Musings on Halloweens past and present, plus a few other horrifying recollections

Marion wore roller skates for trick-or-treating that Halloween in 1950.

When she rolled down Walnut Street to Broadway in Spokane, she could get from door to door and collect lots of treats that way. She was terrifying. She was my mother.

I will tell you that your options seem really limited on a pitch dark Halloween when your mother is rolling around costumed in a sailor suit with cupcake hat. All you pray is that nobody will ask, “Dorothy, is that your mother.?” They always do.

This was the first real year for trick-or-treating and my job was to trundle along behind my mother with my green wagon, carrying the treats as she picked them up. Sugar rationing had ended in 1947, but there were no easy-to- carry bags. So treats could be anything from cookies (good) to Mrs. Evans’ kerosene-flavored pickles all mushed together (bad) and no bag to carry the loot — unless you had a green wagon.

When I see parents today, driving their little ones to different neighborhoods, I remember that in the ‘40s and ‘50s, none of us even owned a car. But the big change came when individually wrapped candy became available, and trick-or-treat was born.

Now I wait for trick-or-treaters to come. A few are getting in practice already.

“Hello, Miss Dorothy,” said Derek, age 4.

“Miss Dorothy looks old,” remarked Edie, age 5. I resisted the urge to push the dear little child down the stairs. With my luck, she’d probably bounce.

I’ll admit there’s a lot to get used to here in what Ray Bradbury called The October Country. In just two months, I’ll be 92 years old. I will tell you that age doesn’t confer wisdom, just wrinkles. The fact is, I’ve never felt more ignorant.

Summer wasn’t so bad but now that fall is drawing down, I find I’m really looking to find things that matter, to build new communities and find new skills..

I can’t help looking back, but there’s plenty to look forward to. October 2025 is different from October 1950.

October 1950 was marked by the Korean War’s early stages, while October 2025 has numerous cultural and awareness events, including Sober October, ADHD Awareness Month, and World Menopause Day. I don’t find that as reassuring as the Chase’s Calendar people may have hoped.

It’s important to remember that we can try new things at any time. For instance, I’ve joined a choir. I’m trying to keep a low profile because I can’t sing and I’d rather they didn’t notice but I go on the theory that you can get by if you smile a lot — and if all else fails, call an expert.

Today, the expert is Sandra Solon, the Crafty Canadian, who can be counted on for great family friendly activities, and it’s wonderful to work with a Canadian who likes us.

Sandra’s wonderful creations this year include literally giving us the finger. These are horrifying individual witches fingers made from delicious sugar cookies. Sandra writes, “Witch Finger Cookies look pretty cool, and it’s an easy sugar cookie recipe, or you can use a store-bought dough to get single fingers with alarming looking nails.” (Email Sandra at craftycanadianstudios@gmail.com to get the recipe.)

When my oldest son was about 4, he was wild about little live animals to play with. Only on the Presidio of San Francisco, there were not many, but he found lots of earth worms. If he found one, he would carefully divide it into four or five sections, now he had many playmates (I’m assured the earthworms don’t mind) and he had the additional fun of listening to his Mommy squeal when she found them in the laundry.

It’s important to look for new ways to use our resources. Don’t put them in the trick-or-treat bag though.

Where to find Dorothy Wilhelm

Dorothy’s “Coffee, Chat and Change the World” is now available on demand, just in case you happen to miss the live session each month (and we know you certainly wouldn’t dare). The recording has been transformed to a YouTube show and podcast available on popular podcast platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Her “Swimming Upstream Radio Show” is available at www.itsnevertoolate.com.