Halloween Back in the Day

I've written a piece on this blog about past Halloweens around Alabama, and in this one I'm looking at a few from my own family for which we have the photo evidence. I'm sure there are more around here somewhere, so perhaps I'll do another such post in the future. 

Most of these photos date from the early & mid-1990's....

That's a motley crew. Amos is Batman and Becca is a mini-clown. We still have those big plastic pumpkins.

Amos and Becca on another Halloween

Back in the day Dianne and Becca did some pumpkin carving; here are a few from one year. 

Always good to have some creeping cats around at Halloween. 

Aren't cats endlessly entertaining?

Now for some of Dianne's Halloween creations: a hanging decorative ball, an "All Hallow's Eve" tree of life necklace, a spooky gingerbread house and a scarecrow. She's done a lot of such craft and jewelry work; you can see some on ArtFire and Etsy.

For several years Dianne and the kids would make and decorate a spooky gingerbread house. 

One year there was a scarecrow.

Halloween Spotted in Some Alabama Places

Over the years I've taken photos of Halloween costumes and decorations at various places around Pelham and elsewhere just for fun. Hey, somebody needs to document this stuff!

Looking through them recently I decided to bring some together in a blog post. So here they are, submitted for your amusement at this very special time of year...

You can read my posting on "Halloweens Past in Alabama" here. 

Cracker Barrel in Pelham, August 2, 2021

This photo and the two below taken at Michael's in Hoover
September 27, 2020

Huntsville Hospital outpatient clinic on Bailey Cove Road
October 8, 2020

This one and the one below were taken at Michael's in Hoover at some point in the dim past....

This photo and the three below were taken at the Pelham Home Depot
21 October 2019

This photo and the one below taken at the Pelham WalMart
 23 September 2019

Probably at the Pelham WalMart, 26 October 2018

Two more from the Pelham WalMart, September 14, 2018 above
 and September 10, 2018 below

Three more from WalMart, September 10, 2017

And finally, at the Pelham Home Depot mid-September 2021. We were in this store on October 28, and the Halloween stuff had pretty much shrunk to one shelving unit. Christmas had taken over. 

Halloweens Past in Alabama

Variations of Halloween are celebrated in many countries. In the U.S., it's mostly a chance for lots of kids and adults to have some fun and for many companies to sell stuff. Below are some photos old and not so old related to Halloween in Alabama. 

I have fond memories of Halloween both as a kid and as a parent of two children. Back in the day friends and I would roam the neighborhood freely collecting pounds of goodies we could later sort and trade. One year several of us rang the bell and after the lady of the house had given us our haul, she asked "Would you boys do something for me?" Without waiting for an answer, she reached inside and handed us several bars of soap. "See that house next door with no one home?" We did. "Please use this soap on their windows." I plead the fifth on what happened next.

A lot of new memories were created taking my kids around the neighborhood when they were younger and seeing what they brought home when they could go out by themselves with friends. One year my daughter had to come home and dump her heavy haul before heading out again. A neighbor had been giving trick-or-treaters six packs of soft drinks.

I guess today someone would call the police.

Halloween party at Huntingdon College in Montgomery in October 1946

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections 

Halloween window display for Foremost Dairies at the J.J. Newberry store on Dexter Avenue in Montgomery on October 29, 1952

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections

Students at the Edgemont Avenue City Kindergarten in Montgomery on October 30, 1953

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections

Children at a house in Montgomery on October 29, 1954

Source: Alabama Department of Archives & History Digital Collections

Haunting the office of Birmingham Mayor David Vann on October 19, 1977

Back in July strange forces were already gathering in the stores. 

Going through some old family photos recently I found a few related to Halloween. 

Back in the day when the kids were younger we used to do some significant decorating.

Dianne liked to make gingerbread houses with the kids, and at least one Halloween they made one of these. 

Here are the kids ready to hit the streets for some serious candy collection. I hope they forgive me for this posting.