Halloween In Simpler Times

To the Editor:

Enjoyed the letter written by Dennis Laczkoskie [Letter Hive, “Halloween Long Ago,” 10/30/09] re: Halloween in simpler times. The “center” was the meeting place for teens back then and the merchants and police were very forgiving and just wrote off our antics as just good fun. Nothing was destroyed and no one was ever arrested. If you did something above and beyond the usual toilet paper or egg throwing thing your parents were called and that was the worst punishment ever. An arrest by police would have been a walk in the park compared to the wrath of your parents back then.

What he didn’t write about is when we kids would climb up the back of the Center Luncheonette (we kids would supply the ladder) and strew toilet paper all over. We thought we were so clever until one Halloween night we were blinded by flood lights aimed at us from police. They told us to get down, clean up the toilet paper and go home. We were never so scared in our whole lives. We were busted and went home shame-faced because we thought we were so smart. No arrests, no juvenile records, no court dates. Just a date with Dad.

Sharon Emerson

370 Walnut Hills Road, Staunton, VA                   October 31, 2009