Halloween Memories

I became a volunteer tutor at the Montgomery Ward program in Chicago in the fall of 1973. The next year I was recruited to the leadership committee and the year after that I was chosen to lead the program (as a volunteer while holding full-time retail advertising jobs). I became the primary photographer for the next 17 years. Below is one of my favorites from 1974-5. These kids are now in their late 50s and raising their own kids. I'm connected to many on Facebook.

This is Halloween week so here are a few photos from past Halloweens. 

My Mom worked at a box factory in Sycamore and each Halloween they made special boxes for the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival. They donated some of these for us to hand out during our Halloween parties.  The Taffy Apples came from a company in Chicago.

The photo below is from the Cabrini Connections program that we formed in late 1992 after I left the first program.  You can see it in this article on the Cabrini Blog. 

The photo below is from 2008 and is included in this article.

The article begins with 'For the 2008 Halloween season the Cabrini Connections students had the opportunity to take part in an essay contest. The students were asked to write a 1-page essay on the true history of the holiday and to share their most memorable Halloween experience. There were several students in the program who took on this challenge in an effort to earn the right to go to the field trip to Navy Pier's Haunted House on Halloween night."

Below is the 1983 TUTORING TATTLER newsletter for the Montgomery Ward program. Open this PDF and scroll down to see Halloween activities, including a writing contest. 

These show how we tried to use holiday events to help youth and volunteers bond, to support participation and to inspire learning.  The programs I led did this in various ways for over 35 years.

Do you have photos and newsletters showing your own program's Halloween activities? If you share them in a blog article, like I am, maybe you can help others create similar activties in their own programs.

While Halloween is in a few days the US elections are next Tuesday.  This is a scary time for America.  If you've not already voted, go do it today.  If you know people who did not vote in 2024 or 2022, urge them to vote.  Only huge turnout can blunt the tricks the GOP will use to stay in power.

Thanks for reading. I'm able to share these photos because I've kept extensive files. I'm now creating an archive that enables others do dig through those files.  I'll need extra financial support to do this, along with a few on-going contributions to help me keep the current archives available.

Since my 80th birthday is December 19, you can support me with a birthday contribution - click here

Or, you can contribute through my on-going "fund T/MI" campaign - click here