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Halloween has always been a favorite time of the year for me. I used to love putting on a costume and hauling my humongous Trick-or-Treat bag through the neighborhood. This was back when you actually knew the people whose house you were calling on and they knew you. You didn't get dumped off in a different neighborhood. Despite the fact that we stayed in our neighborhood, I remember having to go back to home base at least once or twice in the middle of Trick-or-Treating in order to empty out my bag. We are talking a big booty of candy! This first photo shows my brothers in 1961, dressed up for Halloween at our home in Lemon Grove, CA. My oldest brother was a pink rabbit and my middle brother was a Jolly Roger Pirate. AAAAAARGH!!!
Halloween 1962 shows the tradition of hand-me down; the older brother got the new costume, while the younger one inherited what had been worn the year before.
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While middle brother became the dreaded pink bunny, older brother got to be Huckleberry Hound! Not sure who the little witch is; probably a cousin or a neighbor.
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I am digging these pumpkins; so much so, that I am hoping that mom still has them stashed in the attic. Awaiting her reply...
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One last shot before hitting the streets, under mom's watchful eye!
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Besides my birth, 1964 must have been a good year for my family. New costumes for BOTH brothers!
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A generic skeleton for one, and Casper the Friendly Ghost for the other. Must...get...those...pumpkin...buckets!
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My first Halloween was 1966; I inherited the Jolly Roger. A lion costume for middle brother and a devil for the oldest.
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I was a much less scary pirate without the mask!
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For our first Halloween in Philadelphia, I assumed the dreaded pink bunny costume. Oh the shame.
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Oldest brother was the devil again and middle brother was the lion again. The hobo and Droopy Dog costumes were probably worn by the neighbors' kids. I remember those Trick or Treat bags so well; I can still hear the sound they made as you emptied them out. Those were some high quality paper bags; they lasted for years.
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Halloween 1968 shows my brothers as the Esso (now Exxon) Tiger ("Put a tiger in your tank!") and King Kong. Note the orange UNICEF collection box in my brother's hand.
![](https://www.davelandweb.com/blog/halloween/Halloween68_N01_02.jpg)
It appears I went out separately; these are all my brother's friends. I was probably too young to hang with the cool older kids!
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The party afterwards was always fun; comparing the candy everyone had gotten and eating the treats that mom had made for all the neighborhood kids to enjoy. It was a festive time of year!
![](https://www.davelandweb.com/blog/halloween/Halloween68_N05_06.jpg)
The world has changed and Halloween is a somewhat different celebration for kids. I remember at some point during the 70s hearing that we had to be careful about people who put razor blades in apples. I couldn't believe that people would do stuff like that. Then, taking your kids to the mall and trick-or-treating at the shops became a new alternative. Now, with all the sickos that you hear about, the ability to enjoy a care-free celebration of harmless spookery is much more difficult. I feel bad for the youth of today who are unable to have the same type of fun that we did.
See more vintage & current Daveland photos on my regular web pages.