Halloween 1970s Style

Halloween was more fun when I was a kid. Growing up in Michigan during the 1970s, I can tell you that times have really changed, and Halloween's celebration has changed with it.

The very first time I went trick or treating would have been the Halloween of 1969. I just turned three a few weeks earlier, so my parents thought I was old enough to participate. My dad took me all around the neighborhood. I guess I remember it so well because it was very cold and there was an early snow so the ground was covered with snow. I was bundled up to keep warm, so the only part of my costume that showed was the mask. It was one of those cheap plastic masks with the rubber band to hold it on, but I enjoyed it just the same. I had a pumpkin shaped container to collect the candy, and a flashlight to show the way. This was the first of a dozen Halloweens to come before I became old enough to be considered a moocher instead of a cute kid, and no longer a welcome sight on my neighbor's porch.

One thing that occurred back in those days was Devil's Night. In Detroit Devil's Night consisted of burning down vacant houses, and in some cases, occupied houses. Out in Detroit's suburbs, as well as Michigan's smaller cities across the rest of the state, it was far less sinister. Devil's Night outside of Detroit consisted of toilet paper in trees, soap or shaving cream on windows, smashed pumpkins, eggs broken on windows and walkways, and the occasional deflating of school bus tires. Devil's night was observed on October 30th. It was a good night to sit in your front yard with a spotlight and shotgun to discourage pranksters. Back in those days, toilet papering a tree was a prank, not a crime. Having your trees toilet papered may also be an indicator of your popularity, or lack thereof.

One of the things that have more recently watered down Halloween is the expansion of daylight savings time. In the 1970's it ran from end of April to the start of October. Later it was changed to the beginning of April to the end of October. Now it runs from sometime in March until the beginning of November. This expansion had crept an extra hour of daylight into the early evening of Halloween. Part of the mystique of Halloween was the darkness. I never went trick or treating in the daylight, what fun is there in that? Besides the daylight savings time changes, there is one more big change, one that would irritate me if it happened when I was growing up.

Where I lived, the day for trick or treating was ALWAYS October 31st. The time was ANYTIME from late afternoon, and until the last porch light was turned off. Participants for beggar's night came to our door as late as 11:00 PM! No one complained, if you were not participating, all you had to do was turn off the porch light and no one would bother you. These days local officials pick a day, often not the 31st, and give a 1 to 2 hour window in daylight for trick or treat activities. You could score a great deal more candy in 4 or 5 hours than in 1 to 2 hours. I know this from experience.

Even back then, inspection of the candy by your parents was a good idea. Nothing bad was ever found, but safety was important and public service announcements appeared on TV to remind parents of their responsibility.

One more thing that has changed is the size and/or amount of candy a person trick or treating might acquire at one house. In my youngest years, I would get full-sized candy bars from a majority of the households. As the years went on, a smaller and smaller percentage of households would give out full-sized candy bars. By the last year I went out trick or treating, I had received just one full-sized candy bar that night. If a house were giving out smaller candy, it would be a fistful in the early years but only two or three pieces in the later years. One might conclude with smaller time frames and a smaller payoff, Halloween has lost much of its productivity in candy acquisition. Halloween's heyday for those who trick or treat to get frightened and get candy appears to have ended years ago.

I can see how some of today's regulations may benefit parents, especially the over-protective ones. But even as a parent, I long for the Halloweens of years gone by.