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Sunday, January 1,2006
No, this history begins in 1974, when the street takeovers began in Athens on Halloween, and ends in the present day.
One more note: throughout these articles, you'll see mention of various city officials, local personages and students. Many of these people are no longer in the positions they were in when these articles were written. For example: former Police Chief Ted Jones, quoted as the police chief in the early years of the party, eventually became chief of OU Campus Safety, and Joel Rudy, former Dean of Students at OU, left. From here on out, please enjoy the history:
The above quote appeared as a caption for a front-page picture of costumed partiers who trapped a semi-truck on Court Street while it attempted to make a delivery at the former Baskin-Robbins on West Union Street in Athens. The date was Oct. 31, 1974.
Little did anyone suspect that the two-hour street takeover by Ohio University students on that historic Tuesday night would start an annual Halloween celebration. The event has occurred repeatedly for the past 24 years and has been sanctioned by the city of Athens for the past 10 years. After years of stonewalling, the city administration has finally given up opposing the Halloween celebration.
The Oct. 29, 1940 edition of The Athens Messenger reported a Halloween street party on Court Street. The article detailed how a community street party was sponsored by the Athens Kiwanis Club and the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
The modern-day Halloween street party first reared its partying head in 1974. According to the OU Post, the uptown bar crowd - decked out in costumes - attempted to trap a semi-truck's delivery to the ice cream store on West Union Street as the costumed students took over the street "for close to two hours around midnight," the Post reported.
Some of the ugliness associated with later Halloween parties also made an appearance on that warm evening in 1974.
The Post reported that several men "wearing flannel shirts," took it upon themselves to assist police with controlling the crowd by arresting some of the celebrants, and got a little carried away. At one point, one of them threatened a celebrant saying, "Walk or I'll break your arm."
However, the Post did run a front-page story about trick-or-treat. During that year, newspapers and television news shows were filled with stories about Halloween candy being tampered with poison, needles and other foreign objects.
"Due to the rash of candy poisoning reports in recent years, some areas have banned door-to-door candy soliciting, leading to more Halloween parties," stated the Post. "Some area merchants also pointed out Halloween is not as celebrated in Athens as in other parts of the country."That was soon to change.
After closing the street shortly after 11 p.m., the crowd threw bottles and firecrackers, and jumped on cars and kicked vehicles. "Most participants were students dressed in Halloween costumes," the Messenger reported. More than 500 people partied on Court Street, while police arrested 15 participants.
Athens Police, who had wanted to clear the street of the illegal crowd, expressed anger with then-Mayor Donald Barrett, who had been photographed with some of the costumed students and had forbidden police from taking any action to stop the celebration. The Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement, declaring they were "humiliated" by Barrett's decision.
Calling for Barrett's resignation, the police stated, "We feel there is no real law enforcement for politics." Then-Police Chief Ted Jones stated the following week, "My men were humiliated and not allowed to do the job that is expected of them. They were forced to stand around and be physically and verbally abused." Jones hinted that OU and the city's bars were at least partly to blame.
Barrett, despite his involvement, took a stronger stance against the university. "Speaking in general, higher education has abdicated the serious responsibility of setting the tone and to create an environment where the people involved turned out a heck of a lot better than what we witnessed Saturday night."
However, the mayor defended his action of preventing police from clearing the street, saying that the street should have been cleared but an "alternative" method was needed besides police force.
In retrospect, Barrett's decision not to clear the street signaled a growing restraint on the part of the city - given that Athens had been rocked by bloody riots every spring quarter since the early '70s. While the annual riots may have started as an outgrowth of student activism in the late '60s and early '70s, they deteriorated into raw expressions of frustration and antagonism between students and town police. The confrontations often ended with Athens Police, backed up by reinforcements from other Southeastern Ohio police departments, donning riot gear and spraying the crowd with large wooden pellets and tear gas, and receiving flying bricks in return.
Barrett may have correctly interpreted the Halloween crowd's mood as festive and confrontational, and decided not to provoke it with force, as usually occurred every spring when a relatively small police-student confrontation could quickly snowball into a full-scale riot.
The result: a subliminal message to the students from the city that peaceful street gatherings would be tolerated, while destructive mob behavior would not.
The mayor's actions on that evening in 1976 could be credited as one of the origins of the modern Halloween street party in Athens, while at the same time it marked the beginning of the end of the spring riots. Through the efforts of several campus and community organizations, the spring riots disappeared two years later in 1978.
Halloween, however, continued to grow.
One possible reason for the sanctioned event was the fact that OU's Homecoming coincided with Halloween in 1977. Although a previous homecoming in 1975 occurred during Halloween and no street takeover took place, city and university officials cannot be blamed for wanting to take no chances after the chaos of 1976.
An appearance by comedian superstar Bob Hope was held in the Convocation Center on Saturday, with other events scheduled for Court Street following the concert.
After the street was blocked off at dusk, an "all campus/community costume judging contest" was held at Baker Center and, beginning at 10:30 p.m., music was provided to the crowd from a large stage constructed in front of the Athens County Courthouse.
Shortly after midnight, the OU Marching 110 paraded through the crowd, led by then-Dean of Students Carol Harter, who was dressed in appropriate green and white as an OU cheerleader. On the heels of the band, OU's Food Services rolled in a 4-by-8 foot cake, which was then immediately sliced into 2,300 pieces for the crowd. OU's then President Charles Ping and Provost Neil Bucklew reportedly attended the party.
"I think things went incredibly well," then-Associate Dean of Students James Hartman said. Mayor Barrett echoed Hartman's observation, saying: "I think the OU students conducted themselves very well under the circumstances."
Athens police estimated the crowd at 7,000, while Barrett placed the figure 1,000 higher. A total of 65 people were arrested (36 for open container violations, 28 for disorderly conduct). Eight of those 65 were OU students.
Discord over a Halloween street party surfaced as soon as plans for the event were announced, however. The Fraternal Order of Police stated publicly that the party placed a tremendous workload on the police, city and university, and it "inconvenienced" the community. The police also expressed concern that the Halloween party possessed the "potential for destruction and disaster."
Planners of the event, however, said they felt a safe and fun evening was possible. "I'm genuinely optimistic," Mayor Barrett said prior to the weekend.
"The (City/University Halloween Planning) committee has done a pretty darn good job. We can't control individual behavior and that's the one thing that bothers everyone. I don't think (city council) will want to support anything in the future that would be detrimental to the city. The success depends on the participants."
Despite opposition from the FOP, the "Community Halloween Festival Night" went on as scheduled. "The atmosphere was one of a country fair," described the Post. Seventeen city and university organizations set up concession booths, radio stations WATH and WXTQ provided live coverage, and both the OU Marching 110 and the Athens County Kitchen Swingers band performed (the latter consisting of female senior citizens, who reportedly felt intimidated by the "younger" crowd).
Once again OU Food Services provided a giant cake, and Harter again joined the party - this time dressed as the Madwoman of Chaillot, complete with black cape and pointed hat. Families with children were in abundance, lending a community atmosphere. Harter's assistant, Joel Rudy, also showed up, though without costume. "I've never worn a costume on Halloween in my entire life," Rudy reportedly declared.
Officials estimated that 12,000 attended what was later tagged as "the largest uptown street party in the history of the city." Police arrested 124 people over the weekend, 14 of them OU students. Approximately 28 percent of those arrested listed their college address as Columbus, lending support to the belief that the event attracted a large contingent from Ohio State.
The night was described as "relatively quiet," with "minimal damage." However, the large crowd and the arrest figures frightened many city and university officials, who cited the large out-of-town contingent as a deterrent to any future parties.
Police Chief Jones stated that the event "borders on the uncontrollable." Police Sgt. Ernie Antle was cut on the head during an altercation and received six stitches, the Post reported. A Columbus man was arrested for the assault. Though the majority of arrests were for open containers, police virtually gave up trying to enforce the ban on public drinking. "There were so many open containers on the street the officers couldn't process the claims," Jones said. "So after awhile, we just concentrated on the more serious disorderly conduct and intoxication offenses."
A total of $2,308 was spent on overtime by the city for the extra police protection, Jones reported. Still, Athens Halloween '78 wasn't all bad. "I see the (OU) student end growing more positive each year and the out-of-town element go the other way," OU's Harter said afterward. "It didn't seem like there were too many serious problems. It was very much like Mardi Gras. I thought it was good."
In addition, Police Chief Ted Jones warned that no street takeover would be permitted. Jones cited growing fear of the city's liability for the event and the nagging question of what would happen if a fire or other disaster struck uptown during the party.
OU's Student Senate sponsored informal "rap sessions" (remember this was pre-Public Enemy) during the fall quarter, warning students - especially freshmen - and reviewing the dangers of participating in uptown "disturbances."
In an effort to do something about the situation, OU administrators began planning for Halloween during the summer. Compounding the Halloween dilemma was a scheduling snafu. OU had scheduled Parents Weekend for the same weekend as the now-traditional street party.
In order to appease students and avoid situations where parents would witness student/police confrontations, the university sponsored a Halloween party in the Convocation Center, led by OU official Carol Harter. The party included refreshments, costume judging, live music and other activities.
An enterprising T-shirt vendor capitalized on a student backlash against the Convo party with an interesting product (and the forerunner to the annual Halloween T-shirt). He printed several thousand bright orange T-shirts which carried the slogan, "If God intended for Halloween to be in the Convo, He wouldn't have put it on Court Street."
Approximately 4,000 students and their parents attended the Convo party, university officials estimated. But as soon as the Marching 110 - the star attraction of the evening - performed, more than 3,500 of the crowd left, presumably for uptown, where an illegal street party was already underway.
Local newspapers estimated that 5,000 people took part in the uptown party. Police closed off part of Court Street at 9:30 p.m., when the crowd became too large for the sidewalks. The rest of the street - between Washington and Union streets- fell to the crowd at 11:30 p.m., shortly after the marching band finished its performance in the Convo. The Post later remarked in
Halloween in Athens :: A History
The Athens NEWS Definitive History: A journey through more than 30 Athens Halloweens
Following is the definitive history of Halloween in Athens-that is, modern Halloween in Athens. We really can't say what those Ohio Company colonists back in the late 1700s were doing on Halloween night. Who needs a costume when you've got a cool tricorner hat, nifty knee breeches, and a cracking muzzle-loader.No, this history begins in 1974, when the street takeovers began in Athens on Halloween, and ends in the present day.
One more note: throughout these articles, you'll see mention of various city officials, local personages and students. Many of these people are no longer in the positions they were in when these articles were written. For example: former Police Chief Ted Jones, quoted as the police chief in the early years of the party, eventually became chief of OU Campus Safety, and Joel Rudy, former Dean of Students at OU, left. From here on out, please enjoy the history:
1974: THE BEGINNNING
"Last night's full moon brought out all the crazies who took time off from their revelry ... and halted traffic on Court Street in front of the courthouse."The above quote appeared as a caption for a front-page picture of costumed partiers who trapped a semi-truck on Court Street while it attempted to make a delivery at the former Baskin-Robbins on West Union Street in Athens. The date was Oct. 31, 1974.
Little did anyone suspect that the two-hour street takeover by Ohio University students on that historic Tuesday night would start an annual Halloween celebration. The event has occurred repeatedly for the past 24 years and has been sanctioned by the city of Athens for the past 10 years. After years of stonewalling, the city administration has finally given up opposing the Halloween celebration.
The Oct. 29, 1940 edition of The Athens Messenger reported a Halloween street party on Court Street. The article detailed how a community street party was sponsored by the Athens Kiwanis Club and the Junior Chamber of Commerce.
The modern-day Halloween street party first reared its partying head in 1974. According to the OU Post, the uptown bar crowd - decked out in costumes - attempted to trap a semi-truck's delivery to the ice cream store on West Union Street as the costumed students took over the street "for close to two hours around midnight," the Post reported.
Some of the ugliness associated with later Halloween parties also made an appearance on that warm evening in 1974.
The Post reported that several men "wearing flannel shirts," took it upon themselves to assist police with controlling the crowd by arresting some of the celebrants, and got a little carried away. At one point, one of them threatened a celebrant saying, "Walk or I'll break your arm."
1975: MYSTERY YEAR
No written documentation can be found of any type of Halloween street party in 1975. Ohio University held homecoming during the Halloween weekend of that year, and the only reference to Halloween located in the Post or the Messenger is a picture in the OU student newspaper.However, the Post did run a front-page story about trick-or-treat. During that year, newspapers and television news shows were filled with stories about Halloween candy being tampered with poison, needles and other foreign objects.
"Due to the rash of candy poisoning reports in recent years, some areas have banned door-to-door candy soliciting, leading to more Halloween parties," stated the Post. "Some area merchants also pointed out Halloween is not as celebrated in Athens as in other parts of the country."That was soon to change.
1976: OUT OF CONTROL
In 1976, crowds again took over Court Street, and, according to news reports, things got out of control, both on the part of participants and those attempting to control them. "A sometimes unruly Halloween crowd, at times numbering around 500, spilled into Court Street," the Post reported.After closing the street shortly after 11 p.m., the crowd threw bottles and firecrackers, and jumped on cars and kicked vehicles. "Most participants were students dressed in Halloween costumes," the Messenger reported. More than 500 people partied on Court Street, while police arrested 15 participants.
Athens Police, who had wanted to clear the street of the illegal crowd, expressed anger with then-Mayor Donald Barrett, who had been photographed with some of the costumed students and had forbidden police from taking any action to stop the celebration. The Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement, declaring they were "humiliated" by Barrett's decision.
Calling for Barrett's resignation, the police stated, "We feel there is no real law enforcement for politics." Then-Police Chief Ted Jones stated the following week, "My men were humiliated and not allowed to do the job that is expected of them. They were forced to stand around and be physically and verbally abused." Jones hinted that OU and the city's bars were at least partly to blame.
Barrett, despite his involvement, took a stronger stance against the university. "Speaking in general, higher education has abdicated the serious responsibility of setting the tone and to create an environment where the people involved turned out a heck of a lot better than what we witnessed Saturday night."
However, the mayor defended his action of preventing police from clearing the street, saying that the street should have been cleared but an "alternative" method was needed besides police force.
In retrospect, Barrett's decision not to clear the street signaled a growing restraint on the part of the city - given that Athens had been rocked by bloody riots every spring quarter since the early '70s. While the annual riots may have started as an outgrowth of student activism in the late '60s and early '70s, they deteriorated into raw expressions of frustration and antagonism between students and town police. The confrontations often ended with Athens Police, backed up by reinforcements from other Southeastern Ohio police departments, donning riot gear and spraying the crowd with large wooden pellets and tear gas, and receiving flying bricks in return.
Barrett may have correctly interpreted the Halloween crowd's mood as festive and confrontational, and decided not to provoke it with force, as usually occurred every spring when a relatively small police-student confrontation could quickly snowball into a full-scale riot.
The result: a subliminal message to the students from the city that peaceful street gatherings would be tolerated, while destructive mob behavior would not.
The mayor's actions on that evening in 1976 could be credited as one of the origins of the modern Halloween street party in Athens, while at the same time it marked the beginning of the end of the spring riots. Through the efforts of several campus and community organizations, the spring riots disappeared two years later in 1978.
Halloween, however, continued to grow.
1977: ORGANIZED
In 1977, after two years of illegal street takeovers, impromptu parties and a lot of community discussion, both the city and the university attempted to organize the festivities. Early in the fall, Athens City Council passed a resolution closing the street and endorsing an "official Halloween celebration." University officials took charge of the event and planned a variety of activities.One possible reason for the sanctioned event was the fact that OU's Homecoming coincided with Halloween in 1977. Although a previous homecoming in 1975 occurred during Halloween and no street takeover took place, city and university officials cannot be blamed for wanting to take no chances after the chaos of 1976.
An appearance by comedian superstar Bob Hope was held in the Convocation Center on Saturday, with other events scheduled for Court Street following the concert.
After the street was blocked off at dusk, an "all campus/community costume judging contest" was held at Baker Center and, beginning at 10:30 p.m., music was provided to the crowd from a large stage constructed in front of the Athens County Courthouse.
Shortly after midnight, the OU Marching 110 paraded through the crowd, led by then-Dean of Students Carol Harter, who was dressed in appropriate green and white as an OU cheerleader. On the heels of the band, OU's Food Services rolled in a 4-by-8 foot cake, which was then immediately sliced into 2,300 pieces for the crowd. OU's then President Charles Ping and Provost Neil Bucklew reportedly attended the party.
"I think things went incredibly well," then-Associate Dean of Students James Hartman said. Mayor Barrett echoed Hartman's observation, saying: "I think the OU students conducted themselves very well under the circumstances."
Athens police estimated the crowd at 7,000, while Barrett placed the figure 1,000 higher. A total of 65 people were arrested (36 for open container violations, 28 for disorderly conduct). Eight of those 65 were OU students.
1978: FOP CRIES FOUL
Uptown revelry was once again sanctioned by the city and university the following year in 1978 - and the event grew larger.Discord over a Halloween street party surfaced as soon as plans for the event were announced, however. The Fraternal Order of Police stated publicly that the party placed a tremendous workload on the police, city and university, and it "inconvenienced" the community. The police also expressed concern that the Halloween party possessed the "potential for destruction and disaster."
Planners of the event, however, said they felt a safe and fun evening was possible. "I'm genuinely optimistic," Mayor Barrett said prior to the weekend.
"The (City/University Halloween Planning) committee has done a pretty darn good job. We can't control individual behavior and that's the one thing that bothers everyone. I don't think (city council) will want to support anything in the future that would be detrimental to the city. The success depends on the participants."
Despite opposition from the FOP, the "Community Halloween Festival Night" went on as scheduled. "The atmosphere was one of a country fair," described the Post. Seventeen city and university organizations set up concession booths, radio stations WATH and WXTQ provided live coverage, and both the OU Marching 110 and the Athens County Kitchen Swingers band performed (the latter consisting of female senior citizens, who reportedly felt intimidated by the "younger" crowd).
Once again OU Food Services provided a giant cake, and Harter again joined the party - this time dressed as the Madwoman of Chaillot, complete with black cape and pointed hat. Families with children were in abundance, lending a community atmosphere. Harter's assistant, Joel Rudy, also showed up, though without costume. "I've never worn a costume on Halloween in my entire life," Rudy reportedly declared.
Officials estimated that 12,000 attended what was later tagged as "the largest uptown street party in the history of the city." Police arrested 124 people over the weekend, 14 of them OU students. Approximately 28 percent of those arrested listed their college address as Columbus, lending support to the belief that the event attracted a large contingent from Ohio State.
The night was described as "relatively quiet," with "minimal damage." However, the large crowd and the arrest figures frightened many city and university officials, who cited the large out-of-town contingent as a deterrent to any future parties.
Police Chief Jones stated that the event "borders on the uncontrollable." Police Sgt. Ernie Antle was cut on the head during an altercation and received six stitches, the Post reported. A Columbus man was arrested for the assault. Though the majority of arrests were for open containers, police virtually gave up trying to enforce the ban on public drinking. "There were so many open containers on the street the officers couldn't process the claims," Jones said. "So after awhile, we just concentrated on the more serious disorderly conduct and intoxication offenses."
A total of $2,308 was spent on overtime by the city for the extra police protection, Jones reported. Still, Athens Halloween '78 wasn't all bad. "I see the (OU) student end growing more positive each year and the out-of-town element go the other way," OU's Harter said afterward. "It didn't seem like there were too many serious problems. It was very much like Mardi Gras. I thought it was good."
1979: THE CROWD RULES!
Because of the large and boisterous crowd that attended the previous year, in 1979 the "Community Halloween Festival Night" lost both its official community designation from the city and sponsorship from the university.In addition, Police Chief Ted Jones warned that no street takeover would be permitted. Jones cited growing fear of the city's liability for the event and the nagging question of what would happen if a fire or other disaster struck uptown during the party.
OU's Student Senate sponsored informal "rap sessions" (remember this was pre-Public Enemy) during the fall quarter, warning students - especially freshmen - and reviewing the dangers of participating in uptown "disturbances."
In an effort to do something about the situation, OU administrators began planning for Halloween during the summer. Compounding the Halloween dilemma was a scheduling snafu. OU had scheduled Parents Weekend for the same weekend as the now-traditional street party.
In order to appease students and avoid situations where parents would witness student/police confrontations, the university sponsored a Halloween party in the Convocation Center, led by OU official Carol Harter. The party included refreshments, costume judging, live music and other activities.
An enterprising T-shirt vendor capitalized on a student backlash against the Convo party with an interesting product (and the forerunner to the annual Halloween T-shirt). He printed several thousand bright orange T-shirts which carried the slogan, "If God intended for Halloween to be in the Convo, He wouldn't have put it on Court Street."
Approximately 4,000 students and their parents attended the Convo party, university officials estimated. But as soon as the Marching 110 - the star attraction of the evening - performed, more than 3,500 of the crowd left, presumably for uptown, where an illegal street party was already underway.
Local newspapers estimated that 5,000 people took part in the uptown party. Police closed off part of Court Street at 9:30 p.m., when the crowd became too large for the sidewalks. The rest of the street - between Washington and Union streets- fell to the crowd at 11:30 p.m., shortly after the marching band finished its performance in the Convo. The Post later remarked in
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