It seems now that dressing up for Hallowe’en is as much as for adults as children, but this was also the case in the past, as masquerade dances were very popular in the Grande Prairie area, and not just at Hallowe’en. The news item from Nov. 8, 1932 describes one such dance, and some of the imaginative costumes.
The second item from Nov. 3, 1938 tells of the consequences for a group of boys who were caught tipping over outhouses, another tradition from days past. Who doesn’t remember hearing of an outhouse being toppled with someone in it!
The third article from Nov 12, 1942 may be the first time children out for treats were asked to instead collect money for a worthy cause. I wonder if they received treats as well. In my early Hallowe’ening days the chant was “Pennies for UNICEF and candy for me”! We were okay with collecting the pennies but we wanted treats too!
