Halloween -- It's My Bag, But It's Lookin' Mighty Empty

Greetings, greetings fellow Halloweeners!

How can it be that time of year has rolled around once again?

This is my 13th (*gasp*) year with The Countdown.  Will it be unlucky? Well...

If this past year's finds were Halloween treats, I got a rock.

I'm not saying I didn't find some gems among the rocks, not a to mention a grail I've been on the hunt for for years, but they were few and far between.

As lamented in the past, it's getting harder and harder to find vintage Halloween at garage and estate sales. Most people are privy to the collector's market now and for those that aren't, Google reverse imaging has made it a no-brainer when identifying collectability and value.

But let's not let that spoil our bag of joy this year.

As is tradition, my first post will be some Trick or Treat bags I've found over the past year, starting with this 1970's bag by Austin Art, a subsidiary of Hazelle, Inc Kansas City, Missouri.

The bag is double-sided with the same image.  The only information I could find on the company links it to Hazelle Hedges Rollins, a Kansas City Puppeteer, though I could find no direct connection to the production of Trick or Treat bags. It was, perhaps, a short-lived spin-off of the company.

Next up is Child World's/Children's Palace's own Peter Panda preaching Halloween safety.

For those of you that don't remember Child World/Children's Palace, it was a competitor of Toys R Us.  Child World opened in 1962.  Children's Palace opened in 1969.  Child World bought Children's Palace in 1975, but continued to operate under the name and the store's castle styling.  The chain went bankrupt in 1992.

Next up is a treat bag from yet another defunct retail business, Builders Square, featuring The Pink Panther schlepping Owens Corning pink fiberglass.

They forgot #7: You can make a fun cotton candy costume by rolling in Owens Corning pink fiberglass!

Aside from the common alliteration of P's, let's see how the Pink Panther's guidelines compare to Peter Panda's.

Peter Panda doesn't even mention eye holes. Nor ill-fitting costumes. They agree on the remaining points.  On the other hand, Peter Panda reminds kids to stay in their own neighborhood and to bring an adult along. Pink Panther is fine with you running off on your own in dangerous territory.  Overall, I'd have to give this one to the Pink Panther simply due to Peter Panda's rule #7: "Don't eat all your treats at one time and remember to share"? Pffffft.

Our final offer is from a local hospital, St. Anthony's, which has since rolled into the Mercy Hospitals conglomerate.

I like the drawings on this one.  The art looks familiar, but I can't place it.  There's something very familiar about that witch, particularly her oddly-drawn smile.

Props to St. Anthony's for recognizing clowns are just another facet of monsterism.

And that concludes the first post of my Countdown to Halloween.  I'll be back with more new content this month, but I might need to reach in past years' treat bags and pull out some greatest hits.

Be sure to head over to The Countdown and visit all the bloglins. And don't forget your bag, they're handing out full-sized treats.