City council moves to permanently set trick or treat night for last Saturday in October
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Although it may not be the most pressing issue currently on the city's agenda, Councilor and Mayor Pro-Tem Mike Ladehoff brought up a topic that garnered spirited discussion during Monday night's regular meeting: the steady decline of door-to-door trick-or-treating in Marshalltown.
Due to a number of factors including safety concerns and the rise of "Trunk or Treat" events on Halloween night -- locally, the one held at the Police/Fire station is particularly popular -- Ladehoff said other towns have moved toward having "Beggars Night" before Halloween, and in his words, "they really like it."
His suggestion was to set Beggars Night permanently on the last Saturday of October to allow parents more time to prepare.
"One thing is, if Halloween is on a weeknight, you're just getting home from work. You've gotta get the kids dressed up (and) get them out going to wherever you're gonna go," Ladehoff said. "By going to the last Saturday of October, you can get revved up to go for the trick or treat night. Also, I would ask -- the churches or police and fire do it -- but if you have Trunk or Treat night, either do it on a different night or try and get done by 5:30. The whole idea is to get kids back out in the community again."
Ladehoff lamented that the COVID-19 pandemic weakened the sense of community as people were forced to isolate from each other, and he also noted his own history working second shift for 16 years. He estimated that at least 2,000 people in Marshalltown work the shift and hoped the change would be beneficial to them.
An "unofficial" Facebook poll Ladehoff conducted indicated that 32 of 34 respondents were in favor of the move.
"Anyone that I've talked to, parents especially, they really appreciate the thought of doing this. I would be more than happy to hear anyone else's opinion on this," he said.
Mayor Joel Greer joked that setting the citywide trick or treat night is one of the only powers he possesses in his seat, but he thanked Ladehoff for bringing it up and said he thought it was "a really good idea."
During the public comment period on the matter, Denise Bacon said she supported moving Beggars Night because, especially for some of the shut-in veterans she cares for in her line of work, it offers them some of the only chances they have to interact with others.
"Last year, everyone was very excited for Halloween to come, and I kind of feel like Trunk or Treat took it away from them and my clients didn't get anybody," she said.
In response, Ladehoff also implored residents to turn their lights on and have candy available, pointing out that he used to see upwards of 150 kids in his neighborhood, but last year, there were only three.
"Let's see if we can't bring this back. It's so much fun," he said.
Doris Kinnick seconded Bacon's comments and added that she had heard from many residents who were sad no one came to their home last year.
"I think it's a good idea to get the community involved in trick or treat night. It's a lot of fun, especially for parents, because when my kids were growing up, I loved going out with them. I mean, getting candy is great," she said.
Ladehoff joked that, although it was "an idea," the city wouldn't resort to punitive measures like dropping a truckload of gravel in the driveways of businesses or organizations that hold Trunk or Treat events at the same time, but he strongly encouraged them to hold them on other nights.
"Let's all play together fair here and turn Halloween into something fun," he said.
Councilor Gabe Isom tied the potential change to one of the core tenets of the recently approved Arts and Culture Master Plan -- "building bridges of hope and vibrancy in our neighborhoods" -- and hoped it would help bring back some of the atmosphere of the city's residential areas.
Marshalltown Police Department Lt. AJ Accola asked that if the council wished to move forward with the change, which he said he was "all in favor" of, that it be set for two hours and wrap up relatively early to avoid safety issues with that many children walking around at once and potential drunk driving concerns as it falls on a weekend.
"I just want the kids to be safe," he said.
Ladehoff's motion to, as he joked, "take away some of the mayor's powers" and instruct staff to come back with a formal resolution setting Beggars Night for the last Saturday of October from 5 to 7 p.m. passed by a 7-0 vote.
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Contact Robert Maharry
at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or
rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.