Halloween Pranks on the North West Frontier
Trick or Treat Included Too Many Tricks For Western Canada In 1923
Oct 20, 2009
During the early 1920s Halloween antics like pushing over outhouses were getting out of hand. At that time the small villages of the Peace River Country grew into actual towns with business located within walking distance of each other. That made it easy for the young boys of the town to do a lot of damage in a short space of time.
1923 Editorial in the Grande Prairie Herald
1922 was a bad year for Halloween pranks in Grande Prairie, so in 1923 W.C. Pratt wrote an editorial chastising the boys and their parents in an attempt to head off a similar spree of childish lawlessness the next year. He said, "There seems to be an opinion among the young boys of the town, that they are at liberty to do anything they wish on the night of Halloween without the law interfering."
"Halloween is traditionally a night of merrymaking, but up here particularity it is noticed that it is developing into a time when the children are making it a night of willful damage and mischievous. Last year there was a great deal of damage done to business properties in town, which there is no excuse for, and it is hoped that there will not be a repetition of it this year.
"The authorities do not begrudge the children good wholesome fun, but they are bent on putting a stop to the damage of property, such as has been going for the last two or three years."
Wholesome Fun
Grande Prairie had grown large enough that vandalism was a problem, but no so large that there were social outlets, like Halloween parties especially for young people. Pratt encouraged the community to provide alternate activities for children on Halloween. He noted that groups like the Mission Band did put on parties for their young people that were much enjoyed.
Parents played a key role in Pratt's efforts to reduce Halloween pranks in Grande Prairie in 1923. He said, "The parents of children can do a great deal in this, and can point out to their children the meaning of Halloween, and we feel sure that the kiddies can find ways in which to spend a merry evening besides damaging other people's property."
Halloween Pranks Part of Growing Pains in Western Canada
As the communities in northwestern Canada grew into small towns they tried to shift from the freewheeling lawless spirit of Halloween pranks on homesteads to the more civilized approach of organized activities for young people in town.
Sources:
Images for this article were provided by the South Peace Regional Archives. Material for this article was provided by the Isabel Campbell Collection which is housed in the Grande Prairie Public Library.
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