It’s time to reminisce on Halloweens past when dozens of witches flew up and down Girard, pumpkins by the hundreds plopped in merry patches in storefronts and more ghosts paraded along the thoroughfare than are said to haunt the Brockton Villa or the Grande Colonial (quite a few!).
No matter that these were only painted images on storefront windows. For La Jollans, it made Halloween into a cause for celebration. Families took a special evening to stroll up and down the street to enjoy the painted spooks and fanciful fantasies. Later, the evening might be capped by dinner at the ever-popular Bratskellar or a movie at the Cove Theatre.
The tradition of painting Halloween windows began in the late 1950s as a creative outlet for children and adolescents to hopefully replace pranksterism. It continued for 30 years and ended in 1985, when the event had graduated into a major artistic endeavor with Hugh Davies, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art of San Diego, as one of the main judges.
For most of its life, the event found great support in the community. The storefront windows were open for painting to all La Jolla-area students in grades seven through 12. Divisions and teams were set up with students encouraged to paint as small groups. The windows usually were painted a few days ahead of Halloween so everybody had time to enjoy them before the actual trick-or-treat night. Although some of the first windows were painted essentially for fun, later years saw the event more organized with categories and themes, a group of judges and cash prizes awarded at the end of the painting.
The project started as a program sponsored by the La Jolla Lamplighters. Eventually, the La Jolla Town Council became involved as the main organizer, with service clubs such as the La Jolla Lions, Sunrise Rotary, Soroptimists, Kiwanis and La Jolla Rotary also lending support “” along, of course, with village merchants without whose windows the event never would have had a stage.
Could the tradition of Halloween windows be revived? The La Jolla Town Council says not this year, but maybe next. Meanwhile, the La Jolla Historical Society will have a mini-version of window painting this October when students from La Jolla Elementary School paint spooks and goblins at Wisteria Cottage on Prospect Street. The painting will take place Oct. 19 and the windows will remain to share in the Halloween spirit until the first of November.
” “Reflections” is a monthly column written for La Jolla Village News by La Jolla Historical Society historian Carol Olten. The Society, dedicated to the preservation of La Jolla heritage, is located at 7846 Eads Ave. and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.