Mequon 10945 N. Port Washington Rd. Mequon, WI 53092 414-228-6444
Oak Creek 7001 S. Howell Ave. Oak Creek, WI 53154 414-622-1574
414-257-0676 www.milwaukeefoot.com
FANCY FOOT WORK
Wauwatosa 10125 W. North Ave. Wauwatosa, WI 53226 414-257-0676
OCTOBER 2017
New Berlin 3610 Michelle Witmer Memorial Dr. Suite 110 New Berlin, WI 53151 262-821-1588
HALLOWEEN FESTIVITIES AT MALVITZ BAY FARMS My Family’s Elaborate October Traditions
Growing up with three sisters and a mom with a creative streak, Halloween was always a big deal at our house. When October rolled around, our mother would drag out a huge cardboard box from the attic. Stuffed to the brim with old clothes and trinkets that had been handed down or bought at garage sales, this was our beloved costume box.
milkmaid costume!” people said all night. I was furious. I was so obviously Laura Ingalls Wilder, after all!
The Halloween festivities also always included scarecrows for the farm, hand-made by my mom for each member of the family, and topped with a painted pumpkin head. She’d make a little baby scarecrow to swing on the baby swing in the front yard, or scarecrow versions of us climbing trees and playing in the yard. One display I remember had Grandma and Grandpa Scarecrow sitting on a bench with all of us around them. She’d ask us what kind of eyes, noses, and mouths we wanted her to paint on the pumpkins, tailoring each one to our very specific preferences. It was a blast. Trick-or-treating was a little challenging out there in the country. Besides the bitter cold, there was the fact that each house was miles apart. I remember wearing little snow pants underneath my costume one year, all of us piling into the car to cruise house to house. It would take an hour to hit just five houses, although it was made up for by our neighbor’s generosity, spoiling us with a soda and whole candy bars just for our visit. Of course, a visit to Grandma and Grandpa’s house was always a requirement for the Halloween schedule, too. This year, I’m sure my mom is working on a painted pumpkin just for baby Zoey. We’re still trying to figure out her costume, but you can bet we’ll be dressing her up. I just hope that I can pass these traditions along. I know I’ll forever be grateful for those fun October days. Dr. Lucy Meier
My sisters and I would spend the whole month playing dress up, piecing together our outlandish costumes. Our family loathed driving out to Walmart to pick up one of those hackneyed, premade costumes. We preferred to come up with something different and original (and I still do). If we had an idea that didn’t exist in the box, sometimes our mom would sew something for us. We’d don our dad’s old army gear, making the gruffest, most gravelly voice we could muster. Or we’d swap princess costumes and act out the complicated royal fantasies of pretty much every little girl. Every year, I have only one rule for every costume: It has to involve a wig. Don’t ask me why, because I can’t explain it. My favorite costume ever was my Laura Ingalls Wilder outfit, the spunky star of “Little House on the Prairie.” The show was on every afternoon right after I got home from school, and I eventually became obsessed with it. So, I found a plaid dress that my mom or grandma must have sewed, put my hair in braids, and went out trick-or-treating. “Oh, what a nice
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