It’s the Sunday before Halloween. Front porch lights throughout Sun City Huntley are turned on.
It’s the signal that your house is open for business. You’ll welcome trick-or-treating children from nearby schools and neighborhoods, as well as the grandkids of Sun City residents. Ring the bell! We have candy and snacks for you. Or, maybe, homemade cookies or bags of freshly popped popcorn for every super hero, princess or scary ghost that comes calling.
Many homeowners will also have decorations in their windows, orange lights by their garage, or carved pumpkins along the walkway.
This swashbuckling Halloween raises money for the Illinois Special Olympics. (Photo provided)
Phil and Carol Cody, in neighborhood 7, go a bit further. They turn their open garage into the Black Pearl pirate ship flying the Jolly Roger. There’s Blackbeard himself (Phil) complete with buccaneer hat and menacing sword (rubber, of course). A ten-foot long plank is laid on the floor. On a nearby table, manned by first mate Carol, is the candy as well as a treasure box.
As costumed youngsters warily approached the open garage, Blackbeard cries out: “Argh, me hearty. If ye be brave enough to walk the plank you’re welcome to some booty.”
The poor soul must walk the length of the plank without stepping off onto the floor. Older kids are asked to try it on one foot. “Well shivery me timbers,” Blackbeard tells those who succeed, “claim your boodle at the table.” (Spoiler alert: everyone gets candy.)
Friends and neighbors of the Cody’s were invited to bring a lawn chair and watch the show (perhaps with a wee bit of grog on the side). Thelma Jones of the Sun City Grandma and Grandpa and Me Club also visited and had touted the garage at their event.
Some of the best costumes this year included:
Four separate members of the crime-fighting SWAT team, three different unicorns (one wearing a rainbow), two firemen, and a tiny little Elmo.
As expected, there were monsters – from Frankenstein, the werewolf, and the Grim Reaper, to a killer clown, and a spook with a double layer “scream” mask that pumper blood between the layers. In addition, a number of Super Heroes made an appearance, including Spiderman, Wonder woman, and the entire Incredibles family.
One youngster came as a well-padded, puffed-up dinosaur. Another claimed to be a “fat ballerina” but her outfit was deflated thanks to a broken blower fan.
Other visitors included Daddy Warbucks, a giant panda, a girl dressed as a storm trooper, and Willy Wonka (or was that Harpo Marx?), but, alas, only one pirate.
Adults joined in, too, with one grandma willing to walk the plank and a grandpa dressed as golfer Bobby Jones complete with white golf knickers.
A fund raiser
The Cody’s also turn the Black Pearl outing into a fund-raiser for the Illinois Special Olympics.
That’s where the treasure box comes in. Guests and parents of the costumed children are asked to slip a doubloon or two into the box. ”Yo ho ho and a piece-of-eight!”
Sergeant Amy Williams of the Huntley Police Force Officer was on hand to pick up the “treasure” to convey it to the Special Olympic organization.
In its wake, the Black Pearl leaves a bunch of happy children, plus treasure for a good cause, and all with no one having to visit Davy Jones.
