o we’ll go no more a-roving, so late into the night

Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays for as long as I can remember. First, I’ve always liked fall - the colors all around us, the smell of the leaves, and the change of the season. Then, for at least a little while, you enjoy the transition into a warmer wardrobe; shorts and t-shirts are put away and you dig out the boots that were last seen somewhere in the basement. Now, this gets a bit tedious by about February, but we northeast Ohioians are blessed with amnesia when it comes to the baggage that accompanies shorter, cooler days. But Halloween comes along at the best possible time, when summer’s memory is still with us and fall hasn’t yet slid into winter’s icy grip.

Alas, much of my abiding affection for All Hallows’ Eve is also based on a world that is no more - the smell of the burning pile of hickory leaves that my brother, my dad and I piled up each year and set aflame (dangerous air pollution); the thrill of spending three hours alone with my friends canvassing every possible house in town for goodies (dangerous lack of parental supervision); and the amazing individually hand-dipped candy apples that the kind-of-scary elderly lady down the street made for every kid brave enough to knock on her door (dangerously unsealed food samples). Please don’t get me wrong - I’m all for clean air and safe choices, but there is a part of me that misses that more innocent time.

What really set Halloween apart from many holidays for me, though, was one thing (and, to the surprise of those who know one of my greatest weaknesses, it wasn’t ending up with a bag full of chocolate). It was carving jack-o’-lanterns! This activity has always allowed free range to my creative side and was anticipated for weeks ahead. I learned from one of the best. My dad was a pumpkin-carving artiste, able to knock out a snaggle-toothed face straight from his imagination without using sketches or stencils (not that those existed back then…). I can still remember the one October when he handed me a pumpkin and a carving knife for the first time and trusted me to come out at the end with a reasonable facsimile of a ghoulish face and all of my fingers still intact (come to think of it, add this to the list of banned pleasures in the paragraph above!). From that point on, I planned each year to top the effort of the preceding fall with a pumpkin face that was scarier, goofier, or more surprising than the year before. This became quite challenging by the time I was an adult, so I resorted to carvings that resembled famous characters (Bert & Ernie, Jack Skellington, Garfield, etc.) or to topical symbols of the day. While the challenge of being freshly creative can be difficult, I still enjoy the process of “creating by taking away” that each Halloween pumpkin presents. Its one simple pleasure that continues to be enjoyed by children of all ages, and I highly recommend it.

In my Music Settlement spotlight this week, I want to mention another October tradition in our area: the S. Livingston Mather Scholarship Competition for Male Voice Students, which occurred on October 4th at Judson Manor. The competition awards cash prizes to full-time or part-time students who are enrolled in college-level studies towards a degree in music, and the judges this year included Hazel Zehner, our Chair of Vocal Studies in The Music Settlement’s Department of Music. Hazel brought this competition to my attention, highlighting the fact that participants came to Cleveland from all over the country, with winners representing The Curtis School of Music, The University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Indiana University, among others. Hazel felt inspired, in spite of the challenging times we currently face, that there was a strong artistic and broad geographic representation of vocal students at the competition. She and I agree that the arts are still very much alive all around us, and the talent and dedication of those performers reinforce that perception in a very real way. I also want to emphasize the fact that it’s instructors like Hazel who engage our youth in vital arts experiences, providing the framework for their future impact. Her expertise and dedication are legendary here at The Music Settlement. She also gives more than her share, as is evidenced by activities such as judging the Mather Competition. She works hard every day to be a positive influence on young people through the arts, and we are very grateful for her for doing so.

Have a great week, and a Happy Halloween!