There are a lot of people from my generation who look upon the cautious era that we live in today and wonder how we even survived childhood.
Why, remember how we'd go on family trips in the back of our parents' carpeted, customized vans or in the way-back of station wagons and not wear seat belts? Just bouncing around in the back like crash test dummies while our parents drowned out our shrieks of joy with ELO in the tape deck? And how most of our toys were either choke hazards, painted with lead paint or edged in sharp metal? Bike helmets were for sissies and of course Silly Putty was supposed to go inside of your ears. And you couldn't even consider yourself a real girl unless you'd burned off the top layer of your knuckle skin on an Easy Bake oven. Or a real sister unless you'd been shot in the head with a BB gun. If you never stretched your Stretch Armstrong to the breaking point and got yourself slung into a wall, you were only a shell of a child.
Yes, I guess it really is a wonder that we're not all dead.
My friends and family always joke when Halloween comes around because we feel nostalgic for the plastic masks and costumes. Yes, the same masks that sliced our tongues as we fought valiantly for air. And those costumes that were bound to rip if you moved too far, too fast.
Me and my brother, 1977
Besides the big rumor that people were putting razor blades in apples, I never considered it as a time when any of us were worried about pitfalls and prat falls. That is until I found this little film from the same year, 1977.
Did you see how many times that kid fell down? What the heck was wrong with her? She would have been weeded out fast in the brutal Lord of the Flies atmosphere of my old neighborhood. And my lord, did you see how they took her from an amazing witch to a white robed, reflection taped butt of jokes?
And how many of you shuddered when the girl put sticky tape all over that amazing vintage Halloween sack? My lord. I do admit that I admired the macabre planning ahead aspect of writing one's name and address on your treat bag in case of accident. Because we all know that no kid worth their salt was ever goin' down if not clutching their treat bag in their cold, dead hands.
How about how the mother slaved away to try and make the costume safer only to trash the poor kid's witch mask?? I guarantee you somewhere, that kid had a pair of roller skates without wheels.
Curious about the second part of the film? Will the little girl even be allowed to leave the house? Let's see:
Did you notice that in the party scene, the food bowls were completely empty? That little shindig must have been thrown at the house of the "eat before you go trick-or-treating" family. Would a little Chex Mix have killed them?
And I don't know which was sadder - that kid having to throw out half of her treats when she got home OR the stand-up routines that the children had to perform just to get candy. Did any of you ever have to do that? Is this just a New Jersey thing? I remember my brother and I shrieking, "Trick or treat! Smell my feet! Give me something good to eat!" and that was it. We were out for cheap thrills - not to entertain the senior set.
And we sure as heck weren't going to wear our Mom's rouge or food coloring when we could be falling off of curbs in plastic masks and putting our lives at risk with impalement by non-sawed-off broomsticks. We'd sooner have our Big Wheels thrown into a fire pit than to wear a dirty old mop head as a wig.
I'll leave you with this clip from one of my favorite shows ever. The Bionic Woman bit gets me every time.
Tell me about your childhood Halloweens, buckaroos! Were your parents the cautious types? Did you run through the night like wild goblins and ghouls until all of the porch lights went out?
Until next time (remember butterscotch and circus peanuts are not considered "treats"),
x's and o's,
Eartha
I think that it's a blast to learn about things that I never knew about. Especially things from my childhood. Even though I considered myself pretty up on all of the trends as a kid, some escaped my radar. Like Kooky Spooks.
One day, I was browsing my friend, Bryan's Flickr page and came across this photo:
SO many costumes to look at and talk about in this photo but my eyes were instantly drawn to the kid in the back row with the inflatable costume on his head.
Ha! That kid was Bryan! And he was wearing Kooky Spooks - not only a great tongue-twister but also a pretty great costume idea.
He gave me the scoop on Kooky Spooks and I became so intrigued. Off I went to do some research. I learned that Kooky Spooks costumes were in stores from 1979 through 1981 and that they reappeared in 1985-1991 in limited release. How I missed them, I'll never know! I know that I would have begged my parents to get one. They were made by the same company, Spearhead Industries that brought us the Dudley Easter egg kits (both designed by the late Bob Williams). I bet you'll remember those!:
Remember that crazy Dudley rabbit?
Now back to Kooky Spooks! Some of the characters were: Ishy Bat, Scardy Cat, Wonder Witch, Woblin Goblin, Wunkin Punkin, Spacey Casey, Bone Head, and Howly Owl. They came with the poncho, an inflatable head portion, makeup and reflective tape.
Here is a shot of some of the whole costume packages owned by Andrew Williams:
The graphics on the packages are so cool and I can see how they would have appealed to kids. I found some other folks online who also had their very own Kooky Spooks experiences as children and they were nice enough to let me share with you all.
That's him as the little guy there, running from his cousin! I don't think that he was very appreciative of the Kooky Spooks yet.
Every single photo made me shriek with delight. I even watched an eBay auction for one but didn't pull the trigger to bid. Maybe next Halloween!
Do any of you guys and girls remember Kooky Spooks? I looked in vain to find a copy of the old commercial but didn't find it. I'd love to hear your memories - both Kooky Spooks and general Halloween related.
Thanks to everyone who let me share your pictures and memories. It was a lot of fun seeing them.
I wish all of you a great Halloween!
Until next time (don't forget your bicycle pumps if you're Kooky Spookin')
x's and o's,
Eartha
Hello my little buckaroos! Well, two more days until Halloween! Eeeeeee! I'm so excited!
I received this great little story from a Ranch Dressing friend named Sara and I think that you'll find it pretty spoooky! This is from when she was in 2nd grade.
I bring to you "A Spooky, Scary Story". Enjoy!
In case you can't read the small print, here is a translation with her words unchanged because I can't even bear to change the cute little misspellings (and I know the adult Sara and her spelling is top-notch these days so not to worry! And besides...does anyone but me notice the badly placed comma in the original mimeograph sheet?):
When he walked in the house he saw spiders.
And then he walked a little more and saw a ghost.
And he walked up the stars and saw a brain
It was getting late and his mother told him to go to bed at 8:00
and when he went to bed something woke him up
IT was strang and horrible
It was.....goblins!
he was scared to dath
he ran so fast he got home in time
How cute is that?! It makes me sad even decades later that you can tell that she ran out of room on that page. I bet that little Sara would have just kept going with her story! Here is a note from her about the story:
I totally remember getting this paper too. It was one of those mimeograph copies, where the paper came to you kind of damp feeling and had this certain smell to it. Anyway, I remember trying to think REALLY hard about what would be insanely scary to me. My Mom and Step-Dad had just been watching some movie on TV (the name of which completely escapes me now, possibly The Beast with Five Fingers, because it would have been the late 1970s) where there was a hand crawling around on it's own killing people. I was completely freaked out by a hand living on it's own killing people. Hey, what's more freaky than body parts with a mind of their own? So, I guess I thought about all our body parts and the brain seemed like the most frightening of all - and into the story it went. I guess, ultimately though, I thought goblins were the most scary because that scared him to death! What 'goblins' meant to me as a 7 year old? Hmmm, huge monsters maybe??? Hard to say!
I'm not sure why I finished it 'He got home in time' because he was sleeping at the haunted house, but I guess that is a 7 year old for you. :D
The words are supposed to be - 'strange' --- 'horrible' ----'death'.
You can see I was not he best speller back then - but I did color the ghost within the lines!
Well, I love the whole thing and completely agree with the teacher's remarks of "Good!"...though I'd probably say "Great!" Thanks for sharing your story and your lovely ghost coloring with us, Sara! Thanks also for reminding us about those freshly printed mimeograph sheets. I can remember how all of the kids would put them up to their faces and huff the fumes when they were handed out!
And hey! I think that now would be a good time to see a bit about the film that inspired her story! (Sorry Sara....cover your eyes with your hand and just peek through the fingers now..)
My gosh, Sara is right! A hand living on it's own IS pretty darned freaky! Her story made me wonder what other kinds of body parts can terrorize folks. Here's what I found!
Okay, first off, another hand - but not just any hand....it's the hand of an astronaut destroyed in space!
Eek! And can we take a second to pay homage to quite possibly one of the best lines in a movie ever: "What does it mean I'm stacked?"
I think that I'll ask Mr. Kitsch that when he comes home from work today just to see the wheels turning in his head.
Next up...The Crawling Eye!
Oh my gosh! Those crazy, creepy disembodied eyes coming from the hills! (I might just fear them about as much as I do that show "The Hills".) Okay, buckaroos...I know what you must be thinking: "Please Miss Eartha! We'll never go to sleep tonight! And how will we ever look at our OWN body parts again??" ...but you must at least see this one:
Like those first few frames with that brain? That's just for you, Sara!
How about that last line dripping with sexism that is even scarier than disembodied parts creeping around terrorizing people?
Thanks to Miss Sara and to the film makers in the golden age of horror and sci-fi for making me love the "spooky" and "scary" even more than I did before.
Until next time (what's that behind you?!!)
x's and o's,
Eartha
Hello my little buckaroos! How's tricks and treats? Today, I bring to you a tale fraught with 1970's little-kid adventure and candy. And it's a group effort - my entire family contributed to the story!
I don't think that a Halloween goes by that my brother and I don't mention "The Confederates Incident". I get the feeling that it's going to be one of the stories that is passed down for generations through my family. When my brother and I were kids in our small Southern town in the 70's, there was a motorcycle gang who called themselves "The Confederates" that lived down at the other end of our street. They were a pretty hard-scramble bunch and I can remember how folks in our area talked about them with anxiety in their voices. I remember seeing them flying down the street in packs with their long hair dusty and twisted in the wind and confederate flags on their ragged denim backs. We were growing up in the time of gritty biker movies filled with bloody brawls and scenes of psychedelic drug highs mocked up by wacky camera filters and bright, swirly lights. And in our minds, the Confederates must have just walked out of one of those movies.
Even though we were led to believe that the world was like Happy Days, this world was a lot more interesting. You wouldn't find a Potsie within a hundred miles of this bunch and I'm pretty sure that not even the Fonz would have looked like a rebel in their wake. In the car, whenever we'd pass their house on the way out of our neighborhood, my brother and I couldn't help but turn our heads all the way around to look at them gathered on the front porch of that rundown mill house (while hiding low behind the bench seat so that they wouldn't see us, hunt us down and make an example out of us). They were a mixture of scary and wow.
I've asked my brother to share "The Confederates Incident" with you here. There is even a KISS connection. This just can't get any more 70's if you ask me. Take it away, bro! :
"When I told my mom I wanted to be Ace Frehley for Halloween, I don't think she even blinked. I was a total KISS fanatic at the time, and my mom was probably happy that I didn't want to be Gene Simmons' demon character, Paul Stanley's loverman character, or Peter Criss's Ringo character. A space cadet probably seemed like a safe choice (this was before Ace's substance abuse problems came to light).
Ace
In retrospect, though, maybe I should have modeled myself after Gene, who was claiming to have slept with thousands of women. It might have kept my parents from secretly wondering if I was gay during all of those girlfriendless, D&D-playing years.
Gene
(Note from Sis: Um, no.)
NOTE: My parents get general rock 'n' roll props anyway for just letting me be as I dropped into the rabbit hole of rock 'n' roll obsession. When my sister tattled that my new Blondie record contained the phrase "pain in the ass," they let it go. And when I was a teenager, seemingly unaware that a closed bedroom door would not mask the constant f-bombs blaring from my Rage Against the Machine record, they apparently sighed and just told themselves that at least I wasn't getting high or arrested.
Note from Sis: My Mom just came up with this brilliant photo. Look at how obsessed he was! Not only the posters and records but he was also wearing a KISS t-shirt! Remember when I mentioned the Fonz earlier? I love that the Fonz and Barbarino were mixed in. I doubt that my brother even liked them. They were probably just a smokescreen so that my parents wouldn't fear that he had gone over to the dark side. Anyway...back to my brother's story! (I'm still interrupting him after all of these years.)
So anyway, my mom called my great aunt, who worked at JC Penney, and who had access to a lot of dumpster-bound fabrics and other material from the mannequin displays. A pair of tights, a roll of silver foil, some makeup, and who knows what other crafty materials later, and I was Ace Frehley.
And I've gotta say that mom did a stellar job. Even today, that costume holds up pretty well. My only regret is that this was around the time that KISS were toying with disco, so Ace's costume is a little more shimmery and dance-floor ready than in other years. And as any of my ex-flames will tell you, I'm not a dancer. In fact, I should be wrapped up in electrical cord the moment I walk into a place with a dance floor, just in case I get any wild ideas.
At any rate, I wore my costume to the school carnival and won a skateboard, which was pretty cool.
Note from sis: That's me as the gypsy looking like a lame fool next to Ace Frehley. We were about to go to said carnival with our best friends, Carla and Michael. Look at my brother's face! He looks like he's thinking,"I'm a can of interplanetary whoop-ass! Bring to me your Milky Way miniatures!" Now back to the story!
But the real treat came while we were trick or treating. Our street, way before it became an avenue of crack houses, had all sorts of people along its two- or three-mile length. There were the old folks running their appliance repair businesses out of their back yards, there was the old house full of colored glassware in every window, there was the white clapboard house with Bible verses written in red paint on all of the exterior walls, and there was the motorcycle gang's crash house.
The Confederates were about what you'd expect from a mid '70s motorcycle club: tattoos, denim jackets, long hair, long beards, bikes filling the front yard, "old ladies" lounging on the porch steps. My only experience with them had been once when some friends and I snuck under the fig tree at the edge of their back yard to watch them smoke and drink, and one of them yelled out, "I'm gonna get a rope and hang me some kids!" You should have seen us run. I'll bet that old fellow's still laughing about that one.
But on Halloween night, they were handing out candy just like everyone else, and to our young minds, any house handing out candy was worth the risk (well, except for that creepy house with the Bible verses on the walls -- we'd convinced ourselves that guy had a rattlesnake pit in his living room). One look at my Ace Frehley costume, and the bikers invited me into their house so they could show me off. I can't remember what my mom thought of this. The Confederates, for all their hell raisin', were part of the neighborhood, and never really caused any trouble. As far as she was concerned, she might have viewed it in the same way that she would have viewed my going into my grandmother's house. She might have made me go in because it would have been rude to refuse. But I like to think she was horrified, because that would make me a total mom-disobeyin' badass for going in there. Although, truth be told, I was terrified.
So while one of their "old ladies" came out on the front porch to smoke and keep my sister (who was dressed like an angel, no way she was getting in!) company, I went into the biker lair. I wish I could remember more than just general biker awesomeness. They were lounging around everywhere watching TV. There was lots of yelling and laughing and cursing. There was a dentist's chair right there in the middle of the living room! A dentist's chair! One day I'm going to get hypnotized and relive that memory, just so I can get the details back.
It also turns out that, unbeknownst to me until a week or so ago, a future girlfriend was probably in there as well. Older than me by a couple of years, she was apparently the Confederates' off-limits-to-advances mascot, and was probably there smoking and drinking and laughing at me as I geekily discussed who was my favorite member of KISS (obviously Ace) with the gang (they went with Gene; I'm pretty sure Paul and Peter got no votes). I'll bet if I saw her, I was scared to death of her.
After a few minutes, I went back out, much to my mother's relief, since I didn't appear to be drunk, high, tattooed, or sold into Satan's service. I'm pretty sure she didn't share that story very often. I'm not even sure if she told my dad."
So, kids...that is "The Confederates Story" as told by my brother. Thanks, bro!
I also remember that for some reason, I happened to switch out of the gypsy costume shown above and was now dressed like an angel for trick-or-treating. My costume was a little white choir robe and a wire coat hanger pinned on my head, twisted upwards and ending in a piece of cardboard spray-painted gold in the shape of a halo. No photos exist of that one. I am pretty sure it's because the entire universe knew that I was lame next to Ace there. Much like vampires, extreme lameness can not be photographed.
One of the things that makes this story amazing to my brother and me is that my parents were always very protective of us. We weren't allowed to run around the neighborhood and get into trouble (well, except for my brother who was apparently hiding under fig trees and risking his life while I was playing with Holly Hobbie paper dolls in my room). I remember that moment when our Mom told us that we could go up on the porch of the Confederates. I also remember my little kid heart both leaping and pausing all at once. We made our way up on the porch and before we knew it, the biker guys had grabbed my brother and pulled him inside where I heard the entire shack go into an uproar over his costume. One of the biker ladies came out and I remember like it was yesterday...She took a long puff on her cigarette, blew the smoke into my face (hey, it was the 70's) and said, "Look y'all! She's a little angel!" before erupting into a gigantic cackle and going back inside of the house for her brush with trick-or-treating rock and roll greatness.
Sooner or later, my brother emerged from the house. I SO wish that I could remember the look on his face. I imagine that he came out of the house looking smug with a face flush with adrenaline - and a full beard from being enveloped into such an adult world so abruptly.
Yesterday, I asked my Mom for her side of the story. Here is what she had to say:
"Aunt Ruth was definitely a big part of that outfit, we told her what we were doing and her mind went in to overdrive. And there was no way she could imagine who KISS was. Surely we had a picture of some type to show her and we sat down and started figuring what we needed to make an outfit. Thankfully she had access to odds and ends from Penney's. So I did the best I could to pull all those pieces together with glue, staples. It did take quite a while. Turned out pretty neat I think. It did sparkle. We spray painted the boots silver and dad and I painted his face.
I do remember the bikers' house, the people saw you guys and wanted everyone inside to see Andy so away they took him, I was outside on the porch with you.. I was definitely concerned. I remember us standing there and this guy was eating Oreos and asked did you want some for your treat or treat and we told him, 'No thanks'.
And you know I don't think we even talked about even being there or you guys going in and probably never told Dad. It happened, we left and went on our way. I never knew there was a dentist chair, or that Andy was scared. Yes, what did happen to my motherly instinct?"
Thanks Mom! So, maybe it was a momentary lapse of mother-henning on her part or maybe she just felt edgy that night - either way, I love that she let us go. It has made for one of our favorite stories of childhood ever. However, I can't imagine how hard she must have had to pull on me to keep me from taking those Oreos. Scary biker guy or not - hello, Oreos!
Oh wait! This just in from my Mom!: "I remember a house with a screen porch, before we got to that one. We walked into the porch and you said an old person lived there. I asked how you knew and you said it smelled like it."
Gosh, I was such an insensitive child!
And this: "When Andy was talking about his liking KISS I was trying to remember the little boy that pretty much I think introduced him to KISS. He was small with blond hair. But after a while his mom decided KISS was apparently close to the devil and she made her son get rid of all his KISS stuff and told me I should too. I told her it would pass and left Andy alone with it . I still have Andy's KISS characters in the closet."
My Mom is being nice. They're "characters" are actually dolls but she won't say so as she wants my brother to look like a tough guy. Remember these?
"KISS: That's the name! KISS: They may look insane! KISS: If rock's your game!" - What a jingle! Look at Gene's tongue! And Ace's Farrah Fawcett hairdo!
My Barbie and Cher dolls used to date those rock and roll legends. Ken seriously took a back seat to these bad boys!
To make this a true family affair, I'll add this quote from my Dad:
"I never thought KISS was satanic but I remember telling Andy that I thought they were just making up for their lack of talent with costumes and showmanship. Pretty sure y'all never told me about the trick or treating thing."
Ooh! Family secrets! So, y'all...that is "The Confederates Incident". I can't wait to see how the story evolves through the decades. I'll close with another photo that I've unearthed of my brother. Here he is rocking his bad boy side at a family card party:
And this great quote that my brother and I still repeat four years after it was made on Flickr:
"The Gods of metal totally had your mom's back." - Elmer Presslee
They sure did, Elmer. They sure did.
Until next time (get up - everybody's gonna move their feet...get down - everybody's gonna leave your seat),
x's and o's,
Eartha
Hello my little buckaroos! Today there is a lot of excitement around the ranch. Why? Because it's October 1st! We love Halloween around here and today, I get to decorate to my heart's content with pumpkins and ghoulies and goblins! I can't wait. I also can't wait to get back into Ranch Dressing full swing. I've been away for a bit concentrating on other things but am now looking forward to spending more time here.
I thought that we might kick off the Halloween season with a photo that I found in Mr. Kitsch's family album. That's right - straight out of 1975!
Hot dog! Can't you just smell those old plastic costumes? Am I the only one old enough to remember.. or to still have scars on my tongue from gasping for air through the tiny but dangerously sharp mouths on those masks?
Throughout the month of October, I'd love to showcase some of my own little kid Halloween pictures and some of yours too! If you have one that you'd like to share, please send it to me through the "Contact Me" link on the side of my page. Make sure to send the largest, most high-resolution photo that you can and to tell me a little about it. And let me know what name you want me to use - i.e. your real name or a screen name.
And even if you don't have a photo that you want to send in, I'd love to hear about your favorite costumes or Halloween memories from childhood. Thanks y'all!
