COVID-19 news and Halloweens of our past
Posted on 10/28/2020
Northvillians,
Halloween will be here Saturday with a full moon in the night sky … it truly will be a unique holiday this year.
One last reminder on all things Halloween for the City of Northville.
• The CDC has labeled Trick or Treating as a high-risk activity.
• For Halloween night, City Council agreed to the following actions:
o Streets will not be shut down this year and the Community Center activities are cancelled.
o The Fire Department will not have their annual Halloween open house.
o Residents are encouraged to make their own decision on whether to leave their lights on for youngsters to come to their door, or lights off for health safety. Many local subdivisions are planning alternative socially distanced, masked neighborhood events.
• Halloween night ends Daylight Saving Time – we’ll get one more hour of sleep (Fall back/ Spring forward).
• MSU and Michigan Football will collide on Halloween at noon, for their second game of the season.
• Enjoy Halloween Night downtown by visiting the “Skeletons Are Alive” display, keeping socially distant and wearing a mask.
Before we look at Halloweens of yesteryear, let’s take a look at what’s going on today.
On the COVID-19 front
On Oct. 23, Moderna Pharmaceuticals received the release from the Department of Health and Human Services for a contract of 100 million COVID-19 vaccination doses with an option of 400 million more set for 2021.
• The US/Canada border will remain closed for another month, until at least Nov. 21.
• A California panel will independently review the safety of new coronavirus vaccines and distribution plans.
COVID-19 confirmed cases: Northville has had 64 cases/7 fatalities, the Township: 448 cases /29 fatalities; Michigan: 180,000 cases /7,600 fatalities; the Nation: 8.7 million cases /226,000 fatalities; and Global: 44 million cases /1.2 million fatalities.
Lansing Update
• Gov. Whitmer will continue to work with the legislatures in a bipartisan fashion to revise other COVID-19 policies and procedures going forward, as our State continues to face pandemic challenges.
• Arbor Hills Landfill: Last Friday, it was my honor along with Council Member Barbara Moroski-Browne and other community leaders to join State Attorney General Dana Nessel, State Sen. Dayna Polehanki and State Rep. Matt Koleszar as they united with Township Supervisor Bob Nix in a bi-partisan coalition to announce a lawsuit against the Arbor Hills landfill for violating environmental regulations. Polehanki echoed Nix’s sentiments when she said, “Northville Community residents have suffered far too long due to the negligence of the operations of the Arbor Hills Landfill.”
Now, let’s look at Northville Halloweens through the years:
1908 - The Northville Record reported that on Halloween night some young boys thought it would be smart to tear the front steps off a residence on west Main Street. The police at the time believed it was the same set of boys who did the same prank the previous year.
1916 – The newspaper promoted the Halloween Box Social at the Baptist Church and warned, “The goblins’ll get you if you don’t watch out!”
1938 – On Halloween night in Orchard Heights, a resident on Eaton Drive found themselves needing new glass for their front door, which was broken by someone tossing a sugar beet through it, according to the police blotter.
1941 – The Lloyd H. Green VFW Post Auxiliary planned a Halloween party for their first social event at their new building.
1948 – Police Chief Joe Denton distributed safety precautions for Halloween and Devil’s Night to prevent accidents that might spoil the fun of Halloween, which was also on a Saturday night that year (just like now, 72 years later).
1951 – Boogie Woogie pianist Ted Simms and his orchestra played for the Northville Halloween masquerade dance sponsored by the American Legion. Earlier, he had won first prize in an amateur talent contest in Detroit’s Downtown Theatre.
1953 - The Northville Lloyd H. Green VFW Post again sponsored a community Halloween dance at the High School gym with the Fisher’s orchestra from Ann Arbor providing the music. Halloween mischief was confined to mostly window soaping, but one Northville Police blotter reported an apple was thrown through a storm door on Spring Drive.
1954 – The Halloween program was a “double success” according to City officials. Not only did hundreds of children enjoy themselves at parties and activities such as a Halloween Art Show sponsored by the Mothers Club, but minimal mischief happened while goblins and witches were out. (Northville Record)
1956 – The festivities began with two hours of free movies at the Marquis Theatre (called P & A theater at the time) with candy, doughnuts and cider provided by local businesses. A special high school Halloween dance took place at the Community Center and 45 award-winning jack-o-lanterns from all the schools were displayed.
1960 – Northville trick-or-treaters collected money on Halloween from generous local residents for UNICEF, an event sponsored by the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian churches.
1967 – Two brand new ‘67 model Ford patrol cars debuted for Devil’s Night.
1969 – The Northville Fire Department deserves recognition for its Halloween project. The volunteer department of Chief Bud Hartner was on duty at the station when trick-or-treaters came around. Northville volunteers popped corn (more than 25 pounds of it!) and hundreds of local apples were given out. John McGuire (Guernsey Farms) donated the popcorn machine; Fred Casterline, the apples and Mayor Allen, the popcorn.
1983 – Northville firefighters hosted more than 1,000 children at their Halloween event. Chief Jim Allen observed that “it just keeps growing” and cited that it was the 18th annual Fire Department Halloween party, complete with cotton candy, popcorn, soft drinks, local cider and a costume contest.
2010 – The Northville Record wrote of the Danol Family’s tribute for Terry Danol (husband, father and local Halloween legend). Terry, who loved Halloween, passed away the previous month but his family continued their annual holiday tradition in their yard on Linden. Jim Long, longtime downtown business owner, told the Record, “The Danols have made Halloween night in Northville special with their themed exibits each year.” Since 1998, the Danol family has transformed their home on Linden into various Halloween themes: Pirates of the Carribean, the Renaissance era, Wild West, Monster Mash, Trolls and Star Trek, among a host of other themes through the years. Northville will forever miss Terry Danol.
2011 – The DDA debuted “Skeletons Alive” in downtown Northville to the delight of the community. This fun event continues to grow each year!
Keep that Northville Faith!
Stay #NorthvilleStrong!
Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville
BTurnbull@ci.northville.mi.us / 248.505.6849
