Halloween 1946

A look back at Halloween celebrations in Oxford County in 1946.

By Liz Dommasch, Archivist

This week, I thought it might be fun to look back at some events going on for Halloween in 1946. In Ingersoll, the Kiwanis Club hosted its Children’s Halloween Parade held on October 31, 1946. An annual Halloween parade and party for the children of Ingersoll, the event saw 700 children taking part in the festivities, which began at the Market Square. From there, the parade of boys and girls was led by the Ingersoll Pipe Band to the Community Centre where costumes were judged in a variety of categories.

Each of the successful members in the parade was presented with a prize of 50 cents, while each boy and girl in the parade was given a container of mixed candy. Following the event, free roller skating was enjoyed by the older boys and girls.

Likewise, a similar event was held in Woodstock by the Rotary Club, although they chose to cancel their outdoor parade, that year, due to having run into bad weather on more than one occasion. Instead, they held a mammoth concert in the Collegiate Auditorium. The event also included a sleight-of-hand magic show, roller skating, and comic movie films, as well as performances by Margaret Lewis and Bennie Silverton on the accordion and violin. Sadly, as candy was hard to get, due to sugar rationing during the War, the children were promised some of the best apples instead. According to the Woodstock-Sentinel-Review the following day, there were around 1,000 kiddies of all ages, most of them in costume, that attended the annual Halloween show.

Earlier in the day, the public schools held their usual Halloween parties, in each classroom, and the following night, the Teentown Halloween Dance was held at the Woodstock Collegiate Gymnasium, which included free refreshments and music by Norm Russ and his 10-piece orchestra.

Unfortunately, along with the festivities, there was also the usual mischief and vandalism that occurs before and on Halloween. In Ingersoll, such “tendency to destructiveness” was said to be in greater abundance than in previous years, with sections of fences being pulled down, a milk wagon being overturned, and steps to homes being removed. On Devil’s Night, reports were received by the police of vegetable gardens in the King Street West area being raided, and in one section, the sidewalks were strewn with cabbages. Likewise, a number of merchants discovered that their plate-glass windows had been smeared with soap or candle wax.

Although full preparations were made to curb any rowdyism and police patrolled the streets at regular intervals, it was the impression of the officers that when one of their cars passed through a district, the car carrying the pranksters soon appeared and their plans executed, as quickly as possible, before another street was visited.

Oxford County Archives wishes everyone a safe and happy Halloween!

Note: Students of 6A, Central Public School were from the bottom up: Dorothy Waugh, Donna Martin, Margaret Rist, Muriel Knights, Betty Reinhart, Patricia Tincknell, Dorothy Harris, Lorraine Potter, Ruth Boswell, and Roy Roth; the teacher was Miss Farrow.

Halloween Frolic at the Ingersoll Community Centre led by the Ingersoll Pipe Band. [COA123 9-200]

Adults and children wearing costumes walk into the Ingersoll Community Center for the Halloween Frolic. [COA123 9-202]

Disclaimer: Archives staff recognize that some of these photographs include offensive and objectionable costumes worn by children, some of which may include racist depictions. These photographs document the past and were created within the context of their original time period. Providing access to these historical materials does not endorse any attitudes, prejudices, or behaviours depicted therein.