There has been a changing cast of characters involved in Maple Lake’s Halloween Carnival over the past 30 years, but the goal has remained the same . . . to provide a safe and entertaining way for children to celebrate Halloween night.
It was in 1975 that the newly-formed Maple Lake Jaycees created the carnival with that goal in mind. It was the first event that the Jaycees sponsored and lives on even after that civic group for young adults disbanded several years ago.
George Palmer was one of the Jaycee’s founding members and said there was a need to provide safe options for kids at Halloween.
“We just wanted to do something for the kids at the time rather than having them just running around town,” he said. “And it was a lot of fun. Everybody jumped in to help provide a great activity for the community.”
In 1975, Maple Lake’s first official Halloween event was called the “Halloween Party” and was geared for children from the ages of five to 15. The party featured a spook house and movies were shown that included “Mr. Toad” and “Ichobad Crane.” Tickets for each party activity were priced at five cents each, with from one to three tickets required to participate.
After the second year of the Halloween Party at the old elementary school, the Messenger commented about the change within the City of Maple Lake on Halloween night: “Vandalism in the city seemed to be at an all-time low, which is a direct contrast from the years prior to the advent of the Jaycee’s parties.”
Phil Mooney and Randy Mavencamp co-chaired the third year of the event, which was now named the “Halloween Carnival.” There was a dart throw, a bean bag toss, apple dunking, a fish pond, a coffee room set up in a classroom for parents, and of course, the Spookhouse, which spent its first years on the old elementary stage and then was set up in the locker-room area below the gym.
As the years went by, the Halloween Carnival changed but never skipped a Halloween night. A costume contest was added in 1979 that is still the main event of current carnivals. In 1981, the carnival was co-hosted by the Jaycees and Jaycee Women, with an age limit of 12 for participants and a teen dance set to take place after the carnival ended at 8 p.m. Irene Hudek said the Jaycee Women played a role in the carnival almost from the very beginning.
“I remember running to pick up supplies and prizes down on Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis,” she said. “We had so much fun when we worked on it. We also worked so well together and it was like a party for us that ended in a party for the kids too.”
In 1983, the Jaycee Women took over the carnival for younger children while the Jaycees concentrated on the Spookhouse, establishing that activity in the old Maple Lake Lumber building on the corner of Division Street and Maple Avenue and operating the haunted house for three nights preceding and including Halloween night.
And it was spooky. Greg Thomes remembered Tom Nye taking the chain off a chain saw and using the sight and sound of the roaring saw to scare unsuspecting Spookhouse customers.
“It took a lot of work and required a lot teamwork,” Thomes said of the big Halloween event. “There were times when we didn’t have enough bodies to man all the stations, so we were bribing teenagers at the time to come in and be a haunted house mannequin.”
Betty Thomes recalled the sight of Fred Jude’s dracula coffin and remembered how hard it was to transform the old elementary locker rooms into a haunted house.
“We we started setting up, it was horrible trying to work around the benches that were bolted to the middle of the floor,” she laughed. “But it was pitch-black down there and the kids were scared.”
Betty said for the Thomes family, the Halloween Carnival was a popular event. “Even as we got older, I still enjoyed going and the kids enjoyed going,” she said. “Our kids didn’t even know you were supposed to go trick-or-treating on Halloween. Peggy Nemec would take them out to do that for a few blocks and then they’d come back to the carnival.”
Peggy and Jim Nemec remembered Fred Jude’s coffin too. “Probably because it was so heavy and it had to be carried down those steep steps in the old elementary,” Peggy laughed.
Nemec said the fun of working with a good group of people and seeing how much the kids enjoyed their efforts made the carnival worthwhile.
“It was so much fun working together and the kids were wonderful,” Peggy said. “It’s so hard to believe it’s been 30 years and now my grandchildren are going there on Halloween.”
When the carnival moved to the new elementary in 1990, attempts were made to continue the Spookhouse, but the new building could not provide the atmosphere that was the key to success in the old school and lumberyard buildings.
While the Spookhouse faded, the Halloween Carnival continued, under the sponsorship or partnership of groups that included the Women of Today, the Maple Lake Lions, Early Childhood Family Education, and finally, Maple Lake Elementary’s parent/teacher group, Partners In Education.
The 1991 carnival was a memorable event not only because it featured a performance of “The Three Bears” by Maple Lake High School’s Irish Players, but also for the weather. While the infamous Halloween blizzard raged and curtailed trick-or-treating, the Carnival benefited by families determined to celebrate Halloween and drew a big crowd despite the snow.
There were also several name changes over the years, which included “The Halloween Family Fun Night, “The Great Pumpkin Party,” and the “Halloween Spooktacular.”
This year’s 30th Annual Halloween Carnival sponsored by Partners In Education will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for children in sixth grade and younger. The carnival will feature a costume contest, a pumpkin carving contest, candy corn and giant pumpkin guessing games. Other games will include “Spook House Frisbee,” “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” and “Floating Quakers.” Refreshments offered will be pizza, nachos and cheese, hotdogs, and Scarecrow Stew. Activity tickets are 25 cents each or $5 for 25 tickets and a raffle will be conducted for a mountain bike.
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