Eva’s Halloween Party

I have already written something about our sabbatical year in Switzerland, 1974-75. Now, having just found quotations from my diary and other notes for the book I intended to write, Turn Back the Clock, I will write a few more sketches.  All of these Wengen stories are dedicated, with gratitude and love to my stepfather, Charles F.C. Arensberg, who encouraged me to keep a diary and write about our children’s activities in Switzerland.

In the end of October, our 12 year old daughter, Eva threw a memorable Halloween Party in our little chalet, Muck. (Pronounced /muk/.  It means “beloved chalet.”)  But while we were “cutting up” in the most outlandish fashion, we were silently mourning the death of our dear Grandfather Charlie, whose funeral was taking place far away in Boston. 

Diary excerpt, Oct. 31:

We had decided to celebrate Halloween just for ourselves.  The children, Eva, aged 12 and Jani, aged 8, figured out their costumes in advance.  They also made lots of jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, bats, witches and other eerie things out of colored paper and pens.  These they taped up all around the house.  At the last moment, Eva decided to invite all the girls in her class to a Halloween Party.  This developed as a result of a short essay which she read to the class (in German) explaining what Halloween is all about.  As an afterthought, she also invited Gisele (the first person to befriend her, and her younger sister and brother, (“for Jan to play with.”)

At precisely 3 p.m. they all came trouping in, 12 of them, took off their boots and jackets (lots of snow outside, but beautiful sunshine) and filled up our living-room.  They had to sit on the floor as there weren’t enough chairs.  But they were bubbling with life and animal spirits, and didn’t mind anything.  Most of the girls were pretty, some extremely so.  Some brought dried flowers or candy for me.

First they changed into their costumes and A. and I judged them: “The prettiest,” “most original,” “funniest,” and “scariest.” The most original were the sisters, Gisele and Rosina, in beautiful authentic old-fashioned, dressy clothes.  Gisele was the elegant lady with ostrich feathers in her hat, a fan, black silk shoes and all the trimmings.  Rosina, her beau, had a perfectly-tailored cut-away with vest and top hat.  (See photo, back row.)  (I wondered if it was a midget or a delicate teen-age boy who originally wore such a small suit.  I wondered where their mother had found such treasures.)

“The funniest” was Eva’s best friend, Isabelle, who was a “Lazy-bones” with a huge belly.  Jani was quite funny as Igor, Dr. Frankenstein’s helper.  (They had recently made some taped skits at school using these characters.)  

Eva’s costume was “the scariest” although she wasn’t eligible for a prize.  A great deal of work obviously went into that costume, which included a hand-made mask and sandals, as well as her purple hooded bathrobe and a couch pillow.  She was suppose to be the “Hunchback of Notre Dame.”  But at the last moment she remembered that there was a hunch-backed girl in the school. She didn’t want her classmates to think she was making fun of this girl.  So, she put the pillow in front, thus looking very pregnant. When she first appeared, with the mask in place, the huge stomach, and an awkward stance, everyone gasped. 

Later, we had refreshments (they gobbled up everything in sight), spontaneous songs, and games.  We gave out lots of prizes, and everyone seemed to have a good time. 

When they were about to leave, Andrzej, who had been a very effective, German-speaking M.C., suggested that they all troupe through the village in costume.  Shouts of delight greeted this suggestion.  (I’m sure they thought he would lead them.)  But instead, Eva did.  She returned, freezing, just in time for dinner.  It was quite dark by then.  She said everyone stared at them and some laughed.

After dinner and homework, A. and I dressed up in our costumes and we took some pictures.  I was the Mad Duchess in Alice in Wonderland, louding exclaiming, “Speak roughly to your little boy and beat him when he sneezes!”  That’s a tea-cozy on my head.  The kids were delighted.  I don’t know whether A., with a yellow strainer on his head, was supposed to be our butcher, Herr Gloor or an Air Raid Warden!

We played charades by the fire and had a little “Trick or Treat.”  But we were all tired from the big party. 

In retrospect, that Halloween party was the ice-breaker leading to Eva’s greater acceptance by her classmates.  After that, some of them used the intimate, “du” form of address and the more intimate, “so long!”  Eventually, she even saw the inside of a few Swiss homes.

Some of my readers may be thinking how callous we were to celebrate Halloween with such abandon, on the very day of Charlie’s funeral.  But, I am sure he would have wanted it that way.  By his own life, he taught me that “life goes on.”  It was he who encouraged me to keep a diary of this trip, to capture the freshness of each new encounter in this new world, before it grew stale. 

One of his last acts was to write (with great difficulty) a letter of encouragement to me.   

My Mother said to me in a letter, “I consider myself one of the most fortunate of women, to have lived as his wife for 25 years.”