fire.
Remember your manners and always say “Thank You”
Happy Halloween
From the Mountain
“Whatchagonnabe?” “Whatchagonnabe?” was the all time question of the month. We could never sit still during class when that day arrived, so the nuns at St. Peters let us have a little Halloween party before we went home. We were so excited waiting for school to let out so we could hurry home and get ready; but before the dismissal bell rang, we knew who was coming to visit the class. The Monsignor himself, in the flesh. He was going class by class giving us annual talk. He was every bit of no-nonsense large bodied 6’3 icon and nary a smile did he share in all of my years at St. Peters grades 1 through 8. He would be accompanied by, oh no…….Mother Superior. Help. We’re doomed. So here they came in their usual timely manor. We shuttered in horror as we could hear the approaching pounding of his footsteps coming to our classroom door; As he entered the classroom in front of Mother S. we all stood up at attention scared straight like a board was shoved up our spines, and in unison in our sing songy voices, the class belted out “Good Afternoon Monsignor;” and “Good Afternoon Mother Superior.” He would nod, then order us to take our seats by his hand motions. Gosh, that was always so tense. Our knees clamored together shaking out of control as we sweated bullets awaiting the annual announcement. In his loud and commanding deep voice he gave us our instructions: “There will be NO soaping and toilet papering of the convent or rectory. Anyone caught doing so will pay the penalty. Be at the rectory for your treats before 8:00 o’clock. Next, Mother Superior’s turn: “Anyone caught dressing up as a nun or a priest will do ten thousand Our Fathers and one million Hail Mary’s on your knees for the rest of the year every day after school. Now, go home and have a very fun night.”
They did not have to warn us twice! Yep, we got it! No way will we be disobeying the rules or mess around with toilet paper and soap. Let the public school kids do it and get caught and hang for their crimes, but nope, not us, no way, no how.
The bell rang and the nuns bid us a happy night, reminding us to stop at the convent for goodies so they could enjoy seeing us in costume. They were as excited as we were. We rushed home as fast as we could and got into our costumes, too excited to eat dinner and waited for dusk. Our parents reviewed what streets they wanted us to stay on and we agreed not to stray into another part of the city, and be home promptly at 9:00. It was time to hit the streets. Big brother and I were off.
We met a lot of ghosts and goblins and scary monsters along the way and we loved seeing so many great costumes. Most of them were home-made by our moms and very creative. We walked the streets in the neighborhood catching up with our friends going door to door at every house that had a light on or a jack-o-lantern lit. “Trick or Treat” were the magic words we said and plop, there went candy in our bag. Each group had a big brother or big sister with them for safety, maybe a parent here and there, and there were no big problems on our jaunt, just fun. My big brother was big enough to be a safety net to a whole army of kids so our group was huge. Our trek would not be complete without scaling over the stone walls and running through Mountain Grove Cemetary looking for ghosts. That was the cemetery where Tom Thumb and his wife Lavinia Warren were buried and local legend insisted they came up to see the kids pass by their plot on Halloween. We were certain we saw them.
We knew we had to make our way over to the convent and rectory before 8:00 PM their shut down time so onward we paraded on our school route about a mile from our homes. The front porch lights were on glaring at the rectory and the convent across the street. The rectory wasn’t much fun because let’s face it, we were terrified to run into the Monsignor; but when we heard that nice smiling Father Pratley was in charge of handing out the candy, we were there. The nuns invited us into their parlor were happy to see us. They were so kind and it was great to see them laughing and admiring our costumes and they had some really good candy to give out too. That was the only time any of us ever got inside to see the convent so we starred at all their furnishings and hoped to get a glimpse of a nun not wearing her habit, but that didn’t happen. We thought for years they had wheels under those long black habits instead of legs and we needed proof, but that’s a whole nuther story.
Back home with our bags brimming with candy, big brother and I dumped our bags out all over the floor and began to make trades; tootsie rolls for Bazooka Bubble Gum was always good trade; then we stuffed ourselves silly until mom and dad said that was enough and time for bed. It was good night. Halloween was over that fast.
The next morning we walked our usual trek to school through the streets; down Poplar St., right on Maplewood Ave, left on Colorado Ave, right on Beechwood, until we approached school again. The convent and rectory were on both sides of the school and oh what did we see?????? Toilet paper on every bush, tree, shrub, blade of grass on the convent and rectory both. Soap on Monsignor’s car windows and on the nun-mobile. Oh man…….oh man, oh man, oh man, what a mess…….some one is going to get hung up by their shorts for that big time. Some one is in the biggest trouble you’d ever could imagine. Oh man. We did not do it. Nope, wasn’t us. It just was not one of us. No student of St. Peter’s could ever do that. Had to be those public school kids who were rowdy as heck cause they have a lot more guts than we do.
On November 1st, the students attended morning mass before school as we did every school day. Then we silently marched single file through the courtyard to the classrooms gazing at the wonderment of the toilet paper flowing in the breeze. White, yellow, blue, and even light green toilet paper was used! We arrived at our classrooms and were scared to death knowing what was coming next. Every single student had their nervous knees trembling and their sweat glands working over time. And so it came to pass, the great inquisition began. Beginning with the 1st graders, one by one all day long, each and every student reported to the office and sat on a stiff black leather chair big enough to swallow up a kid and make us girls with jumpers stick to it by the back of our now drenched in sweat scared stiff legs. We were all interrogated by Mother Superior and Monsignor to see if anyone knew who defaced the convent and rectory and the cars. And when they said they would find out who did it, they meant it because they always got their man. They were hopeful someone was going to rat fink on somebody; a little brother or sister would surely spill the beans on their older siblings. Finally, as it was every year, a few 8th graders were found guilty and forced to confess their sins on their knees, while the rest of us giggled and smirked under our breaths. I’ll bet they couldn’t sit down for a week.
“All Hallows Eve” is in fact a combination of pagan and Christian celebrations of past centurys. It it the night before All Saints Day, a day celebrated in the Catholic faith to honor the Saints on November 1st, and it was also set to replace a Roman pagan celebration of the dead. In the British Isles, November 1st was also a celebration of the walking dead which included lighting bonfires, and leaving food rewards to those wearing costumes. So, once this mixture of celebrations was grouped together, it spiraled from there and took on a life of it’s own, now called Halloween. But to me, it was always just an innocent night of kids getting dressed up in costume promising a little trick if we didn’t receive a candy treat.
Today, unfortunately it is no longer like that and many tend to ignore it and maybe with good reason. In my childhood, the monsters were fiction unlike many real monsters at large now. There were no kidnappings; no crazy kids wheeling knives around or shooting each other, no muggings and candy laced with drugs or pins stuck inside of candy bars. We did not take our candy to the hospital for X rays which were unheard of and yes, we went to houses where we did not know the people and we were not drug in their foyer and raped, thrown down the cellar and killed. We didn’t vandalize and use spray paint and paint ball guns and cause severe and permanent damage to property either.
Here’s a few little tips for those of you planning a great Halloween night:
Eat dinner before you leave so you don’t fill up on candy all night.
Make sure your costume allows you to see and breathe easily.
Map out your route ahead of time so you will know exactly which way your kids went.
Stay away from alleys and dark un-populated places.
Travel in groups. An adult should be in every group.
Only go to houses with lights on that obviously is welcoming trick or treaters.
Bring a glow stick or flashlight.
Wear a watch with an alarm so you will know what time you need to start back home.
Be careful you don’t knock over a candle lit pumpkin on someone’s porch and start a fire.
Remember your manners and always say “Thank You”
Happy Halloween
From the Mountain
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