Halloween in the old days

By "old days" I'm talking about the 1930s-40s when I was a kid in Chicago.

Halloween was about costumes and candy, just like is is today, but we had something called "Beggars' Night" where we would go from door to door in the neighborhood in raggedy clothing and beg for candy and other treats. Halloween night was the night for haunted houses and dressing up in the traditional pirate and witch costumes. These two events eventually joined together and became Trick or Treat.

After making the rounds and collecting goodies in our big grocery sacks...
we landed at a designated party house at which the parents took turns hosting with planned games and music.

We were closely monitored on our Trick or Treat rounds and instructed to only go to homes where we knew we would be welcomed.

We were told not to bother with the elderly neighbors, but they were the ones who were the most fun. Some of our older neighbors would dress up in costumes and had the best treats and were disappointed if we didn't show up.

As is the practice today we had an adult--older sibling or parent--to accompany us on our candy gathering journey through the neighborhood.

When my kids were old enough to participate in the annual sugar consuming fest I was surprised by visits from kids who took loaded pillowcases full of treats back to sleek Cadillacs and other pricey cars and yell: "Mom! I need another pillowcase. This one's full and too heavy!" These were kids from other neighborhoods!

I began to be more selective about treats I handed out when it was obvious these trickers were from areas across town. It's really sad that children were being taught by their elders that it was okay to hoard. Halloween has become big business when you see the giant displays of candy and decorations at the big stores. Gone are the days of baking homemade treats for your neighbor's kids because of the danger of razor blades and needles being included in their sack full of goodies.

I remember a kindly old grocer in my neighborhood when I was about eight who handed out bars of soap we could use to draw on his big windows. He let us know a bigger treat would go to the kids who came back next day and clean the windows. That was even more fun than wandering around on dark streets the night before!

Halloween…just sayin'