Say cheese! Okay, I admit, the binky-chomping mouse with the cheese is my favorite. But for creativity, everyone’s a winner in this collage of kids getting dressed up and taking it to the street – High Street, Waynesburg, that is, on Halloween.
When I called up club member Shelly Younken to see if the Waynesburg Lions Club had some photos to share from Halloween parades past, she said she would see what she could find. What she found was, as many old photos tend to be, a bit fuzzy around the edges but definitely worth a second look for creative inspiration if there’s any moms and dads out there wanting to get into the act this year.
Waynesburg Lions Club has claimed October 31, never mind which day it falls on, to give kids of all ages a chance to show their prettiest, scariest, silliest, most creative selves and be rewarded by treats and maybe a prize. This 6:30 p.m. until dark party has been going on for decades now – no one I talked to can remember the year the first parade was held. Mary Pruss knows it’s been happening for “at least 35 years, which is how long I have been a Lion and I worked with Chief Hawfield.” Nor does anyone – except maybe the families who got these great costumes together – remember which parade these kids were in. Or what prizes they won.
Shelley, who works at Waynesburg University in the business office, was able to locate a story written by student Antonio Peluilo for the Yellow Jacket on November 1, 2018. “The article confirms it’s been a parade for more than 45 years,” Shelley noted in when she sent me the link.
Antonio was at the parade and must have stayed up late getting his story written in time for publication the next day. The quote he got from Bill Harding, who had attended 40 years of parades at that point and was now watching his grandkids show their stuff, captures the best reason why this parade is a keeper: “Tradition is what keeps communities together. It gives me hope for the future, because a lot of the kids will want to stay here.”
This Halloween, when Central Greene Marching Band leads the parade up the street beside the Long Building and onto High Street, the sidewalks will be filled with families and friends from across the county. The shops that stay open for the evening offer out-of-towners a chance to browse. Those who costume up and join the parade have officially become part of a hometown tradition that now spans generations of kids who played, marched and wore fantastic get-ups, and then, like Bill Harding, brought their own kids and grandkids back to High Street to strut their stuff.
Kids these days have local trick or treat days to go door to door, usually after school and during daylight hours, especially on Halloween, Shelley said. “That’s why we start at 6:30 pm so they can trick or treat then be in the parade. We’re hoping this year will be the best one yet. Halloween is my favorite time of the year. As a matter of fact I got married on October 31. Uncle Kyle [Hallam] called me and asked if he could come as the bride of Godzilla. We had so much fun!”
For those who want to be in the parade: Be there at 6 p.m. on Tuesday October 31, in the parking lot between High St. and Franklin St behind the Long Building. Prizes will be presented to the prettiest, scariest and most original costumes. Age groups are: Preschool, Kindergarten, and first through sixth grades. All participants will receive a treat bag at the end of the parade at the PNC parking lot, compliments of the Lions Club. And send your prize winning photos to info@GreeneSceneMagazine.com – we can’t wait to see them!