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Times-Herald (Vallejo, CA)
October 23, 2011
Rich Freedman/ Halloween has often been an annual time capsule of pop culture, be it a mask of a political figure to the horror movie serial killer du jour or super hero. And, at least this time around, trick-or-treating drop kicks any economic obstacles. Nearly 70 percent of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween, up 5 per cent from 2010, according to the National Retail Federation's Halloween Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey.
That's $72.31 per person spending on costumes, decorations and candy. Take Vallejo's Derrick Leonard. When he was a kid, "I think I was Nixon maybe two years in a row. Somehow the Gerald Ford costume didn't bring in as much candy." Back in those days, chaperones were nonexistent, Leonard added."I remember when I was about 8 or 10, the hoards of kids that would swarm our neighborhood," Leonard said. "You'd get home with half-a-pillow case filled with candy, enough to last you through Easter. Word got out quickly who had the best stuff. One house gave out full-size Baby Ruths." Butterfingers and Bit-O-Honey were hot, Candy Corn was not, said Leonard, a South San Francisco teacher. "And Pixie Stix would bend and end up breaking in your bag," he said. "Not good." Jim Kern, executive director of the Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum, remembered wearing a costume of one of the Beatles, "though I don't remember which one," he said. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't Ringo. Everyone wanted to be John or Paul. And after trick-or-treating, all of the neighborhood kids would go to one kid's house where the parents would serve cider and donuts and we'd trade candy." Mystery writer David Corbett of Vallejo said he was "terrible at costumes. I still am. Once as a kid, I tried to be a soldier, but the only headgear I had was my brother's blue soap box derby helmet. I looked so ridiculous even the nuns laughed when I showed up at the convent for my parish." The irony, laughed Corbett, "of being mocked by nuns, for whom wearing a costume is a way of life -- call it Virgin Mary drag -- has not escaped me. But I was no better as an adult. I went to a costume party with a cowboy theme and when I walked into the room, a visitor from France pointed, laughed, and said, in thick Gallic accent, "You don't look like a cowboy. You look like a gardener.'" Raymond Victor Mommsen, Vallejo musician and school trustee, remains haunted by "my worst costume" in the fifth grade. "My mother had this wonderful buckskin Indian dress and a black wig and dressed me up like Pocahontas," Mommsen said. "I hated it. I cried all the way there." Still, "I won second prize in the costume contest," Mommsen chuckled. Vallejoan Myles Weber fondly recalled an Aladdin costume made by an aunt. "I had the vest and everything," Weber said. "Then I got mad the night of Halloween because my mom made me wear a shirt under the vest. 'That's not how it is in the movie!' I told her. But it was still a great night. It was probably the last generation where you could really celebrate it. Late night's Trick or Treating, and putting up all the decorations. It was a lot of fun." As a London native, Brian O'Reilly never heard of Halloween until he was 27 and living in the Bay Area. His favorite candy has never changed: Cadbury's, which happens to be made in the U.K. Vallejoan Amber Snider said she was a baby punk rocker one year and another time the Queen of Hearts. "It was great when people splurged and gave us full Snickers bars," Snider said. Vallejo Councilmember Marti Brown said she was "probably a witch or maybe a zombie," but, "like most people, I've tried to block out my childhood. I did always love Smarties and chocolate kisses. Then there's Snickers, Baby Ruth, 100 Grand, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cup." Benicia's Peter Bray's favorite was "a pretty gruesome Hunchback of Notre Dame." Except Christmas, Halloween was Stacey Loew's favorite holiday. "My mother made me a belly dancer costume," Loew said. "It was yellow -- my favorite color -- and had lots of coins. I wore it to many costume parties through the years and even a private one." Actor Wayne Goodman grew up in Philadelphia during the 1960s, "when the worst thing that could happen was that you would find a razor blade in an apple. Our parents sent us out unsupervised with pillow cases to fill with all sorts of fattening and tooth-decaying products. "I was a fat kid and getting lots of candy was always a fond memory. The costume I wore the most was The Devil (with horn and a pitchfork). Thank goodness it had no effect on me in the long run. Happy memories came from running around with my schoolmates and seeing who could get the most candy."
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