Happy Halloweens

(Ivy, Essy, Annie and Chris)

Mom must have loved Halloween because she always made sure we loved it too. She did a great job decorating and getting us all excited for the "big" night. I remember hanging on the outside of the grey van as she drove us to all the houses in Cherry Creek. We would hop off, run to the houses and hop back on. Ivy and I would wear back packs to empty our treat bags in so people thought we didn't have a lot and would give us more. Hey, it worked! I also remember how it cool was that the model home gave out a whole can of pop. I remember the year Ivy couldn't go out because she had chickenpox and we gathered the candy for her. She got the most that year!

The Pumpkin Jar

One of Dad's contributions to this holiday was keeping the pumpkin candy jar full all season long. He did a good job too!

The Stuffed Pumpkin

Dad also started the pumpkin walk competition. This was when we would start at the far end of the upstairs hall, put the stuffed pumpkin on our heads and start walking to see how far we could go without it falling off. Whoever got the furthest won. I remember it being quite challenging. We also used the pumpkin to play the pumpkin toss game. This was when we would all find a spot in the living room to sit or stand and then we would start throwing the stuffed pumpkin to each other and counting each throw. If it dropped on the floor you had to start over counting.

The Costumes

I can't remember many of the costumes, I admit. I remember mom making me a really neat costume one year. I was a jar of jelly beans. Mom blew up a lot of balloons for that costume and I know it took a lot of time. This was a time when most people made their costumes and mom had her share of great ideas!

The classic headless horseman

(I believe Grandma Murray painted this.)

It was always one of Dad's favorites!

The Huge Jack-O-Lantern

I wish I had a picture of this..It was a huge metal can(at least 4 foot high) that was a jack-o-lantern made with a blow torch to cut out the face. It was Halloween orange and black. Dad would drag it out of the garage every year and attach this big light inside of it. At night we would light it up. It was so cool and the envy of all the neighbors. Sometimes we put it in the front window, but it took up a lot room so it usually sat outside.

The Halloween Shows

For the four youngest, no one can deny the importance of the Halloween shows we watched every year. I'll never forget the first time we saw Garfield's Halloween cartoon. Mom laughed so hard she was rolling on the floor. She said when Garfield said, "Candy, Candy, Candy", it reminded her of Ivy.

Garfield: Observe carefully Odie. I'll teach you some of the finer points of trick or treating. [Garfield whams the door a few times with his wooden sword and a woman answers]

Garfield: Gimme!
Woman at Door: Oh, how cute! Here you go kids. [She throws a couple pieces of candy into their sacks]
Garfield: Me thinks yer be a mighty stingy with yer candy Miss! If yer don't reconsider your contribution I'll give yer living room drapes a taste of me broadsword. [She throws much more candy into their sacks]
Garfield: Thank you. A thousand blessin's upon yer home ma'am.