By Peggy Goodrich, Commentary
Are you ready for ghosts, goblins and things that go bump in the night?
Not a Halloween goes by I don’t remember the fun times we had at Grandma’s Halloween parties. What fond memories. Everyone in the neighborhood was invited ... and came. Everyone, old and young, wore funny costumes they had concocted themselves. There absolutely were no ghoulish costumes that would have terrified little kids. They were just funny, original costumes made from whatever could be scratched up. Witches and ghosts were the scariest the costumes ever became.
One year Grandma was a spooky ghost at her own party. When people arrived at their house and approached the door to knock, Grandma came around the house from behind the mulberry tree and nearly scared the daylights out of us kids. As scared as we were, we KNEW it was Grandma and giggled and giggled. What fun! She had as much, if not more, fun than anybody at her parties.
Old and young alike played traditional games — like bobbing for apples, catching the apple on a hanging string and all kinds of relays. There always was a “spook house,” which was nothing compared to the ones nowadays. Ours was made up of a table covered with plates holding things like cooked spaghetti, peeled grapes and harmless, slimy things for us to identify while blindfolded.
Of course, thoughts were planted in our minds about worms and cat eyes, etc. After a few years we knew the tricks and passed the “fear” on to the little kids to scare them and bring them the same kind of suspense we had experienced. There always was a costume contest for the most original and those we could not identify. Some of those costumes really were creative.
Back then treats were homemade popcorn balls (wonderfully and carefully made especially for us); apples, plain and rolled in caramel and nuts; or an occasional sucker or bubble gum. Now, homemade treats are unacceptable, so we give out candy or pencils or other wrapped things. It is so fun to answer the door to the little goblins and hear their laughter and compliment them on their cute costumes.
I am pleased so many churches and businesses celebrate Hallo-ween for our youngsters to keep them safe so they don’t have to go door to door in strange neighborhoods to collect goodies. They never know whose door it is. These public functions are enjoyable, and I think the kids really like the organized fun and of course all that candy and stuff they get.
When I was a kid in the country, we didn’t trick or treat from door to door. We heard, after the fact, about mischief in town, by “older boys,” like turning over outhouses, blocking streets and possibly egging houses or the school, but no real harm was done and no one was hurt. Once, someone put a goat in the school gym, but I never can remember any real destruction of property. The day following Halloween, all those mischievous kids were out on the streets and lawns gathering up limbs and trash cans and scrubbing the school gym. I guess the fun was worth the cleanup.
We younger kids hardly were aware of the holiday, except for the costume party at school, when in the cloak room we changed into our costumes and had popcorn balls or cupcakes to celebrate the day. We decorated the windows for autumn to make it pretty for the annual box supper to raise money for Christmas treats for everyone. The program always centered around the Halloween theme.
It always seemed to rain on Halloween, just like it does now. And the weather always turned cold, so costumes had to be covered with coats, which took away some of the fun of dressing up. We never thought of Halloween as worshiping witches or ghosts or as sacrilegious. It was just a fun time for everyone involved.
We made jack-o’-lanterns out of pumpkins we had grown ourselves. Early on, we had decided which one was special enough to be made into our jack-o’-lantern. It took all evening to remove the pulp from the pumpkin before it was carefully carved. We placed a candle in it for one evening only and then we baked the pumpkins for pie or pumpkin fudge.
We even enjoyed running the cooked pumpkin through the food mill to produce pulp. From beginning to end, we loved pumpkin time. There still is something nostalgic about the fall of the year that makes me hungry for anything pumpkin: muffins, bread, pie, fudge, or soup.
It is becoming a tradition at our house to make chili for Halloween. My brother also has adopted this custom, as well as others in our family. All the grandkids come in costume and enjoy a meal and have their pictures taken before they hit the streets for door-to-door trick-or-treating and neighborhood visiting. A favorite ending to the meal is this dessert that can be made ahead but is best served warmed with ice cream or custard sauce.
Apple / Macaroon Dessert
3 medium apples, cored, peeled and cut in thin slices
2/3 cup of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/4 cup of butter, softened
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind
1/2 cup of coconut
2 tablespoons of flour
1/4 cup of chopped nuts
Layer apple slices in a greased, shallow, eight-inch, round baking dish. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup brown sugar and lemon juice and set aside. Cream 1/3 cup of brown sugar with butter. Add egg, lemon rind, coconut, flour and nuts. Mix well. Spread over apples. Bake at 350 degrees until top is browned and apples are soft, about 30 minutes. Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Have a safe and enjoyable Halloween, and make some happy memories.
Send your comments to: Peggy Goodrich, Food For Thought, P.O. Box 1192, Enid, OK 73702.
