My love for Halloween began in Minnesota during my childhood.
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- Posted By: william
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- Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
October is an enchanting month in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The crispness in the air underscores the unmistakably changing season. The trees are on the verge of casting off their autumn blaze of rust, gold and red leaves in expectation of winter. In the fields, the pumpkins are harvested and the moon reflects a ghostly silver sheen on frost dusted withering vines. Scattered pumpkins that failed to measure up as jack o'lanterns lie forlorn and stir up pangs of melancholy for the past summer. The holiday season is about to begin with Halloween, the best of all, being a few weeks away!
My love for Halloween began in Minnesota during my childhood. We decorated our home and classroom with dime store cut outs of witches, black cats, ghosts and goblins. The kitchen was the source for the best Halloween treats. Mom's caramel apples and colored popcorn balls were unbeatable. We devoured her doughnuts barely cooled from the fryer. The house smelled like nutmeg for a couple of days after she made a batch. Also very memorable were the moon colored sugar cookies made by my best friend's mother.
I borrowed a peasant blouse and frilly skirt, dangly earrings and gaudy beads from my mom and older sisters to transform into a gypsy dancer. Some of my friends had original hand made costumes. We bought makeup and five cent gauze masks from Woolworth's to complete our costumes. On Halloween eve, we were bursting with anticipation throughout supper. When the sun finally disappeared, we jumped into our costumes and marched off to raid the neighborhood equipped with a flashlight and our trick ‘n treat bags. It was an era when our parents didn't worry about us being out alone after dark, and they didn't have any reason to inspect our treats before we stuffed ourselves with them. It was an era where Mr. Greenstein, a local grocer, gave away a pumpkin to every elementary school child in the area because he couldn't afford to buy one as a youngster. I can still recall going on a field trip to his store and standing in line to receive my soon-to-be jack o'lantern (or "JOL").
After the big night, we took down the decorations, packed some of them away for the following year and disposed of the more fragile ones. I wish we would have had the foresight to save our paper mache (or papier mache´, if you prefer) jack o'lantern candy containers, which my mother threw into the coal bin. I fantasize about going back to the 1950s in a time machine to rescue all those future treasures.
The revival of my interest in Halloween began around 1993 when I found a 1950s Gurley figural Halloween candle in an antique store. One whiff of the wax transported me to my childhood, and I was hooked! I started hunting zealously for more of these candles and any other vintage Halloween decorations I could find. (That included the coerced sale of a paper mache JOL decorating the window of a small restaurant on Highway 49 in California's historical gold country.) Before then, I recall the intense excitement when I discovered my first paper mache JOL in a barn shaped antiques store in the wine country. He is now my mascot and has a place of honor in my office. The Internet furthered my interest in and knowledge of Halloween collectibles. Someone wrote a Halloween collectibles book, and cliché or not, "the rest is history!"
I was fortunate to get an invite to see Tom Pritchard's Halloween collection during one of my trips to the Anoka Halloween Festival. I discovered the folks at Craven Farm in Snohomish, Washington. I began to trade and deal in Halloween collectibles with fervor. I recall making a purchase from a man in New York whom I connected with on the Internet. He sold me two hard-to-find glass jack o'lantern candy containers and several other fine vintage pieces for about $200.00. Neither of us knew at the time that the scruffy looking little glass JOL's and somewhat distressed German paperboard JOL were worth in excess of $200.00 each! I made an acquaintance in the Brimfield, Massachusetts area with a fellow collector who still finds wonderful vintage holiday decorations for me.
I had a moment of fame in October of 1996 when the Long Beach Press Telegram interviewed me and did a feature article on my collection. After the article was published, I heard from the local college where they made a video of me discussing vintage Halloween collectibles.
I estimate that 1996 was the peak year for Halloween collectible's prices when, among others, an article came out in Martha Stewart's magazine about decorating for Halloween. Since then, the Internet auctions have emptied out attics and driven the prices down. However, the rare and hard-to-find Halloween collectible pieces are still dear. I maintain that most of the finest pieces remain in private collections.
Now, in the twenty-first century, I am ready to pass along some of my prized holiday collectibles and hope you will visit CurioCorner® often to browse, enjoy and enhance your own stash. Contact us at sales@curiocorner.com with questions and comments. Thank you! Nat at CurioCorner®.