We just returned from our trip to Illinois and Wisconsin... and then a few stops in Missouri on the way back. It was kind of cool to have the opportunity to Trick-or-Treat in my old neighborhood, Pebble Valley, in Waukesha. Wow, how the memories flowed! So, there are a few things that I really loved about being there instead of Arkansas for Halloween! Let me tell you a little bit about the differences:
Arkansas - A child comes to the door, says "Trick-or-Treat", and some person, usually with NO smile, comes to the door. They may say "here you go" or something to that extent, but that's about it. There are very few exceptions to this, that we have encountered!
Wisconsin - A child comes to the door, says "Trick-or-Treat", and usually they don't even have to ring the door bell because the person is there waiting for them to arrive. They smile, and ask if they are having fun. We even had a house that asked the kids to "sing a song" for their candy. What fun!
Arkansas - The parents usually stay in the car, and you would never see them having a good time with their kids. Now, there are SOME exceptions to this, but very few!
Wisconsin - This was the funny part - the parents are walking around with their kids.... carrying beers! :) We got a kick out of that - I even took a picture! (Note: Andy and I were NOT two of the people carrying a beer!) Oh the joys of being in Wisconsin. The parents were having just as good of a time as the kids. We talked to one of the neighbors that was sitting on his porch and he made the statement "when my kids were doing this [edutors note: one of his sons went to school with me while we lived there in 4th through 7th grade] we always had a wagon with a Keg in it! Those were the good ol days" (he was referencing our discussion about the beers). We even had a police officer pull over by us (Pete - my best friend's husband - was scared he would be in trouble for carrying his "open container").... and he gave the kids a happy halloween bag with candy and goodies in it! He told the kids to have a good time... and headed on his way.
Arkansas - Trick-or-Treat starts on Halloween - usually after dark. And, your houses door bell could be rung until all hours of the night.
Wisconsin - Trick-or-Treat is SCHEDULED for each neighborhood or city. Sometimes it is even in the daytime (I remember that when I was a kid). Also, it may not be on October 31st - it could be the weekend before, or something like that. This year, in Pebble Valley, it started at 5:00 on October 31 and went until 7:30. This was nice because there was some time with light and some without.
Overall, I think Andy really enjoyed the Halloween experience in Pebble Valley, too. It was fun for me to see "old friends"...walk through my old neighborhood... and make statements like "we used to ride our bikes on this court. We would start at the top... and try to get to the other side without peddling because it was downhill and then up." I think Andy and Pete were sick of hearing me say stuff like that by the end of the night - oh well, Tanya and I enjoyed it. I really loved Pebble Valley... and still love it today - 20 years later. It doesn't look like much from the outside, but once you do something like take your kid trick-or-treating there... you realize how nice it is. Maybe everywhere in Wisconsin is like that. Who knows. But, the memories are very overwhelming to me 20 years later. I thank God for the opportunity to take this trip - it really meant a lot to me! I hope you enjoyed your Halloween as much as I did!
Special Note: This was not intended to be a "bash Arkansas" blog update. It was more to show the differences that we encountered. I love Arkansas. There are just some things that I think could be improved upon when it comes to Halloween. It is about our kids, after all! And, couldn't it be fun for the grown ups too?
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