Dwindling Donations May Mean

 ‘Lights Out’ On Main Street For Halloween Revelers

By Nancy K. Crevier

The scariest thing about Halloween on Main Street this year may be the dearth of candy — comparatively speaking. In past years, local organizations and neighborhood groups have banded together with businesses to collect candy, and distributed it prior to October 31 to homeowners along Newtown’s popular Halloween haunt, Main Street.

But so far this year, there has been no neighborhood initiative to develop a “help plan” for residents of the historic “Street,” who are visited by hundreds of ghost, witches, monsters, and goblins every Halloween. Last year, Main Street residents estimated they gave away more than 2,000 pieces of candy at participating homes. As the number of revelers, who come from all around the area, has grown each year, it has become more of a financial burden on those who call Main Street home.

The Rhyins family on Main Street has spearheaded a successful candy collection for at least three of the nine years they have lived here, involving Girl Scouts, schools, and local businesses. Halloween usually meant that the family’s living room was filled with garbage bags full of donated candy the last week of October. That candy was then divided into equal amounts and the Rhyins distributed it to their neighbors.

But this year family circumstances have changed, said Rick Rhyins, and they are not undertaking the time-consuming organization of a candy drive. As a matter of fact, said Mr Rhyins, he seriously suggested to his daughters, Nina, 12, and Sophia, 10, that this year the take a break from it all. “I wanted to just turn out the lights and leave for the evening,” he said, but his girls were horrified at the suggestion.

“If everyone turns the lights off and leaves, it wouldn’t be fun for anyone,” said Sophia. “We’re part of that fun,” she added.

“We’ve been doing this for years, handing out candy and taking shifts going out trick-or-treating ourselves, so we didn’t want to stop,” Nina said.

Mr Rhyins’ motivation, he said, was the exorbitant cost of purchasing candy. “I told them it wasn’t in the budget this year,” Mr Rhyins said. But the girls decided it was in their budget. Nina and Sophia are starting with $100 of their own, and looking for the best candy deal.

“They decided it was worth using their own money to keep the tradition going at our house,” said Mr Rhyins, “and now the guilt is too huge! I’m going to have to match that.”

The Parks and Recreation Department is not going to let Main Street homeowners be left holding the bag, though. “We are holding our annual Halloween party at Dickinson Park, under the pavilion, on October 28, from 4 to 5:30 pm,” said Director Amy Mangold. The suggested “entry fee” for the costume party for children 0 to 9 years of age, she said, is a bag of candy for Main Street. Parks and Rec workers will distribute the candy collected that evening to Main Street residents.

Trinity Episcopal Church is also doing its part to “sweeten” the pot for its neighbors. Donations of wrapped candy can be placed in boxes placed just inside the rear entrance to the church and in the narthex, inside the front door of the church. Volunteers will bring the candy to Main Street residents.

Despite the expense and controlled chaos of the night, Main Street residents understand the draw of the well-lit street, with homes placed close to one another.

Lina and Gordon Williams have been handing out treats for nearly three decades. “It’s fun at 5 pm, but when it gets to the point where there’s a line on both sides and you don’t have time to ‘ooh’ or ‘ahh,’ and you don’t have time to greet the little ghosts you might know, it loses its appeal,” said Mr Williams. “I understand why people come here, though. The houses are close to each other and we have nice sidewalks,” he pointed out.

Last year, the Williamses spent more than $120 on candy for the evening. “But because of the donations we received from various groups, last year was the first time ever that we did not run out of candy before the end of the night,” he said. This year, it might mean an earlier end to the night for them, although he has heard that his fellow Lions Club members are soliciting bags of candy to donate to him before Halloween. Mr Williams is the only Lion who lives on Main Street, he said.

About $120 is the amount that Dorethy and Richard Mulligan, who live at the top of Main Street, spent on candy last year, too. “We did get some candy last year from neighbors, from Trinity Church, and from the Girl Scouts,” said Mrs Mulligan.

“There are a lot of people who buy us candy; some we know, and some we don’t,” added Mr Mulligan, and they are very grateful for any donations that they receive each year. Outside donations are extremely helpful, said Mrs Mulligan, who estimates more than a thousand trick-or-treaters ring their doorbell every Halloween. “It’s funny,” Mr Mulligan said, “I’ll put one little piece of candy in some kid’s bag, and then the mother will hand us a big bag of candy to help us out.”

“We do like the night. Everyone goes out of their way to decorate,” Mr Mulligan added.

 While a candy drive would be very welcomed, the Mulligans plan to have enough treats on hand to satisfy every little monster that appears at their door. “It is a very expensive thing, but we will make sure we have enough candy,” said Mrs Mulligan.

Cynthia Landin laughed about the upcoming holiday. She and her husband, Dr Steve Landin, a Main Street dentist, used to hand out toothbrushes or sugar-free gum until it became too expensive to do so. “Now we hand out candy, and free advice: don’t forget to brush and floss!” she exclaimed.

The Landins spend about four hours each Halloween handing out candy from their 26 Main Street office front and home, sometimes beginning as early as 4:30 pm. They generally need to purchase a couple of thousand pieces of candy ahead of time, so they gratefully accept any donations, said Mrs Landin. “It’s just once a year, and the kids seem to really enjoy it. People go out of their way to decorate their homes, so it is fun, even if we have to buy so much candy,” she said. She said that they would regret it if without supplemental candy provided, they find they have to “turn off the light earlier” this year.