End of an eerie era: Last Friday marked the final time the Tracy American Legion building will transform into a haunted house
The Tracy American Legion Earle Ray Post 0173 building on 4th St. might not be the most grandiose structure in town — it’s certainly not the biggest — but for the last 20 or so Halloweens, its doors have creaked open to boys and girls for a haunting experience.
Sadly, the Legion’s Halloween tradition of spreading holiday chills came to an end last Friday when Auxiliary members hosted their final trick-or-treat event.
“It’s too much for the three of us older ladies,” Auxiliary member Jane Muedeking said, referring to her partners in creepy crime, Jane Wahl and Sharron Kosse. “I have thoroughly enjoyed it, and I didn’t realize that other people did also until I started to talk more about it.”
Wahl said it isn’t just the kids’ Halloween night that has annually been made thanks to the homespun Legion event.
“There are so many parents that love coming as well as the kids,” said Wahl, who started decorating the Legion building for Friday last Wednesday. “They like to see it all decorated. It’s always fun, and we’re going to miss it.” Every Halloween, Legion and Legion Auxiliary members have transformed the cramped building into a house of horrors with all kinds of decorations to give little ones a true indoor spooky experience. Just as the Legion’s numbers have dwindled over the years because of age or declining health, so, too, has the number of people who take time out of their lives to not only sit inside the building but get into character as well.
“I do my witch’s cackle,” said Muedeking, whose husband, Chauncey, plays the role of the “Haunted Man.” “People always mention, ‘We’ve come to see the witch!’ I can cackle with the best of ‘em.”
Two decades ago, it was Auxiliary member Jan Bornitz who emerged as the driving force of the Halloween event. To anyone who knows her, it should come as no surprise that this deva of decor was the one who got things going.
“Everything (in the building) would come down except for the Legion emblem,” Borntiz said. “I made backdrops for every section of the event, we would have a haunted tunnel going through, the some of the Legionairres would wear whole costumes and would hide behind the backdrops and wander around. Pretty much the whole building was rigged up.”
Bornitz is well known for her own decorations — inside and outside — at her home in Garvin. Over the last three years, Bornitz said she has sold more than 60 tubs and dozens of boxes of Halloween decorations that she has used both at her home and at the Legion building.
“I had long claws and hooks so the guys could gently grab the kids,” Bornitz said. “We all had fun with it — you never had problems finding volunteers with that sort of thing.”
Muedeking said that besides having fewer people available to host the haunted house, it’s become increasingly difficult to compete with other Halloween events in Tracy and other area communities. However, “we didn’t feel it was fair to not do it this year,” said Muedeking. “People still expect it.”
Wahl, the president of the auxiliary, said that although the ladies still love putting on the Halloween show, it’s become much more difficult to do.
“We don’t have enough able-bodied people to help,” she said. “And we’re all getting older. I do most of the decorating because others aren’t able to do it — I still can, but I’m older than all of them, so …” At its peak, the annual event, which at one point was held at the VMC, attracted upward of 400 kids and parents. Today, it still draws a crowd, only a smaller one — maybe 100 fewer than in years past.
“Once other events started, that cut our attendance down greatly,” Wahl said. “Most of the towns are now doing the Trunk-or-Treat.”
Another thing that factors into the increasing difficulty in hosting the event is the rising price of treats. It’s become a real trick for small groups to buy an assortment of things to hand out.
“We used to have a lot better hand-outs; we used to get stuff at Walmart — you can get a whole lot of something in a bag, but all of that’s gotten so expensive that we can’t do that anymore,” said Wahl. “As far as getting other little handouts — something that’s not edible — it’s just about impossible. I have in years past made some Halloween bookmarks, but I don’t think the kids today are really thrilled about them!”
The future of the Legion building is an unknown, as there has been talk about moving Legion-related events over the new community center. Wahl isn’t sure the Auxiliary could do there what it has been doing at the current building for so many years.
“Most of the stuff we do here, we’re not going to be able to do there,” Wahl said. “Here, I’ve got hooks in the ceiling … if we’re (at the community center), I’m sure we would have to change the format — a lot. That’s another reason why this was the final one.”
