Halloween Post-mortem and Why I Blog

Well, another Halloween has come and passed and my second year of participation in the Countdown to Halloween has concluded.  And while I gained a few followers (I thank all 3 of you) and set an a new personal record of monthly viewings for my blog at nearly 7,500 hits (a paltry sum compared to other blogs, I’m certain), I sometimes wonder if it’s worth the effort.  I put a lot of effort and time into scanning, researching, and coming up with a readable post.  Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t an announcement that I’m quitting the blogging business, although it seems a lot of others have, moving to the bluer pastures of Facebook. I’ve toyed with the idea of a Garage Sales FB page, but it would simply be a redirect back to my blog and frankly, I have enough trouble keeping up with the blog. I’d like to think other people enjoy what I write about, but I’ll admit, my blog covers a wide range of topics and items whose only common theme is that I found them at an estate or  garage sale and I like them. Like my banner says, "Profiling garage sale treasures and sometimes trash".  Looking at my stats, the vast majority of people stumble onto my blog searching Google.

It's the Final Countdown!

When I began this year’s Countdown to Halloween, I began it with the pessimistic outlook that I wouldn’t have enough to post daily.  As it turns out, I posted daily plus and still have a bunch leftover.  The following finds were all candidates for a post of one kind or another, but I kept passing them over for other things I wanted to post first, much like that scene in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure where he keeps passing over the snakes while saving the rest of the animals from the fire at the pet store.  Well, this is my AUGGGGHHHHH!!!! moment (imagine me laying on the ground with all of the following finds spread across me).  If you can't relate to Pee Wee Herman, think of it this way: if this blog were Gilligan's Island, these finds would be the Professor and Mary Ann.

Wreck the Halls with Bowels of Ghoulies

I'm finally getting close to being done with decorating.  I KNOW HALLOWEEN IS TOMORROW!!

Really, I mean it, I'm almost done!  Here's what I've done so far.

Restraining Halloween

I found this clipped article among the recipe booklets I found a while back. It's from the morning edition of the October 26th, 1938 edition of The St. Louis Globe-Democrat.  With a title that could get you jail time these days, it addresses and attempts to resolve an issue communities were becoming more and more concerned about -- the destructive pranks done by young Halloween revelers.  Prior to the 1940's, Halloween was an excuse to run amuck causing mayhem in your neighborhood with such pranks as soaping windows, stealing gates and porch steps, and even moving outhouses off of their pits. This article suggests planning a Halloween party to restrain those youngsters.

1953 Parade Cook Book

This St. Louis Post-Dispatch Parade cook book boasts an assortment of mouth-puckering...er...watering recipes.

One page is dedicated to Halloween.

But perhaps the most horrifying display is the back cover.

Topps Flying Things

The art on these 1960's Topps Flying Things bear a striking resemblance to the art of Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, and I'm sure it's no coincidence.  Capitalizing on that Rat Fink style, these originally sold individually for 10 cents each.

Eureka Diecuts