You can take the girl out of the small town, but you can never take all of the small town out of the girl.
Maybe that’s why I love the story of Anoka, Minnesota — the “Halloween Capital of the World.”
It’s a northern suburb of the Twin Cities, numbering a little over 18,000. In 1920, it hosted the very first Halloween parade. Seventeen years later, the town persuaded the United States Congress to make the title an official proclamation and continues to celebrate the holiday each year with several parades.
I love a parade.
And take it from me — small towns know how to do ‘em up right. Fancy floats. Queens and their court. Livestock and tractors joining in the fun. And food, too.
It’s enough to make any ghoul proud.
So, as you celebrate Halloween this year in towns large and small… in New York City or Boston… Kansas City or Fancy Farm, Kentucky… bob an apple for the folks in Anoka, Minnesota who got the party started for us all.
