Racine's trick-or-treaters out in force Sunday

By Lee B. Roberts

Sunday, October 30, 2005 11:53 PM CST

RACINE - Porch lights were turned on early Sunday evening as residents throughout the city prepared for the arrival of costumed visitors with goodie bags in hand. Racine's annual trick-or-treat time, which ran from 4 to 7 p.m., brought revelers of all sizes to homes in search of treats and, in some cases, a few tricks.

At the Hall household on Goold Street, for example, trick-or-treaters had to dodge a big rubber spider, which swooped down on them from above as they made their way up the steps to the candy. Most were willing to take the chance for the reward, said Lloyd and Laura Hall, who estimated that their home had around 300 costumed visitors, with some of the most memorable being Thing One and Thing Two (from Dr. Seuss) and a very tiny witch.

Trick-or-treaters weren't quite as brave at the Garza house, a few blocks west of the Halls. Visitors to this porch had to make their way past a ghoulish bride of Satan; a very imposing Viking skeleton, with shoulder pads made out of skulls and a huge ax; and a blood-spattered butcher with a chain saw, before they could get to the treats at the end of the porch.

These characters, combined with a very scary soundtrack, eerie lighting and other ghastly decorations made the Garzas' porch a frightening place. That's the idea, said Maryl Garza, who played one of the characters alongside her husband, Jos�, and her daughter Micaela, 11.

Hayden Flores, 5 and her cousin, Andie Bryhtan, 5, trick-or treat Sunday along Coolidge Avenue during Racine's Halloween trick-or-treat. Photo by Gregory Shaver, Journal Times.

The Garzas have been scaring the masks off trick-or-treaters since they moved into the neighborhood about five years ago. They and their neighbors, the Tomes, have a kind of unspoken Halloween decorating contest each year which involves weeks of planning and setting up. And while the Tomes' decorating is impressive, it is not as scary as that of the Garzas. As a result, they end up getting more trick-or-treaters on their porch - around 500, at last count, said Stephanie Tomes.

"We end up with a lot of leftover candy," said Maryl Garza.

Even so, she enjoys every minute of the annual outing.

"I love this holiday," she said. "I have very good memories of being scared at trick-or-treat time when I was little and it is a real adrenaline rush to be able to be the scarer now. I just love to see people's reaction."

Even those that don't make it to the end of the Garzas' porch seem to enjoy the fun. Elizabeth Kimber, 12, said she had to hang onto her sister, Katherine, 21, as she approached the house. But even with that support, she didn't make it all the way to the treats.

"I was too scared," she said, with a big grin.

Her friend, Johnnisha Jones, 13, made it through the gauntlet to the candy and lived to talk about it. It was all part of the fun for the three young women who said this year's trick-or-treat was a good time, filled with lots of their favorite goodies.

Even Sahara McGee, 3, managed to make it through a couple hours of house-to-house treat seeking in the north side neighborhood with a smile on her face. Dressed as a Disney cheerleader princess, Sahara was still having fun as she made her way back to her car around 6 p.m. with her mother, Carol Upchurch, who was decked out in a witch costume.

The spunky princess said she'd had a good time collecting a bag full of goodies, but now she was ready to go home.

Her favorite treat in her goodie bag?

"The cookies," she said.

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