What once was is no more.
Much has changed throughout the years regarding the DeKalb County, Tennessee celebrations of Halloween and its aftermath. It was like the Fiddler’s Jamboree of holidays or the Senior Prom of boutonnieres and pink corsages.
The synopsis remains. Years ago, our celebratory mannerisms were almost deadly compared to the meek and mild observances of today. Then, we rolled yards with cases of white toilet paper, while being apprehended by the local city or county police departments. Today, the trick-or-treat candies have been x-rayed at Baptist-DeKalb Hospital for deadly inbred slices of metal slivers. Personal and business doors are locked at dusk preventing any entrances or exits by any unknown spooks.
According to friend and mentor. DeKalb County Sheriff, Patrick Ray, the town finally remains tranquil to this once-deadly celebration. “Now, there are only a few yards that are “rolled” and the majority of persons are home by dark, especially children. It seems more like a controlled holiday compared to the voluminous and mischievous earlier years. Today, most children who safely trick-or-treater head to grandmother’s house or a known sub-division (Ed Taft Drive) and return home before dark. One year around 1985, my sister, Lucy, ran out of her 50 candy bars, but this Brownie Girl Scout improvised with radishes and onions! At some point in the confusion, it became fruit. She lived the scout motto, “Be Prepared.” Transversing to known areas is much safer and the dark hour on October 31, 2024 in DeKalb County arrives around 5:48 p.m. central time.
“It’s not as bad today as it used to be years ago,” remembered Sheriff Ray. The long-term protector mentioned that probably not as many yards would be rolled this year as the price for toilet paper is now $34.79 for a 12-roll of Charmin Tissue. There is no final estimate on how many rolls are required to decorate one yard. Guess it depends on the acreage and the tree heights. A dozen eggs costs $3.00 today and there is no record of how many eggs are required to totally bash one yard or soap the windows of one automobile. Nor is there a cumulative record of the total amounts needed for Q-tips or plastic utensils. True, “it’s not as bad” because we’ve reached the senior status in life’s calculator. Today, our grandchildren are the trick- or- treaters and yesterday’s childhood and adolescent Halloweens are etched forever in our memories (see below).
Local entrepreneur Lori Redmon Webb remembers her high school years and the many legal and illegal activities that occurred on that special October night of mischief. Yes, she threw Q-Tips and plastic forks in the yards of unknown victims and she rolled yards with Grade A toilet paper, as it adhered to the tree branches more efficiently and effectively.
“I remember when my children (4) were younger (in the 1970’s) and I would go trick-or-treating with them every year. Yes, I taught them the correct ways to roll a yard and other naughty Halloween tasks. It’s hard trying to clean a yard after it has been pelted with Q-Tips or plastic utensils,” Webb laughingly remembered. “And you never use cheap toilet paper to roll a yard. It won’t stick to the trees!’
Regardless of all considerations, our childhood shenanigans outweighed our adult disobedience. Without the inbred and learned-talent of “rolling yards,” we would have been in the minority, as prior evidence was recently divulged by Sheriff Ray.
One local resident who adores entertaining children on Halloween is local nurseryman James Burt Driver, a resident of West Main Street, downtown Smithville. From his interior stereo system, he plays Ghoulish music that penetrates the outdoors, while floating to surrounding areas. Trick-or-treaters have to ask Driver (dressed as a bloody monster) for a Halloween treat, at which time he carefully hands them candy and stone pebbles as the trick(stones)-or-treat (candy)! Beforehand, the children or adults have to journey along the extended brick sidewalk, always watching for intruding and intimidating ghosts and goblins who dance to the scary piped music.
In a recent interview, English teacher and award-winning clogging instructor, computer programmer and artistic connoisseur, Mary Ann Puckett, remembers seeing houses decorated in downtown Smithville just last year. She also saw a few yards rolled in the area, while reminiscing about various haunted house expeditions in the local and Middle Tennessee areas. “Recently, there was a haunted house in the vicinity of Riley Avenue and Golf Club Lane in Smithville,” she said, smiling.
In keeping with the unusual form of house dressing and design, there is something about “eggs” and “rolling” that belong together much like the two-word adjective/noun “scrambled eggs” - that incorporates an unusual mindset in the doer and in the receiver. You can’t have one without the other. It seems “yard rolling” began before some goblins could walk or talk. There is no definitive time allotment for the beginnings of throwing eggs, Q-tips (TM), plastic forks and artistically drawing with cheap bars of soap.
Interestingly, years ago, parents participated in their children’s Halloween evening activities – a sign of returning to their childhood pranks for one brief shining moment. It was a fun and satisfying time to be together and pounce on property belonging to a friend or foe. The adults observed the frightful eve with rolling laughter and non-obscured fondness.
Joe Loring of Hermitage, Tennessee writes, “During Halloween night in 1970 in downtown Smithville, I was a junior at DCHS. A rather large group of classmates with lots of eggs had gathered to ‘terrorize the town.’ Our outing was cut very short when we egged a police car by mistake. It wasn’t long until we were booked into the county jail, hearing reprimands and having to turn over our egg collection to authorities. Needless to say, our parents weren’t too thrilled.” Joe and his friends lost a large amount of large and medium eggs that night.
As a preface, my attorney Dad always told my sister, Lucy, and me that if we ever got into legal trouble, not to call him. But things changed around 1973 when Lucy was caught rolling a local school board members yard. She, along with Mike Stephens, Sam Morgan Love, Pat Wallace, Edward Frazier, Jr. and Eddie B. Frazier was called into the DCHS management office by principal Amon Snyder. The brief conversation commenced when Snyder said to the group, “Remember what the Bible says, ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Suddenly, Eddie B. loudly and emphatically answered, “Yes – and the Bible also says the Lord loves a cheerful giver – and, gosh, did we give it to her!!!”
Also, Lucy remembers telephoning Dad from the DeKalb County Jail after being taken in for this “trick.” Then-Sheriff Creston Bain made Lucy call Dad, who was visibly upset, so Mom picked her up outside of the jail complex. Never mind that she bought the last dozen eggs in DeKalb County on that fateful night at Beshearse Grocery. True to form, Lucy remembered using them all in her quest for destruction. While she was shopping, Lori Webb also was shopping.
The Review newspaper’s managing editor, Angie Pittman Meadows, remembered the multitude of trick-or-treaters arriving at various local locations, wearing knee-high stockings on and around their heads. Laughingly, she said the stockings would smash your face so no one could identify you. It, too, was a gross and frightening costume for any age group.
Another Lucy Halloween memory was riding in the back of a pick-up truck that was driven by the late Paul Young. They were chased by the city police for several miles. Others on the truck were Sam Love, Eddie B. and Edward, Jr. Frazier again. The moral to this story is that Paul, the driver, was an active member of the city police brigade and he was being chased by his own work friends! They didn’t get caught because Paul was a good driver.
One of the most popular Halloween tricks that occurred years ago was standing at the top of any local bridge overpass, which overlooked the highway below, and throwing eggs and hitting many vehicles passing underneath. This act seems to have been one of the foremost popular Halloween tricks in Smithville, Tennessee’s holiday history.
Classmate Robbie Frazier remembers when someone put a cow on the Liberty High School stage.
And in Brush Creek when a wagon was perched on top of the garage, remembered Thelma Martin.
John Colvert remembers the many eggs thrown from the Dairy Queen location on West Broad Street. “Cars were pelted from both sides and later, I saw lots of people at the car wash.”
In Alexandria, there were busted pumpkins and tobacco stalks thrown all over the square, wrote William Freddy Curtis.
Classmate of 1971, Rita Deaver, remembered when
“We were in Kenneth Knowles’ truck throwing eggs when one hit a patrol car. They took us to jail but we were not arrested. I think every high school teacher was parked around the courthouse that night and saw it all go down.” Accordingly, this venue occurred the year following the above 1971 incident explained by Joe Loring. – “A good time was had by all.”
Another memory from Jerry Wilson Pack, “I remember running all over Smithville with Coach Bobby Hale and the DCHS football team. First, we thought that he was out rambling with us. Actually, Coach had us all running to wear us out and keep us from getting into trouble.”
Former Vanderbilt football coach and Smithville native, Gene Windham recalled his 9th grade in Smithville. “We would drive around in our pickup trucks and steal yard furniture. Then, we’d dump the furniture in the front yard of Coach J. C. Williams.”
Ed Herron recalled, “I remember when the Smithville JCs always had a haunted house. Wonder why they don’t have haunted houses anymore? I guess we’re too poor.”
Bill C. Shaw said, “One year, someone dumped OIL at the top of the Alexandria Square. Cars barely made it across the top of the small hill. They were spinning tires the entire way.”
Occurring before the late 1980’s, Patterson Nichols Wilson recalled, “I remember the Smithville Elementary School Pie Supper fundraiser. There was a huge auction in the school cafeteria with a fast-talking auctioneer; a disco in the CDC classroom; cake walk in the teacher’s lounge; and, always, a haunted house in Mrs. Becky McCormick’s room. As a child, I remember looking forward to this event every year.” As an adult, I miss the many elementary school pie suppers and cake walks.
My 65-year-long friend, Yolanda Moore Barry of Brentwood, said that most of the egg throwing was done in front of her house on South Third Street. She also remembered “soaping” the downtown stores. This non-identifying trick was done by drawing on store windows with a bar of soap. The older you were, the more four-letter words appeared for everyone to read. And, no, it wasn’t love.
I remember when Halloween was a “big deal” in DeKalb County Schools. Mom always made our trick-or-treat containers from Tiparillo cigar boxes decorated and covered with pink and white floral cotton fabric. We would have a special time to fill our boxes with all kinds and flavors of then “safe” candy during school hours. We would trick-or-treat everywhere in the county. One time, everyone headed to Dr. VanHooser’s house on South College Street because his wife, Pauline, was handing out ice cream sandwiches!
Today, Halloween is celebrated more privately than publicly. For example:
· Thursday, October 31, 2024 (Halloween night); Kicking Costume Class; 930 West Broad Street, Smithville, TN; 10 – 11 p.m.
· Thursday, October 31, 2024 DeKalb County High School football vs. Upperman at home, 7 p.m., VanHooser Field.
· Comcast Xfinity is offering televised Halloween music, videos, movies, games etc. during this holiday time. Check your operating system for programming schedules.
In conclusion, Josue Pelota remembered, “There were three truckloads of people who toilet-papered a house and were caught. We ran for our lives. We rolled four houses in the neighborhood that night. We scored another four cases of toilet paper from Piggly Wiggly and we had one station wagon automobile just to carry all our toilet paper. This is just a snippet of one of the many memorable Halloweens in Smithville, Tennessee.”
