October • 2010 • NEWSLETTER

##\keycode.leftcolumnhtml##

##\keycode.sidebarbookHTML##

Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,

##\keycode.DonorContentGiftSubHTML##

##\keycode.SubscriberContentHTML##

I’ve been meaning to tell folks that the best way to read your monthly newsletter is to view it online. Near the top of the newsletter above the Reminisce logo is the note, “Can’t View the images? Click here to see them.” Clicking on the link takes you to the online version. This makes it easier to return to the main newsletter after viewing larger images, the recipe and the trivia answer. Just a tip that I think will make your newsletter experience more enjoyable.

This month’s offerings focus on Halloween memories. Whether you went trick-or-treating before or after the arrival of store-bought costumes, we hope these stories and photos conjure up your own fun recollections.

As always, feel free to forward our newsletter on to a friend or family member. If this newsletter was forwarded to you and you’d like a copy of your own each month, just clink this link to sign up yourself.

—John Burlingham at Reminisce

##\keycode.pscopyhtml##

In this issue:

• Tricks, Treats and a Hated Adirondack Chair
• Picture from the Past
• Stirring Up Memories
• Time Capsule Trivia
• Over the Back Fence
• A Thought to Remember

Tricks, Treats and a Hated Adirondack Chair

By Lou Brierly
Columbia, South Carolina

It was the late 1930s, and a bright moon helped light the streets of our small village of Lonsdale, Rhode Island. The neighborhood was awash with witches, ghosts and kids dressed in their fathers’ old clothes with burnt cork on their faces.

Halloween wasn’t something we kids took lightly. I was almost 8, and my folks had asked a neighbor girl to go with me for trick-or-treating. She stayed just far enough behind me so my buddies would think I was alone.

It was a scary night. I bumped into a figure with a glowing skull where his face should have been, but then he whispered, “It’s me—Donny,” and I moved on.

Somehow word got around that the Balshaws were giving out nickel candy bars. That was treasure in those days, and kids were packed into the entryway trying to get theirs before the chest was empty.

As I went from house to house, bartering would be going on and I tried to trade any apples in my bag for candy. There were few takers. Occasionally, the adult at the door would say, “Why, you’re not even from this street, are you?” Still, they’d always drop something in my bag. For some of us, Halloween was the only time we’d be on a “faraway” street—no reason to go there because we had everything we needed on our street.

Perhaps one of the greatest tricks pulled off on Halloween involved a lawn chair. A family on our street had bought a new wooden Adirondack chair, a frivolity most families couldn’t afford. Their oldest son told every fellow he met about this chair until the guys grew to hate that chair.

One Halloween morning, my mother was washing the breakfast dishes and looked out the window to see neighbors hurriedly walking by. Mom went to the front door, then hurried back, saying to me, “Come on. You have to see this.”

Looking onto the town hall parking lot, I saw neighbors staring up at the flagpole. Swinging back and forth from the top of the pole was not the American flag but an Adirondack lawn chair. The crowd continued to grow until finally someone came to recover the chair. As the Adirondack slowly descended, the crowd clamored with applause.

To my knowledge, no one ever claimed to have done the deed, but I’d venture to say there were some older boys in the village with wide grins on their faces that day.

Click here to see more Nostalgic Stories.

top

Picture from the Past

GENDER GIVEAWAY View larger image

GENDER GIVEAWAY: “This picture is from Baker Street in Albany, Georgia, on Halloween in 1955,” relates Janet Simpson of Albany. “The little Oriental miss in front is Joey Gaetani, whose older brother, Frankie, is the matron on the right who didn’t know the proper way to cross ‘her’ legs. The belle in the middle is Debbie Barrett, and I am the gypsy with the grotesque lips. If I recall correctly, we all made quite a haul of candy and other items that year. The previous year, I was a witch, Debbie was a gypsy and the Gaetani brothers dressed up as an organ grinder and monkey. Our mothers worked hard making our costumes. No one back then in our neighborhood had even heard of store-bought costumes.”

MASKED MARAUDERS View larger image

MASKED MARAUDERS: “From left, this is our friend Joseph Emanual (age 12), with me (11) and my brother, James (9), ready to go trick-or-treating in 1962,” writes William Leepier of Scranton, Pennsylvania. “The song we sang went like this: ‘Trick or treat, smell our feet, give us something good to eat.’ We usually received money, candy or apples.”

Click here to see more Pictures From the Past.

top

Stirring Up Memories

Halloween Caramel Apples

The candy and apples from our rounds of trick-or-treating were great, but my favorite Halloween-night food was pumpkin seeds baked to a pleasing crunch. I don’t know what Mom put over them, besides a generous sprinkling of salt, but they were yummy for the tummy.

You’ve got plenty of time yet before All Hallows Eve, so check out some great Halloween recipes, like the one presented here, at Taste of Home.

—John Burlingham
Associate Editor

top

Over the Back Fence

Amusing morsels and bits of wisdom overheard and read here and there.

Patience

A father and his young son were grocery shopping when the youngster, who was in a cart, began throwing merchandise off the shelves. The father could be heard saying, “Patience, Donald, patience,” but the child continued his reckless behavior.

A lady was watching the pair and decided to compliment the father on the gentle way he was handling the situation. “I admire the gentle way you talk to your son.”

“Oh, the father smiled, “I’m Donald. My son’s name is Henry.”

—Irene Kaufmann
Tavares, Florida

top

Time Capsule Trivia

Here’s a bit of trivia surrounding Halloween to get you in the mood for the spooky day at the end of the month.

1. A black cat was thought to be ____. A. A former loved one. B. Witch. C. Demon spirit.

2. Who believed that souls of the dead visited Earth every October 31? A. The Celts. B. The gypsies. C. The Mexicans.

3. Why was the tradition of dressing up for Halloween begun? A. To conjure up evil spirits. B. To honor the dead. C. To disguise yourself as an evil spirit when spirits came.

4. Halloween is celebrated on the eve of what Christian holiday? A. All Saints Day. B. The Feast of Steven. C. Cinco de Mayo.

5. What creature is also known as a lycanthrope? A. A vampire. B. A zombie. C. A wolf man.

6. What does the old English word “hallow” mean? A. Spirit. B. Saint. C. Sin.

Click here for the answer to Time Capsule Trivia.

top

A Thought to Remember

Friendship is a cozy shelter on life’s rainy days.

top