REMEMBERING WHEN: Old Ida and the Halloween nobody came

By Keith Schell

Before we moved to our newly built country house further up the road, we grew up in a little home nestled in a small gully beside the highway, about eight miles outside the nearest town. On the opposite side of the highway was a little hill, and atop that hill stood a small, weather-worn house that had been there forever. It was occupied by a woman our family simply knew as “Old Ida.”

Old Ida was quite the character. She was a feisty, single older woman who occasionally entertained men in her home—probably for simple companionship as much as anything else.

Because she was so feisty, she wouldn’t put up with any guff from the men she entertained. And because the air was so still and the countryside so quiet, we could usually hear the loud arguments she had with her gentleman callers from across the highway at our house.

Old Ida’s fights became legendary among our nearest neighbours. Even though the houses were spread fairly far apart in our part of the country, sound carries under certain conditions. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who could hear her noisy fights on a still summer night.

One man in particular caught Ida’s fancy, and it was decided they would move in together. That relationship didn’t last long before the fights started again, and Old Ida eventually threw the guy out on his ear.

Around that time, Halloween rolled around. Not wanting me to miss out on the fun because I was so young, Mom and Dad decided to drive me around the countryside for trick-or-treating. I was far too young then to go up to a house on my own, so Dad waited in the car while Mom walked me up to each door.

We visited all the neighbours we knew, calling on them for trick-or-treat. Because the countryside was so vast and the houses so far apart, it took a long time to make our rounds.

The only house we didn’t visit was Old Ida’s. Because of her feisty reputation, we weren’t sure what kind of reception we’d get if we came to her door. Apparently, a lot of the neighbours with young kids felt the same way that night.

Nine o’clock was my bedtime back then. We had visited quite a few neighbours by that time, and my parents decided it was time to head home.

When we got back to our house, we pulled into the driveway and got out of the car. We’d left the outside light on to make it easier to see as we walked up to the front door.

We had an outdoor tomcat that we fed, so we always kept a clean plastic cat food dish on the front step.

And then we saw it—illuminated by the glow of the porch light.

The plastic cat food dish on the front step was filled with Halloween candy.

As we walked up to the step, we tried to figure out where the candy had come from. Then, in a sudden moment of realization, my mother looked at my father and said, “It must have been Ida!”

We looked up the hill at the little house. All the lights were off and Ida had retired for the night.

Because of her crusty reputation, no one had bothered with her on Halloween. For a lonely old woman who had thrown her man out and didn’t seem to have a friend in the world, that exclusion must have hurt considerably. Realizing she wasn’t going to get any kids that night, she must have come across the road while we were gone and filled our cat food dish with the candy she had bought in preparation for us coming to her door.

Not long after that, Old Ida sold the house and moved away to God knows where. She is long gone now, and we never even knew if she had any friends or family to mourn her passing.

Looking back on it now through understanding adult eyes, I kind of wish we had gone up the hill that night to see Old Ida for trick-or-treat. Like most women, she probably would have gotten a big kick out of seeing a smiling little kid on her doorstep, all dressed up in his costume and engaged in the age-old quest for Halloween candy.

If you still make the Halloween rounds with your kids and know of an older person who would like to be included in the festivities, try to drop in on them if you can. It would make their night. They’d love to see the happy, excited faces of little kids in costume, searching for candy. It would make them feel part of the celebration again—especially if their own grown kids and grandkids live far away and can’t be with them for the occasion.

Loneliness for an older person can be a terrible thing, especially during the child and family-oriented times of the year. There’s nothing sadder for an old person who wants to be included in the festivities than no one coming to see them.

Like Christmas and birthdays, Halloween is a happy and exciting time for little kids. And the more people who want to be included in the festivities, the happier it is for everyone involved.

To all the witches, ghosts, and goblins out there (and their parents), have a safe and happy Halloween!