Anoka, Minnesota is known as the Halloween Capital of the World (read about it here), and I've joked more than a few times that my ultimate goal in life is to move there. I received a wonderful email from a fellow haunter who actually resides in Anoka, and he shared his favorite memory of Halloweens past.
Dan Wiswell writes "My submission for this topic is my vintage Anoka Halloween banner. At nearly 5 ft tall and 3 ft wide, and made of heavy duty canvas, it flew in its official capacity decorating downtown somewhere during the 1950-1965 time frame. At a family gathering in the summer of 2009, the topic of these banners came up, and the quest to find one began.
After consulting with the chamber of commerce, who provides the city with the banners, I learned that the city had housed a number of the banners and other old Halloween memorabilia in the basement of city hall. However, a vast cleaning around the year 2000 had sent many of these items to the landfill. I was crushed. They suggested a few members of the Halloween committee may have spared some things, but would probably be reluctant to sell. I was offered a contact with a previous Anoka Halloween president and was able to purchase a newer style black canvas banner with three pumpkins. This was the redesigned logo, not the orange top hatted pumpkin banners of my youth which were made of thick vinyl similar to a school patrol flag. The money went to charity, but I was still disappointed. Then I found this banner on ebay in October of 2009. The seller had asked $300 for it, but found no takers. Against policy, (sorry I was new to ebay) I privately messaged the seller and struck a deal. It hangs with its newer counterpart in the basement near the fireplace and is on prime display outside during the public viewing nights of the house decorating contest and on Halloween night. It always sparks conversation, and I have been asked numerous times, especially during the 2020 season (Anoka's 100th year celebrating), if I would sell it. The chamber and city even returned to this design in 2019, because it was beloved, in a nod to tradition.
These banners remind me of not only my own Halloweens, but also of celebrating with my niece and nephews, and of the now 15 years of being involved officially with the celebration through the house decorating contest."
Thanks, Dan! So glad you're the curator of these banners. I can't think of a more suitable home for them.
For anyone interested in submitting, you can email me at pumpkinrot @ gmail . com (remove the spaces, of course!)
And thanks again to
Mr. Macabre for the suggestion for this fun blog series!
