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Trick-or-Treat: 1957

Halloween 1957, or "Tterrace and the Haunted Door Lock." Must be a dry run, since it's still daylight outside. My sister did the pumpkin decoration with an early felt-tip marker, and took this 2-1/4 square transparency. I'm 11. View full size.

Halloween 1957, or "Tterrace and the Haunted Door Lock." Must be a dry run, since it's still daylight outside. My sister did the pumpkin decoration with an early felt-tip marker, and took this 2-1/4 square transparency. I'm 11. View full size.

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The Pumpkin Papers

What's the shredded newspaper for, you ask? It's the jack-o'-lantern's hair. Part of my sister's overall design concept.

Newspaper

What's the shredded newspaper for?

Cost-ume

Funny, I was at our local Long's Drugs the other day and reflecting on the amazingly inexpensive price of the outfits! I made nearly all my kids' costumes (I don't sew, but they never wanted to be anything easy! I have become a master of papier mache masks) and now for my grandkids. It adds up fast! In contrast, the store-bought costumes retailed for $16 and were half price, accessories included! Eight bucks looked really good to me right then, as I was paying $10 for just the dye I needed. And I can't think of anything else that you can get now for $8 that was $5 in the 1950's! Great photo as usual, Tterrace!

Cost of costumes

If a costume cost anywhere near $5 in 1957, it would have been extra special! I never had a store bought costume nor did my mother make me any. I scrounged up what I could find--usually old clothes, and a bandanna hanging on a stick.

Dave--your mother must have been a saint!

Had Two Sticks ... but no Costume

Not trying to one-up, but I don't think we even had that $5 for a one-night costume. Gosh I got so tired of being a hobo every year...

My Mom too

First Halloween costume I had my mother made and she didn't even sew! That was in 1953. All I remember is my mother sitting at the sewing machine sewing black and yellow material. I can't remember what the costume was however. No picture either. I don't think she ever did it again. I never had a store-bought costume that I can remember. It was always something I or my mom thought of and put together. I have wonderful Halloween memories. I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

My Mother Too

Gee, up until now I thought my Halloween costumes had been store bought. Bless my mother.

Halloween 1957

That year, at age 10, I was on handing-out-candy duty (while trying to keep track of the "Zorro" episode on ABC-TV that Thursday night). The prior year had been my last in the "gathering mode" (in a group of about a half dozen) - nicely amassing nearly 2 large bags' worth and getting back in time to watch the Disney "Halloween Special" while sorting my goodies.

Costumes cost a lot less back then

Must be the good old days when you made your own costume, and the total cost of the costume material was less than $5. These days, an 11-year-old cannot even purchase a DECENT (retail) costume for under $30. How times have changed.

[How well I remember my own mother seated at her spinning wheel next to the TV, whipping up a skeleton costume for Little Dave. Silk-screening the bones was the hard part. - Dave]

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