Remains of the Day

Our costumes were laying so nicely in a heap on the floor from last night that I had to snap this photo. It was another active, somewhat smokey, Halloween in Lincoln Park. I got to about 400 kids over here until I locked up and joined Mr. Big and the hubby on the streets. The 300 block of Jefferson did not disappointment. The red house added a large werewolf which became the perfect backdrop for many an on- the-street-photo. I noticed there were more dogs out for the holiday this year, including a black chihuahua who matched his tricker treating adult witch just perfectly. There were a number of bonfires in the area, which my eyes didn't really dig, and which I'm hoping doesn't become a tradition.

Things seemed to start earlier and last later this year. There were some early birds who started knocking on our door before it even got dark and who I refused to open the door for. I heard later that they said it was safer for the kids to go out while it was still light, to which I say that's no excuse here in Lincoln Park where it is safe to be on the streets after dark, especially on Halloween. Tradition is tradition. The crowd was still going strong after 9 p.m. when we came in to try to get the Big One to sleep.

I just saw the Lincoln Park clean up crew walk by: homeschoolers E and J who have a tradition of going around to pick up the Halloween trash from the sidewalks the day after Halloween. Thank you, guys. Hope you didn't have to pick up too many of the pretzels I handed out.

EAger to hear how some of the non-veterans weathered the storm.

Happy Halloween - Pomona Style

I have just a second here to acknowledge that the big day is finally here. While some folks are currently in thir yards setting up last minute installations, others are nailing stakes and caution signs around their grass in a true ba hum bug manner to announce "keep off my grass." Whether you love it or hate it, if you listen closely you can almost hear the collective deep breath that's being taken before all heck breaks loose around here.

Oh, and the house in today's photo? It's on the 300 block of East Jefferson (again, I know). It may not seem like they go all out for Halloween, unless you know that normally there is no wrought iron fence around the front yard (or brick entrance pillars). They bring the fence and pillars out once a year just for the benefit of Halloween in Pomona. They also give out great home made treats to the local kids.

Happy Halloween, everybody.

Things that make you go hmmm?

I have already made a post about 150 E. Alvarado Street. You can click on the link below for 150 E. Alvarado to see it. That's the beige victorian with green trim across the street from the Stater Bros' parking lot. The one that always has something dysfunctional (and usually toothless) happening around it's porch and driveway. It's also the other half of the mortuary (with the other half being across Garey and previously painted various shades of purple.)

What has me kind of baffled is the almost professionallly-done Halloween display they have going on at 150 E. Alvarado this Halloween. Now I assure you that the real people I usually see hanging out around this house are much more scarey looking than the fake one's pictured, but it's still puzzling that someone has decked the place out for the holiday. It's almost like someone connected to the place actually cares about the neighborhood. They even have a George the clown at the peak of the house, for goodness sakes. Weird.

THE END.

Bob and George In the House

This red two story craftsman on the 300 block of East Jefferson is not only one of my favorites houses in the area, but it is also home to two of the most popular scaries each Halloween: Bob and George. Bob is the black and grey monster on the left, George is the clown on the right. Bob made his premiere a couple of years ago (from the aisleways of T.J.Maxx, as I understand), and George the clown joined him last year. It only takes a short time for a Halloween tradition to be born here in Lincoln Park, so there you have it.

Bob and George came out of hibernation today, as you can see from the photo. Please join me in welcoming them back to the red house of Lincoln Park.

Count down to Halloween: 3 more days.

Oh, and here's a quiz: What color did the red craftsman used to be painted?

Must be October

The pictured house on the 200 block of E. Jefferson put their Halloween decorations up on October 1, 2007, making them the first in the area to do so and winner of this year's "Eager Beaver" award. I'm wondering if they've already cleaned out their gutters for the fall, as well. Boy do I resent organized people.

For anyone who doesn't know, Lincoln Park is THE place in the area for tricker treating. Halloween is hands down the most celebrated holiday in town. This is yet another area where Claremont does not hold a candle to us, much less a bloodied skeleton. It is interesting that Halloween originated with the celebration of Sanhaim, which the Romans adapted to become Pomona Day, and which eventually became Halloween as we know it. I have no idea if this is why Halloween is such a big deal here in the Goddess of Pomona's namesake.

The 200 and 300 blocks of E. Jefferson are the most heavily decorated and traveled on October 31. The houses that do not go all out end up sticking out like a sore thumb, as compared to the elaborate-wrought-iron-fenced-front-yard-cemeteries and 25-foot monsters hanging from the more spirited homes.

Our first year here, it rained on Halloween and numbers were down. We were therefore not expecting the bombardment of tricker treaters that has followed every year since. In terms of numbers, I try to keep count, but inevitably things get too chaotic and I lose count around 300. I've heard Jefferson can get around 1,000. There's typically a lot of double and triple dippers (meaning repeat customers - it's Pomona after all), so that adds to the confusion of counting.

This year I will again be scaring the spider mans and princesses of Pomona by giving out non-candy. I found individually wrapped Halloween pretzels at Costco to help do my part in reducing the level of high fructose corn syrup coursing through the veins of our Pomona kids. THE END