When I heard that our Chamber of Commerce was sponsoring trick-or-treating on the Town Square, I put it out on the community email bulletin board that some of us in the surrounding neighborhoods would be handing out treats in the age-old tradition of Halloween. I bought two big bags of treats. That was a bag and a half too many. I’m guessing I had a dozen trick-or-treaters, starting around 4:30 and ending around 8:00. SAD. (If any of you locals can use about 3 lbs. of candy, let me know.)

I was proud of myself; I’m supposed to be watching carbs. In years past, I would have eaten half the candy myself afterwards, but I was able to squelch myself tonight and only ate 3 of those teeny-tiny Tootsie Rolls.

A couple of family groups brought along their dogs, so along with candy, I gave them my business cards for dog-boarding. What the heck; if the Chamber can commercialize Halloween, so can I, right?

When I was a kid, Halloween was as exciting as Christmas, and more lucrative than having a birthday, although I must say, Mom making a 3-layer angel food birthday cake with marshmallow frosting coated with peanut brittle pieces was pretty damn sweet.

We lived in a very small town, and we made our own costumes, and didn’t go out until after dark. I remember mostly trick-or-treating in our paper-route neighborhood, maybe 4 or 5 streets, the longest of which was ours - Clark Street. One Halloween, we came back having hit the usual houses, and the phone rang. My mother answered it. The caller was a woman who lived probably a mile away, past our church. She told Mom that she was expecting us, but we hadn’t shown up. Mom made us go back out - in the dark - and walk to her house and back!

Fast forward 60 years, and here’s Halloween in Burnsville, with parents in cars idling out front and kids coming to the door, knocking, and standing there speechless while I wait for someone to say “Trick or Treat!” So I prompted them, because I’m a traditionalist, dammit.

I can remember only one Halloween costume I wore; maybe some of my siblings will remember others. This would have been during the time that The Addams Family television show was still on the air. My brother Greg dressed as Gomez, my sister Kate (“Kathy” back then) was Wednesday, and our neighbor whose name I can’t remember was either Lurch or Uncle Fester. There may have been others in the group, but I can’t remember for sure.

Halloween was always a cold evening in Wisconsin back then. To transform myself into Morticia, I’d made a sort-of sleeveless sheath dress of cheesy black cloth, and wore a thick sweater underneath. I borrowed a black wig my brother Mike had worn in one of the plays he wrote for us to act in - I think he was the witch in The Wizard of Oz.

The black sheath I sewed up needed a really long zipper. My mother always sewed for us, and she had a bright green zipper that was about two feet long. I sewed it into the back of the dress. It ran from my neck way down past my waist. Not being a seamstress of my mother’s caliber, I didn’t bother to try conceal the zipper, so there was this 2” wide green thing running down my back.

So off we went, north on Clark Street, to friends’ houses just past the school - the Radish families. I think the Dads were brothers. I had a crush on Mike Radish, a big boy who answered the door when I rang the bell. I was expecting Mrs. Radish to answer, so froze up when Mike’s bulk filled the door frame. I’m not even sure I said trick or treat - I just stood there. And he just stood there, smiling. And smiled.

I realized that I needed to move along. But also realized that if I turned around to go down the steps, he would see that bright green two foot long zipper. I couldn’t move. Apparently Mike was going to stand there, warmly smiling, until I took the initiative to leave.

I think it appropriate to say that Morticia was mortified. After what felt like an ice age, I grabbed the rail and backed down the steps, hoping he would close the door and turn off the porch light so I could turn around. He didn’t, and I think I may have backed all the way down their front walk.

I still love Halloween; always will. I hope you had a good one!

Lucy