Halloween 1977 – old man, witchy woman and bunny costume.
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Spring is less than two weeks out, but we are once again bracing for a winter storm here in middle America. It’s like the weather does not know where we are on the calendar. We go from highs of 70° one day and 36° with blowing snow the next. My plants are confused, as am I. I just hope we have decent weather by the time Easter rolls around.
Speaking of Easter, I was doing a little planning in advance by looking through my dessert recipes to see what might make the cut this year when my mind wandered to Halloween.
The year was 1977, and, as was our custom, the parents piled us three girls into the car, and we drove from house to house to trick or treat. (We grew up rural, so walking was out of the question.)
Across the road and down a bit were our closest neighbors, the Abels. Wilfred and Helen had no children of their own, and Helen absolutely delighted in having trick or treaters stop by. Every year she made sure to snap a photo of us in costume before sending us back out to the car.
Halloween 1977
I was ten going on 11 at this time, and, as evidenced by my “no effort costume” choice, I’m not sure I was that into trick or treating with the little ones. But what sparked this memory wasn’t my costume but, rather, the one worn by my youngest sister.
The costume consisted of a one-piece jumpsuit that sported a large bunny holding a carrot with more bunnies and a baby chick in the background.
In addition, the outfit was topped off with a vacuformed, plastic bunny rabbit mask. Now, you see how my mind went from Easter to Halloween, right?
I recall this costume more than others because the very one worn on that night is in my possession with its original box.Â
The bunny costume is a White Rabbit Collegeville Pajama Costume number 471 Tiny Tot for 3 – 5 year olds that fits children up to 36″ tall. Made in the U.S.A., the box touts that costume is Fun-time…Sleep-time.
The jumpsuit is in relatively good condition. However, the mask has some small tears in the plastic, and it is missing the elastic band that rubbed the wearer’s ears raw. And the box? The box is starting to fall apart.
I never wore this little bunny costume, but I wanted to preserve it, so I commandeered the hubby’s pool table, grabbed a frame from my stash, and began to lay out all of the pieces.
I think I might want to put the whole thing under glass, which means I will likely use a shadowbox due to the depth of the mask. I’m going to work out the details on this and get back to you, but for today, I thought I would share this piece of the past with you.
Oh, as for my costume that Halloween night in 1977? I don’t know what the character was, but the mask is a green-faced witchy woman with a Vampira vibe. And, yes, I still have it too.
Well, I better get back to Easter planning and snow shoveling. Thanks for hanging out in the Backroom with me today while I revisit the Halloween of my youth.Â
Until next time, keep making memories.
