From Hallowed Halls to Halloween
Back in the ancient days, when I attended St. Mary College, Leavenworth, KS, it was de rigueur to wear our black caps and gowns to all official functions, including daily Mass (greatly encouraged). These gowns were extremely practical and covered a multitude of sins. One could catch an extra ten minutes of sleep by rolling up pajama pant legs under the gown. The cap would cover hair put up in pin curls, not so well over curlers. Several times, I was caught red-handed, or should say red-faced, walking up the chapel aisle when an errant p.j. leg unfurled below my gown. (It even happened to the priest one time!)
However, the strangest sight must have been a group of us, racing against time to the chapel building, down three flights of the old-fashioned, spiral iron fire escapes outside our old Mead Hall—gowns billowing out behind us like witches whirling down a vortex.
And that brings me to the somewhat shady, secret life of the venerable college gown. I married, and as my family grew, they made use of that voluminous black gown. For the boys, it doubled as Zorro’s cape as he dashingly dispatched a younger brother foe. I doubt the Lone Ranger ever had a cape, but more than one kid pranced around in it yelling, “Hi! Ho! Silver!” It was a great Halloween costume for Count Dracula or the girls bewitching the neighborhood.
It even attained a certain fame onstage, appearing in numerous school plays, and was borrowed by the neighbors to clothe everything from a Russian count to the villain in the village melodrama.
However, its most ignominious annual role took place at Halloween on my darkened front porch, draped with spider webs. Spooky music played, while a sinister black-robed figure with green hair appeared, and handed out candy with white skeleton, gloved hands. “Eeeek! Most of my little visitors would scream and run, sans candy. Their parents would escort them back, “Look, it’s only Mrs. Biasotti.” (That mask got hot, so one year I used green makeup instead. I looked even more witchy the following day. I couldn’t get all the makeup off!)
They certainly wove good cloth back then. From Hallowed halls of learning to Halloween costuming, it lived on. And to think, it was already on its second life. I bought it used!