Sweet Talk—Days of Captain Chaos, Whistling Belly Buttons, and Litter Bugs

heide banner cwm

Halloween is not only a time for candy and celebrations, but it’s also a time to express yourself. Or, if you’re a kid, a time for your mom to express herself. This Halloween, I pay tribute to the Ghosts of Halloween Past—ourselves as kids—all dressed up and ready to haunt our neighbors’ doorsteps for treats.

cwm trick or treaters curtiss
Halloween candy back then came in all shapes, flavors, and sizes. This is still true today, but you just don’t see some of the classic Halloween candy anymore. If you were lucky enough to be a youngster in the heyday of trick-or-treat, candy such as this should look familiar to you.

Composite of images from the 1961 Heide Halloween candy catalog

Composite of images from the 1961 Heide Halloween candy catalog

Some of you might think, “Oh, big deal—candy corn and pee wee jelly beans.” But it was a big deal, and people have Halloween memories to last a lifetime.

Enjoy this gallery of us, the trick-or-treaters of yesteryear who are still kids at heart!

For more Halloween candy memories, visit

Darlene Lacey

About Darlene Lacey

Darlene is the author of "Classic Candy: America's Favorite Sweets, 1950-80" and curator of the Candy Wrapper Museum, which is comprised of her personal collection which she began as a teenager in the 70s. The CWM has been featured in numerous TV shows, magazines, newspapers and blogs, and made its art gallery debut in 2010 at the Scion Space's "Palate" show.
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5 Responses to Sweet Talk—Days of Captain Chaos, Whistling Belly Buttons, and Litter Bugs

  1. Matt Nadh says:

    I will always be a big kid! Awesome throwback picture of me, and great article.

  2. The best post ever

  3. This is great!

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