This fun photo from the 1990s captures the silly spirit with which our Sisters at Monocacy Manor — including Sisters Eileen Henrion, Jean Makovsky, Donna Pusch, Carol Ann Papp, Anita Kuchera, Barbara DeStefano, Mary Xavier Bomberger, Maria Derecola, Irene Novak, Christina Demchak, Elaine Gurkie and Marie Glodava — celebrated Halloween.
Hauntingly Familiar
halloween memories still evoke youthful excitement among our sisters
Everything is bigger in Texas, even the skeletons. As a favorite pastime, Sisters Jo Goolish and Yolanda Escamilla enjoy driving through their neighborhood in San Antonio, Texas, to see all the Halloween decorations.
Sister Elaine Hromulak has been known to show up incognito and with treats in hand on Halloween.
This simple but effective getup had Sister Karen Buco masquerading as a tourist on Halloween 2013.
You might say Sister Virginia Rose Carroll had her holidays mixed up when she arrived at the 2019 Mt. Assisi Place Halloween party dressed like this.
Some of our fondest childhood memories include those spent going door to door in costume through the neighborhood to collect candy on Halloween. Even before October 31 came around, much time and thought went into selecting and creating costumes, many lovingly sewn by mothers and grandmothers.
Finally, the much-anticipated October evening would come around and — whether in sun, snow, rain or wind — we set out on our annual treasure hunt. Then came the crescendo — stomping home on tired feet, dumping out the haul onto the floor and sorting through all the coveted treats.
“Way back then, it was not only a challenge but great fun designing our own costumes,” recalls Sister Irene Novak. “We were also expected to sing or recite a poem before getting the treat. Tick-tacking with corn also was exciting.”
“Many times, October brought snow, and our made-up costumes often were covered in coats and boots,” says Sister Roselyn Kuzma of growing up in her native Erie, Pa. “Many families with little children just stayed home, but the little Kuzmas would follow the older ones and say, “Trick or treat.” The best part was that, because there were so few of us in the neighborhood, families would put a handful of treats into our bags. We had treats to last a long time!”
“Halloween is, indeed, a time of forgetting troubles, enjoying life and laughing a lot.”
A favorite childhood costume of Sister Barbara Ann Webster was not inspired by a monster movie or comic, but by her cultural intrigue with a beloved classmate. “May Lee was my best friend in second grade. I loved her almond-shaped eyes. Every night for a long time, I’d put scotch tape at the corner of my eyes, in the hope that we would look alike. Sadly, I gave up,” Sister recalls. “My grandmother knew how much I missed May Lee when we moved back to Pittsburgh, so for Halloween she made me a Japanese costume. I looked beautiful, even though without almond-shaped eyes.”
These days, Sister Barbara still looks forward to the fun of Halloween, coming up with inexpensive but creative costumes usually based on puns or phrases, such as “Green with Envy” or “Chicken Cordon Bleu.”
Time passes, our roles evolve and, eventually, we get to hand out the candy, drawing great pleasure from the chitter-chatter of excited costumed trick-or-treaters making their way down the street. As we fuel the excitement of the holiday we so enjoyed as children, we still hold dear our own youthful enthusiasm.
“Halloween is, indeed, a time of forgetting troubles, enjoying life and laughing a lot,” says Sister Virginia Rose Carroll. She remembers Halloweens of yesteryear in San Antonio, Texas, when she’d return home from a haunted hayride to find her mother dressed as a witch and sitting on the porch handing out candy.
Sister Carol Ann Papp dressed as famed artist Andy Warhol two years ago at Northside Catholic Assumption Academy, where she teaches art.
“It was cute watching how the kids got their candy,” Sister says. “Some crept up and quickly grabbed the candy and moved away. Others bravely came and got the candy.”
Although her hopes were later dashed, Sister Georgette Dublino can still feel the excitement she experienced when, as an eighth-grader, her class was invited to attend the Mount Assisi Academy Halloween party in Pittsburgh, Pa.
“My friend, Nancy, and I planned how we were going to dress, got all our clothes and props ready for the big night in the Mt. Assisi gym. We told no one who we were going to be,” she recalls. “When I woke up the morning of the Halloween party, I had the flu and never had the opportunity again!”
The young ladies who grew up to be Sisters and teachers found creative ways to bring the excitement of the October holiday into the classroom.
“I taught the children the true meaning of the word Halloween — All Saints’ Eve,” says Sister Rosalia Giba. “I suggested they dress up as their patron saint and tell the class the life story of that saint. One girl said her name was not that of a saint. I told her to pick a saint she liked and tell her story, which she did. I also told her that she could live a very good life and, herself, become the first saint with that name!”
Likewise, favorite Halloween memories for Sister Frances Marie Duncan are not from childhood, but from her teaching days at the former St. Francis Academy in Bethlehem, Pa. “We would have Halloween parties and decorate the gym,” Sister says. “It was a great time, especially transforming the stage into a haunted house.”
While they are more inclined to celebrate saints than scares, our Sisters have enjoyed their share of Halloween haunts over the years. And still do today.
“We sisters who were in Clifton, Guttenberg and Oradell, N.J., celebrated some great Halloween fun in the 1970s,” remembers Sister Pat Brennan. “The first celebration — with costumes and all — was in the basement of Clifton convent. The next couple of years, we had more space in St. John’s Hall in Guttenberg. There were about 20 to 25 of us — some gone and some of us left — to celebrate memories.”
tricks for treating
As is necessary this year, Halloween will be complicated by caution and restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But most communities are doing what they can to safely salvage the holiday for young trick-or-treaters. If you’re planning on giving out candy this year, below are helping links to some resourceful, no-nonsense precautions. Happy haunting.
Sister Cecilia Jacko shared this photo of herself as a costumed clown in 1986.
Last Halloween, Sisters Barbara Ann Webster and Joyce Burkhart tag-teamed as “Green with Envy.”
Sister Rosalia Giba shares the excitement of this preschooler in making a spooking eyeball potion during an October science lesson.
Sister Frances Marie Duncan hands out treats to preschool students in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Sisters Lois Jean DiFalco, Norberta Kralosky, Marietta Bankos, Rosalia Giba and Barbara Ann Webster delight at a 2016 Halloween visit from students of our former Mount Assisi Academy Preschool.
Sister Kathy Kudlac (right) shares some Halloween excitement with young trick-or-treaters in 2017.
Lay Associates from Bethlehem, Pa., dressed as angels one year, complete with a yummy angel food cake!
Years ago, Sisters Anita Kuchera and Barbara DeStefano — along with several of our lay Associates — team to create a colorful batch of M&Ms.