The Chronicles Of Grant County

Celebrations Of Hallowe'en In Years Past

(This image was provided courtesy of Satheesh Sankaran through Pixabay.)

Today is Halloween. Many will celebrate the holiday with parties and costumes. (Isn't it nice for many to now wear a mask for enjoyment rather than to avoid disease?) Others, especially children, celebrate by going door-to-door to trick-or-treat. The goal today, for many, is to get candy and other treats from neighbors.

While some speak about the nostalgia of years gone by, not all of the activities in the past were ones that we would welcome today.

For a few years, Halloween – or "Hallowe'en" as it was formerly called – was not always a fun experience for residents of Silver City.

Trick-or-treating on Halloween as we know it today did not exist in the 1890s.

One of the activities that did take place on Halloween, though, was vandalism by "boys" in the area.

"The boys played their usual pranks around town on Hallowe'en, and appeared to enjoy themselves immensely until the sheriff put in an appearance and made them put back where it belonged some of the property they had removed," according to a news article dated November 7, 1893, in the Southwest Sentinel. This was a newspaper based in Silver City at the time. "Just what our pretty girls and handsome matrons did that evening is a secret religiously kept by themselves, but a number of them are still smiling over their night's fun."

These types of vandalism continued for a few years.

"Halloween, the eve or vigil of All Hollows [Hallows], or Festival of all Saints, which has been celebrated throughout England and Scotland with various and harmless ceremonials, has gradually degenerated in this country to an event when law is set at defiance and innocent amusement is succeeded by petty depredation," according to a news article in the Southwest Sentinel on November 5, 1895. "For several days preceding Halloween it is now the custom for boys to study out plans through which they can commit aggravating and destructive offenses without being caught in their acts. They seem to think they have complete license to do as they please without regard to the rights of others."

"They look upon the destruction of property, removal of signs, gates, sidewalks, etc. as a duty they are expected to execute upon this event," this news article stated. "They do all manner of mischief on Halloween that they would scorn to do on any other occasion. That is all wrong and the sooner it is checked the better. Some of our boys had rich laid plans for last Thursday night [Halloween in 1895], but they failed to materialize. Acting Marshal Carr became appraised of some of their schemes and asked the city council to provide him special deputies to the end that order and safety might be maintained, and the result was that the night passed quietly and the next morning showed that no harm had been done. There are various innocent ways in which this event can be appropriately celebrated, and the sooner our boys are taught to recognize the fact the better it will be for all concerned."

The Eagle, another newspaper based in Silver City at that time, also reported that the people of Silver City decided to put an end to vandalism on Halloween in 1895.

"For the past two or three years revelers on the night of Halloween, in Silver City, have been undisturbed in their marauding, and business men and property owners had just cause of complaint that their signs were taken down and removed, gates torn from fences, wagons taken to pieces or placed on top of roofs and a general disarrangement of all loose property," according to a news article dated November 6, 1895, in The Eagle. "This year it was determined by the city council and marshal that such proceeding should be checked and three special policemen were sworn in to prevent any destruction of property. They were entirely successful and on the morning of November 1st the citizens were well pleased with the contrast with the same morning last year. To the credit of Silver City's boys it should be stated that they desisted whenever spoken to by officers and not a single arrest was made."

Enjoy the Halloween festivities today. Responsibly, of course.

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