By Katharine Korte Andrew and Janet Miller
The celebration of Halloween in Hinsdale has changed a lot over the years. Nowadays it’s about scary decorations, treats, and not so many tricks. This story is not something you would want your little goblins to read right before the holiday. It wasn’t ghosts and goblins that had Hinsdaleans scared to leave their homes in Halloweens past—it was the town’s “trick-playing, trouble-making teen-agers who had people spooked.”[1]
Halloween in Hinsdale once leaned heavily on tricks over treats, with mischievous mayhem becoming a near tradition—despite police efforts to keep it in check. In the 1930s, the village even began hiring special police to prevent damage from serious pranks. In 1935, Chief of Police Henry Domianus warned the citizens to “take in all signs, garbage cans, gates, swings and other ‘movable’ objects so that they can not be taken.”[2] By 1940, the town attempted a community Halloween celebration with a parade, street dance, bonfire, and more to quell the tricks.[3] Yet, the pranks only escalated over time.
By 1989 and 1990, Halloween mischief hit a breaking point. Police stepped up their patrols on Halloween 1989 to try and prevent trouble. By the end of the night, the officers had confiscated a small arsenal that included six knives and two pellet guns, and made six arrests.[4] It seemed as though the night would go down in Hinsdale’s history as one of the worst. But Halloween 1990 was even worse, with 32 teens arrested. The most serious incident involved a woman whose car window was smashed with a shaving cream can as she drove her son home from a party, injuring her face and arm. When she confronted the teens, they bombarded her with eggs.[5]
Thankfully, the village responded and strict curfews were implemented which put an end to the “Horrid Hinsdale Halloweens.” And it seems few miss the “trick” in Hinsdale’s Halloween traditions today.
See below for some stories and memories of Hinsdale’s Halloween past:
“One Halloween Mr. Cole, who at the time lived at Park and Fourth Streets, went out with his children to perform a few pranks. Among other things, they decided to transfer a large pile of leaves from the yard of W. T. Barr, on 5th near Garfield, to the front porch. It was a real task but was finally completed–so–they rang the bell and ran. Mr. Cole ran right into the arms of Mr. Barr who had come out the rear door and watched the entire procedure. Mr. Barr wasn’t a bit pleased what had happened, and then to catch his neighbor in the act added nothing to his pleasure. Never did hear the finish but I’ll warrant that the leaves were removed before the Cole’s were allowed to leave the premises.” From “Cushing’s Comments,” October 1947, Number 35. “Cushing’s Comments” was a newsletter written by Otis Cushing for his insurance clients in the 1940s and 1950s.
“One Halloween, Joe Schneider, night police officer, caught some boys near Third and Washington Streets with Harry Giovannoni’s wagon. He climbed into the seat with the boys, puffing his pipe, and ordered the boys to take him back down town in the wagon. The boys got out and started north at a good rate of speed and when they arrived in front of the Boyd home, now the ‘Gym’ location, the dropped the shafts and ran and Officer Schneider went down the hill unescorted. Fortunately there were no injuries. Another group of boys saw a freight car standing on the sidetrack near the Monroe Street crossing. They started it rolling. It smacked into a boxer occupied by section hands. The culprits were never apprehended but the Burlington detectives were on the case for a long, long while.” From “Cushing’s Comments,” October 1950, Number 69.
In an oral history interview with Norman Barfield in 1987, Mr. Barfield recounted the story of Gardner Symonds’ experience on Halloween. Gardner Symonds lived at 301 South Park:
Interviewer: “Do you remember the little house on the corner, a cottage, where Gardner Symonds lived for awhile?”
Barfield: “Yes, a lawyer built that and lived there with his wife for many years. He used to be a target for some of the older boys on Halloween. They would stand across the street and try to throw firecrackers into his chimney. It wasn’t a very nice thing to do, but a lot of the things we used to do on Halloween were pretty extreme. I am glad to see it isn’t that way now.”
“I can remember one Halloween when somebody assembled all the old used crank case oil from all the gas stations and put a big puddle out [on the street] and lit it. It was the biggest bonfire you ever laid eyes on…I can remember another morning after Halloween…somebody had swiped all the lawn furniture which imprudent homeowners had left out -wicker furniture- and threaded it like beads on a string and hung it across the street on top of those elm trees, about forty feet in the air.” From an oral history interview with John Angelo, 1988.
“Hinsdale was a pretty quiet town then [1930s-1940s] except on Halloween. I was one of a group of boys responsible for a lot of trouble on Halloween night. One night our group built a bonfire on Park and Oak out of leaves and old furniture. Then his behind Thompsons’ barn on Garfield. The police arrested about every child in town but us because they didn’t find our hiding place. And here was another thing about Halloween. It was dangerous for younger boys to go out on Halloween. The older boys removed the pants of the younger boys. I did a lot of hell with John Angelo, but I’m not trying to incriminate him in any way.” From an oral history interview with Jim Beck, circa 1980s.
[1] “No treat for police, villagers,” The Doings (Hinsdale, Illinois), 5 October 1995.
[2] “Special Police Hired to Halt Property Loss,” The Doings (Hinsdale, Illinois), 31 October 1935.
[3] “Hinsdale to Mark Halloween at Party,” The Doings (Hinsdale, Illinois), 31 October 1940.
[4] “No treat for police, villagers,” The Doings (Hinsdale, Illinois), 5 October 1995.
[5] “No treat for police, villagers,” The Doings (Hinsdale, Illinois), 5 October 1995.
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