A widow for over 61 years, her dying wish was that her family would strive to keep warm relationships. In her last few days the continued peaceful associations of her immediate family was on her mind when she stated, "Oh, I do hope my children will stay close to each other." The bonds of closeness can mean both steady physical contact and tranquil feelings of harmony between family members. While a summer reunion is a traditional time for gathering, the approaching holiday season is also a time to send a loving note or make a phone call to aunties, uncles and cousins. Why wait until November or December. Send a Halloween greeting, instead!
I asked my mother, Inez, how she and her siblings celebrated Halloween. These are her recollections:
"We didn't have many close neighbors. Squint and Netta Hart were almost a block away so just getting that far in the dark was spooky enough. We would dress up in handmade costumes and go down to Uncle Joe and Aunt Susie's house, next door to Haven (Mama's nephew) and Aurelia Days, across the street to the Breys. They were German and Mr. Brey was our home teacher. He would come and sit for what seemed like hours just watching us do homework or practice the piano. Then up the street passed the field where the gypsies - real gypsies - once camped out and along to the Harts. We would knock on the door and sing 'Hallelujah, I'm a Bum,' ending by yelling 'Trick or Treat!' Sometimes we would sneak up to a house, lay a hand carved empty wooden thread spool which had been wrapped in string against the glass. When we quickly pulled the string it produced a loud rasping noise to scare the folks inside. It was great fun and resulted in our receiving various homemade treats."
Happy Halloween, spooky treks, mischievous tricks and delicious homemade treats are wishes to you all!
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