East Norwich did its customary “great business” giving out Halloween candy to children on Friday, Oct. 31 from about 3 to 7 p.m. As soon as the door closed and you sat down, another group would ring the bell. Children of all ages were dressed for the annual costume parading: children, teens and adults. Babies were wheeled around the blocks in their strollers to make them part of the spooky fun.
At 7 p.m., the witch in the purple velvet-peaked hat gave out her last handful of candy to a surprised youngster, and turned off the outside lights. In spite of that there was one lone ring at 8 p.m. that went unanswered.
About nine bags of chocolate candy found their way into the buckets, backpacks and, as it got darker, the pillowcases of teens. The witch sat down with the last two Hershey bars and sighed as she nibbled the sweets and remembered all the childish faces and outstretched hands and the grateful thank yous from the children.
It was their sweet politeness that even outshone their outfits. This year it was the children themselves that stood out, making sure that, “The witch will be ready next year, with bars of chocolate to exchange for smiles.”
