When I was a little kid in Tamaqua, we went out for Halloween candy 3 days in a row! I don’t know how this became a tradition in my little town, but it was a great one.
We would go out for candy 2 nights before Halloween, then 1 night before Halloween and finally on Halloween night.
We knew which houses to go to. The ones with lights and decorations always gave out candy all three days. Plus in my small town where everyone knew everybody, we knew which houses gave out homemade popcorn balls, which ones has old ladies who gave us stacks of pennies and mini candy bars and which ones had haunted houses and fruit punch.
Three days of Halloween meant we could wear different costumes. Sometimes the first night we’d go as a bum because that was an easy costume and would save our “best costume” for Halloween night.
Some people turned us away on night one saying – “Come back on Halloween, you’re too early”, but they’d be smiling as they said it. Most would get us candy, even if they were surprised we showed up two nights early.
I absolutely loved Halloween back in those days.
When we moved to Pittsburgh, Halloween was one night only. But my sister and I would still crush it. We’d go with our best friends, take pillow cases to hold our candy and would work for at least 3 houses racing from house to house to score candy. We usually had to run home to drop off our loads at least twice before the night was over.
Then we’d dump it all on the floor and trade each other for our favorites. Our Halloween candy would last us until Easter.
I stopped going our for Halloween when I was a preteen and lived in the ghetto because almost nobody gave out candy there, except us. It sucked. My sister kept friends in our previous neighborhood and she arranged to sleep over their houses so she could go out trick or treating with them. Unlike me, she was resourceful and managed to maintain old friendships throughout her life even with all of our moves.
In high school, Halloween became fun again. My friends and I would go to haunted houses. We had Halloween parties at each other’s houses. In fact, I hosted the best Halloween party of my life when I was 17 in a friend’s house. We had Pure Grain Fruit Punch and wine coolers. We had at least 50 friends show up. Nobody got in trouble or did anything stupid. We danced. We laughed, We listened to music. We wore creative homemade costumes. It was an absolute blast.
Two decades later I moved to East End Avenue in Pittsburgh. Our street was full of little brick craftsman homes set very close to each other. The entire street had a kind of porch party every Halloween.
Almost every home was decorated with lights, ghouls, goblins and ghosts.
All of the adult sat on each other’s porches, drinking wine and beer, cooking out and hanging out with each other. Then the kids would come. Because we were in between the ghetto neighborhood and the rich neighborhood, we got kids from all over. Their parents would drive them to our street because they could hit 100 homes in 2 blocks. Everyone had a good time.
Those years were the most fun I ever had handing out candy.
In my neighborhood now, I live on a quiet street that’s half full of ancient retirees who don’t hand out candy. For the last two years, I had less than 3 kids show up. I don’t blame them – there are other streets nearby that are full of young families that go all out for Halloween.
This year, I’m not even buying candy. I end up eating all of it myself.
One block away where the bigger houses and large families live, they shut down the street to traffic and do a block party Halloween with cookouts, parties, lights, smoke machines, music and kids roaming everywhere all night.
I like to walk through there with my dog just to see my neighbors and smile at the kids all costumed up and amped up on sugar. It reminds me of the good old days.
Maybe some day I’ll make some friends on that side of the street and join them handing out candy. And if not, I’ll always have my memories.
Happy Halloween.