Sheridan's 1917 Hallowe'en

100 years ago, trick-or-treating, such as we know it, hadn’t yet arrived on the scene but tricks raged in full force. Local police departments took yearly measures to quell youthful ruffians’ All Hallows Eve rebellions (outhouses, beware).

The tamer, more civilized sets held spooky parties for the kiddos and masquerade balls for mom and dad, of which Sheridan saw its fair share in 1917.

Halloween that year fell on a Wednesday. Arthur Dickson and his elementary put on a Halloween program that Halloween afternoon. The Doreas Society held a Halloween Social box supper at the Moseburgs that evening, while the Harrises of Soldier Creek put on a party with dancing and games; after “all the goblins and witches had been driven from the neighborhood,” the adults sat down for… “refreshments.”

The masquerade ball held at the Monarch Amusement Hall awarded prizes for the best masks and guests danced away to the “best music” from nine o’clock into the wee hours of the morning.

Apparently, Halloween ‘17 was a pretty quiet night, relatively speaking--mischief makers soaped all the windows in town. Things might’ve gotten a little more interesting, too, but for the rotten luck of a particularly plucky pack of preteens:

“It was a very delightful Hallowe’en prank to dress in boys clothes to attend a strictly girls party, but when intercepted on the way by city police and held at headquarters for the greater part of an hour it was not so amusing. It is the opinion of the victims that the officers who gathered in the bevy of maidens should not be among those who are to have their salaries raised.”

In retrospect, Sheridan’s All Hallows Eve a century ago was pretty tame, despite the highlights provided by local youth. That was soon to change in the coming years, which saw the gradual coming of treats instead of tricks, a nationwide Ouija board craze, and the influx of several psychics and mediums. Clippings from The Sheridan Enterprise.

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