Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

Before fun size and bite-size candy bars we used to take a pillowcase and go out trick-or-treating for full-size candy bars. I can still see the Halloween aisle at Woolworths. I asked our readers to share some of the memories of Halloween back then.

“Getting a goldfish every year from the pet shop on lower Broadway. Loved that. You went there first because he would run out. Then you would bring the fish home. My Dad always had a fish bowl ready for my brothers and me. Then you would go back out to get the candy.”

“Lasting memory for me until the end of time: Mrs. O’Hare on Highland Rd. dressed up in costume and scaring all the kids. One year it was a gorilla with Tarzan like sound effects played in the background, another year a witch. She was unrecognizable and the attention to detail was insanely good. What good times.”

“The owner of Kerble’s drugs on Summer St. used to take group loopictures of all the kids trick or treating. After Halloween he posted them in his windows. Would love to see some of those pics now!”

“We used to leave our house in Ball Sq. to trick or treat with pillow cases for bags. We would go back when they were full. One year we each filled six pillow cases. Wish I had that energy today!”

“We had six kids trick or treating for candy so it was a candy store at the end of our run. We kids brought so much candy home, my mom emptied shoe boxes and filled at least a dozen of them according to the type of candy. My favorite boxes were the Milky Way Bars and Milk Duds.”

“Triple deckers on Cedar St. Three times the candy while staying in one house.”

“Using a pillowcase and having it filled quite a bit. The amount of kids out trick or treating and the sense of community, everyone knowing each other and talking in between stops along the way and the overall “fun” feeling in the air!”

One of the downsides of trick or treating was when our mothers made us wear a winter jacket over our costumes!

We hated getting granola bars and once a guy gave out handfuls of loose popcorn.

There’s nothing like an apple being dropped in your bag crushing a Three Musketeers bar! My favorites are Kit Kat and Reese’s Cups … full size.