Hartselle youngsters will have it made Oct. 31 as they celebrate Halloween with pockets filled with yummy sweets.

While some will stick to the time-honored tradition of going door-to-door to solicit treats from their friends and neighbors, many more will visit local church campuses to fill their trick-or-treat receptacles with goodies and participate in fun-filled games and activities.

Thankfully, business owners and residents have little fear of awakening Nov. 1 to find raw eggs splattered on their automobiles, front doors, windows and lawns. That was not the case in the 1970s and 1980s. 

Halloween trick-or-treaters left a mess in their paths. They used bars of soap and colored chalk to disfigure storefronts and automobiles, trashed decorations and overturned trash cans and patio furniture.

It was not unusual the day after Halloween to see merchants on the sidewalks washing

windows and home owners restoring the paint and windows on their cars and homes.

Thankfully, that is a thing of the past. Church-sponsored Halloween alternatives have made the difference. 

Candy, treats, refreshments and fun games are offered to youngsters as an alternative to trick-or-treat activities. They can satisfy their desire for sweet treats at one convenient location without running the risk of an accident while trick-or-treating in a busy neighborhood.

Thinking back to my childhood, I am reminded Halloween wasn’t observed as a means of collecting treats Oct. 31.

However, New Year’s Eve gave us rural kids the opportunity to dress up to conceal our identities and go serenading in our community. The object was to visit our neighbors and have them guess who we were. 

Most of the time, they picked us out, but that didn’t prevent them from offering us something good to eat. We usually walked away with an orange or apple, a pocketful of parched peanuts or a fried fruit pie. 

We’d return home with a sack full of goodies around 11 p.m., worn out after walking four or five miles. The treats we collected would last for several days.