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Halloween Holiday Traditions - October 7, 2016

A group of children dressed in cylinder designed costumes possibly for Halloween or a play in Oakley, Kansas, May 22, 1907. (Photo via Kansas Historical Society / kansasmemory.org)
A group of children dressed in cylinder designed costumes possibly for Halloween or a play in Oakley, Kansas, May 22, 1907. (Photo via Kansas Historical Society / kansasmemory.org)

Q: A century ago, Halloween celebrations in Kansas were more about vandalism than trick-or-treating. A northeast Kansas town tried to put an end to all the Halloween high-jinx by staging a parade and costume contest for kids. The Halloween Frolic began on October 31, 1914, and is still going strong, making it the oldest night-time Halloween parade in America. Name the Kansas town that’s been holding this Halloween Frolic for the past 102 years.


 

A: Hiawatha

 

Halloween celebrations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were often filled with vandalism, Tomfoolery and other shenanigans caused, in many cases, by young hooligans. In 1914, a woman in Hiawatha, Kansas, had had enough. 

 

Mrs. John Krebs decided to organize an autumn parade as a way of keeping young pranksters out of the community's flower beds and gardens at Halloween. The parade was a hit. Pranks and vandalism decreased at Halloween and the idea of holding a Halloween parade soon spread across the country. More than a century later, the mischief-preventing event – often called the Halloween Frolic - has become a town tradition, promoted by the Hiawatha Chamber of Commerce as the oldest Halloween parade in the United States.