Hallowe'en Greetings From 1935 WHS

Halloween - a holiday "invented by the candy company" to quote Disney's Hocus Pocus - has been a staple of American culture.

Halloween is based on traditions from the Celtic festival of Samhein where people would light bonfires and dress in costumes to ward off wandering dangerous spirits as well as being a time of harvest. If you're interested in the connections of this ancient pagan festival to today's events, you might want to find The Book Of Hallowe'en by Ruth E. Kelley (1919), Halloween: An American Holiday, an American History by Lesley Bannatyne (1990) or Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia, Volume 1 by Christian Roy (2009).

The concept of Halloween as we would recognize it came about in the early 1910s. Thanks to the hilarious series of "Drunk History", you might have already been aware of what the story is behind "trick-or-treating" in the sense that we know. Basically, one woman had enough of her garden getting pranksters' wrath and so decided to sponsor a party so awesomely sugar-infused and packed with alluring games and activities that essentially she distracted them all night from going on a version of "The Purge" on her heirloom roses. And parents liked that it kept their kids contained and happy, the town was cool with the idea of not having as much vandalism (and possibly generating some revenue from events), and her plants survived the night, so it just...continued and spread across the country.

Of course, "Drunk History" explains it in a far more amusing manner, so click on this link to check out their Halloween episode for more laughs.

By 1935, Halloween was still known as "Hallowe'en" and people were making homemade costumes and "trick-r'-treating" had been around long enough that it was forming into the current tradition - the first known print reference to "trick-or-treat" was in 1927. This was in the Alberta County Herald so not technically from the U.S.A but is North American... At least it's liked better in Canada than in the UK as apparently, while Halloween is a thing, it's hated over there! Apparently, it can be viewed as "too American" and steals the spotlight from the U.K.'s Bonfire Night. Oh well, more candy for us.

Full-scale creepy-themed decorations had been a prominent part of the 1920s when the Beistle Company produced a Halloween-specific line of party decorations. This continued into the 30s  with Bogie Books, published by the Dennison Manufacturing Company that offered craft and party ideas solely for Halloween. The 30s are also the era of the Golden Age of Monster Movies too, with Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), King Kong (1933) and The Invisible Man (1933). But, even so, one of the most popular costumes in the 30s based on a fictional character turned out to be Mickey Mouse (debuted in 1928). While trick-or-treating waned during World War II due to sugar rationing among other reasons, it was promptly picked up and has carried on steadily to today.

In the Waterford Historical Museum and Cultural Center's collection of documents is this "Hallowe'en Greetings" from October 30, 1935 of the Waterford High School newsletter.

Inside are the usual columns, with just one section dedicated to mentioning Halloween as "Hallowe'en". But it is interesting to read the "Movie Reviews" , "Fashion Flashes", and other things they felt worth noting, although the "Did You Know That?" and "Home Rumors" sections read a little like a Gossip Girl narration with lines like:

"Say, did you see Hank Button with Ruth Rebman? My "G" Men on Middle Street tell me that this has been going hot and heavy for quite some time."

"Oh! was I surprised when I saw Vera Currier, one of the few silent women, dancing around with her brother! She danced like Ginger Rogers and he wasn't so hot either." 

"What eighth grade girl did yours truly catch smoking a cigarette?

Have a safe and happy Halloween from the
Waterford Historical Museum & Cultural Center!

Help Make Hidden Gems Shine

Who doesn't enjoy finding something that seems like only a few, maybe only you, have found before? It's why so many often go out of their way to find those places that can be called "hidden gems". Bear with this article's wonky text changes - Google blogspot isn't always cooperative and there have been multiple attempts to try and fix it....with this being the end result....

Anyway, museums are often treasure-troves, with their collection of artifacts and eagerness to invite people to explore what's around them.

Websites and social media have made finding these places even easier - your GPS on your phone or in your car might even have a function that pulls up all the museums and heritage spots that are nearby. It's so easy and convenient, you might wonder why it is that you can't find more of them now than if you were searching for them, maybe ten years ago.

Here's how you can help make these hidden gems sparkle!

Physically Visit Sites

The easiest way to help hidden gems is to support them with your admission fees. Not every gem is free just because they’re educational or a non-profit. “Your support directly helps us achieve our mission” signs do literally mean we’re grateful that you help us splurge and turn the lights on, have running water, and maybe even the luxury of air conditioning. Having "Museum" in the title does not mean that these sites receive public funds like a public school does. Admission fees are vital towards making sure small sites can actually open their doors to visitors.

Volunteer

Often these gems nestled back from the main roads are actually PRIVATE organizations (so your taxes aren't being shared with these gems) that are created by forward-thinking residents with a focus on preserving their history and heritage. They operate either entirely or mostly on volunteer time and efforts from everything between giving tours to scrubbing the toilets.

Become A Member

Even if you know you can't visit often or just not able to volunteer (or don't want to make that commitment), memberships can offer  monetary support AND you get notifications on what's going on at these sites. It's like your coffee club card, but for historical exhibits, events and programs!

Follow & Share On Social Media
Hidden gems don't want to be too hidden. The struggle is very real with getting awareness out on a virtually non-existent budget. Spread the word and show off your visit to these sties to not only keep your memories of the place, but encourage others to come and make their own!


Donations
Nobody likes a choosing begger. Especially one that continues to ask for more and more. However, donations help small museums and historic sites with the struggle against 3 potentially operation-ending assumptions about them.

Assumption 1:
These kinds of sites are always guaranteed money from my tax dollars. Donations are really "extra" money from me that just line somebody's pockets. It's a non-profit after all - it's supposed to struggle or it's actually for-profit!

No! So very, very much no! All of those "profits" at historical and educational sites go directly towards programs, facility care for visitors' consideration, exhibits, and daily operating expenses. Even non-profits have to pay property, utility, sewer and all of those pesky bills that you do. So what does being a tax-exempt organization actually mean? No federal income tax or state sales tax.

Assumption 2:
There must be somebody taking care of things. They really only ask for support because they want more money or whoever's supposed to be doing things just doesn't want to do their job.

So, while taking a vacation sounds wonderful -as does being offered some extra much-needed- this is another no. Truthfully, if a small museum or historic site is lucky, there might be 1 part-time staff. As you can imagine, that means wearing many, many work hats as the sole person at the site every day. Which, no matter the size of the gem, can be a hefty set of tasks that needs a hand year-round from volunteers like you!

Assumption 3 - The Most Dangerous Assumption:

It's not like they're going anywhere if I don't manage to visit or help out. It'll still be there next year.

A hidden gem is totally, completely, utterly, absolutely reliant on YOU to keep it around! The hard reality is that not even being labeled as "historic" marks a gem safe from closure, repurposing, or demolition for many of these small museum and historic sites.

For the WHMCC, it became a museum after it had been an apartment building that was sold off and slated for demolition to make way for another supermarket. It was only thanks to quick thinking and scrambling by local residents that it was saved. It can just as easily go bankrupt and be sold off to be turned into apartments or something else once again. Its collection would then be parceled out to other organizations or be sold off to pay any final expenses. There is no guarantee, not even in National Historic Districts, that things will stay exactly the same as you imagine them to be.

This isn't meant to sound as alarmist as it might read, but it should act as a reminder that these hidden gems need YOU to help keep them around. Visit these gems help to preserve and share the history of their area. Often, even the smallest site has so many things packed inside on its walls and with its objects. Or, you learn something you'd never even think of just by talking with someone there!

These kinds of gems usually do their utmost to find ways to incorporate other points of interest to help broaden and diversify the stories they share, which creates a fulfilling experience and has the added benefit of finding more places to explore!

Hidden gems that really shine can help disprove the mindset of "I can just google it". They help encourage visitors to do more digging and maybe help excavate and polish another great gem.