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56 FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2015 Remembering a nig h t of senseless destruction AN UNFORGETTABLE HALLOWEEN Trick or treat. Those three words will greet residents throughout Scugog this Saturday night when hundreds of children of all shapes and sizes in colourful costumes come knock- ing on doors for Halloween treats. This special night for the kids has been relatively peaceful in Port Perry over the past couple of decades but unfortunately there was a time when the Hallowed Evening was much more sinister almost like an invita- tion for some rowdies to destroy property and cause havoc. Many people creeping into their senior years will remember the days of toppling outhouses soaping windows and a variety of other harmless pranks but there was a time during the 1960s and 1970s when ran- dom vandalism and destruction became the norm after the sun went down on Halloween night. Itwasntuncommontolearnofoldbarnsorabandoned houses being torched and burned to the ground bales of hay and old tires set on fire in the middle of roads and extensive damage caused to public and private property. In Port Perry one of the worst incidents happened the Halloween of 1969 when groups of youths converged into the downtown roaming the streets. The November 6 1969 issue of The Port Perry Star fea- tured a banner story with the headline A Halloween Of Senseless Destruction. The article reported that although the exact number of people on Queen St. on Halloween night was impossible to determine it was estimated be- tween 400 and 700 crowded the street at one point. Some of them were intent on vandalism but the ma- jority no doubt only spectators to an ugly and unbliev- ingly poor behaviour on part of some residents the article reported. Businesses which became victims of smashed win- dows and extensive damage that night included the LCBO store Brutons Drug Store and The Royal Bank. The problems were reported to have started during the early evening when small groups of young people began to gather and wander along Queen St. with the crowd becoming larger and noisier as the pranksters built up courage. The Star reported that during the height of the fracas the local Fire Department was called to assist using two powerful water hoses to help disperse some of the crowd putting a damper on most of the active trouble makers. A decorative billboard in front of the post office was toppled and completely destroyed into a heap of concrete police cruisers were smeared with paint eggs were hurled at cars store windows and police officers and signs were pulled and torn down. The Ontario Provincial Police which took care of Port Perrys law enforcement at the time had four officers on duty early in the evening but this was increased to 14 at the height of the trouble. In the years following the 1969 vandalism spree po- lice beefed up their patrols and the incidents declined. Hopefully this Halloween like those of the recent past will continue as a night of wonder and excitement for the kids.... as it should be. By J. Peter Hvidsten Focus on ScugogRemnants of the post ofce billboard following Halloween 1969. Pharmacist Stan Bruton can be seen behind a broken plate window at Brutons Drug store as workers from Vern Glass install a new window after it was smashed on Halloween 1 9 6 9 . 1969