Jackpot

2009 Oct 20
Comments 25
Published In Candygram, Guest, Random
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In the small-town neighborhood where I grew up, the Stenavage family’s house stood above all others each Halloween. They did it up right. Colored spotlights. Theatrical cobwebs. And, suspended from the roof hanging over their second-floor porch, the coup de grâce: a life-size green-skinned hook-nosed black-hatted witch riding a broomstick.

by John Gruber

Spooky but not scary, no house has ever looked more welcoming to a cabal of young trick-or-treaters.

It is 1980. My nose is sweating under the cheap plastic mask held to my face with a rubber band stretched across the back of my head. I am seven years old. Ding-dong. The door opens, and there’s nice Mrs. Stenavage. The house is lit by a slew of candles, and looks just as Halloweeny inside as out. She feigns ignorance as to our identities and praises our costumes after we reveal our faces. Her own children are older, teenagers. Mrs. Stenavage just loves Halloween.

And then, the treasure. No little packs of Smarties or Tootsie-Rolls or “treat-size” SweeTarts or any other typical bought-for-Halloween sugar-and-sour fare. No, Mrs. Stenavage always offered the real deal: giant full-size chocolate bars. Hershey’s bars (with and without almonds), Mr. Goodbars, Kit-Kats, and, oh yes, the chairman of the candy bar board, bright orange wrappers glowing in the candlelight like the golden idol in front of Indiana Jones: full-size two-packs of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

“Go ahead, take two.” Jackpot. I’m a millionaire.

Candygrams are odes to candy by guest authors during the month of October.

John Gruber writes Daring Fireball, a somewhat popular weblog ostensibly focused on Mac and web nerdery.

Comments 25
Design Tags FF Quadraat, Photo, Purple, Spookhouse, Yellow
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25 Comments

Permalink for this comment Jake says: October 20, 2009

There is a lady that I would go to that gave out the full sized bars. Now being a new house owner myself I have to decide on what to give this Halloween and I think I just might go with the full sized candy.

Nice post and nice design!
Permalink for this comment Kurt Cruse says: October 20, 2009

I absolutely loved this. Loved it. What a great way to start the morning.
Permalink for this comment Aaron Irizarry says: October 20, 2009

I always knew which house on the block was the “Jackpot” and it usually was the best decorated one… I remember rushing through the neighborhood to get to that house.

I have always remembered how stoked I was on their large portions of candy they would dish out, and have always made it a point to hook up the kids in my neighborhood.
Permalink for this comment Luke Lux says: October 20, 2009

You font and colors theme works really good. Do you recommend any app or book to learn about colors swatches?

Thanks.
Permalink for this comment h1brd says: October 20, 2009

loved the feeling in the words, makes the memories come around…great page design as well :)
Permalink for this comment Tamia says: October 20, 2009

Ah, the memories! There were always a few houses in my old neighborhood that gave away full-sized candy bars at Halloween—we had those places scoped out and would always spread the word to our fellow trick-or-treaters.

Jackpot, indeed.
Permalink for this comment Andrew says: October 20, 2009

I’ll echo the above and say I loved this piece. Great design and color combination as well. It was the first thing I read this morning and was a great start. Thanks!
Permalink for this comment Tony says: October 20, 2009

Halloween isn’t the same anymore when you are a grown-up. Even when you have your own kids to take around. I usually don’t much miss it, but this post takes me back.

On another note, I’m trying to decide if the alternating between the two different spellings of Mrs. Stenavage/Stevanage in this post is some kind of literary device or a series of coincidental typos.
Permalink for this comment John Gruber says: October 20, 2009

Not a literary device, Tony. Was just a typo on my part. Thanks for catching it.
Permalink for this comment Rob L. says: October 20, 2009

Noticed one more typo: “identitiese,” 3 lines from the bottom of column 1.

Great piece. “…bright orange wrappers glowing in the candlelight like the golden idol in front of Indiana Jones” really made my day.
Permalink for this comment Jason Santa Maria says: October 20, 2009

Rob L : Whoops, thanks for the heads up. Fixed now.
Permalink for this comment M. Douglas Wray says: October 20, 2009

Thanks for the blast from the past Mr. G! I grew up in a small town and there were always those ‘special’ houses. Sigh.
Permalink for this comment Raj P says: October 20, 2009

While we’re pointing out errors: small-town, not small town.
Permalink for this comment Jennifer G says: October 20, 2009

Great piece! Thanks for bringing back memories. Across the street from our house lived a nice, older couple. They’d give out full-size Hershey bars but only to the neighborhood kids. We always went there first.
Permalink for this comment Jason Santa Maria says: October 20, 2009

And for those interested, I borrowed the mask from a friend’s house and photographed it. Originally noted earlier this year .
Permalink for this comment Matt S says: October 20, 2009

Fantastic stuff, John & Jason — the article and design both.

Sadly, I can’t say I’ve ever experienced a proper Halloween myself — being Australian we were deprived of this particular event — but I was inspired enough by these Candygrams to write my own childhood recollections in a slightly different vein.
Permalink for this comment Colleen Wainwright says: October 20, 2009

What Matt said. It’s such a sweet, sweet comfort to sink into a well-written story that’s nestled in an exquisitely designed page. Kudos, all around.
Permalink for this comment Shane says: October 20, 2009

This reminded me of my favorite house in my neighborhood. It was house me and my brothers could never wait to see what she had cooked up. One thing that was awesome, was each year she had a sign up sheet and if you signed up the next Halloween you would have your very own tombstone in her front yard. Does it get any better than that?
Permalink for this comment spooky says: October 20, 2009

To us the “jackpot” was always cash – a dime, quarter, or sometimes a fifty-cent piece. Word would go out and we’d all flock over to that house to try to get our share.

Otherwise, we’d get two or three shopping bags of safe candy, bars, or sweet odds-n-ends that one didn’t have to x-ray before eating, and which would easily last until the next spring.
Permalink for this comment CC says: October 20, 2009

For those of you for whom this is poignant, sweet, nostalgic, or fun, there is a large community of Halloween aficionados that you should be checking out. The cool stuff these people do, working and slaving for months, emptying their pocketbooks for black plastic, “Great Stuff” foam, and pneumatic cylinders, just to give the neighborhood kids a thrill one night a year, is a wonder to behold. Do some searching online for home haunters, and you’ll be amazed at the creativity, dedication, and artistry you will find. Or, even better, join them, and put together something awesome for the kids in YOUR neighborhood this Halloween! Why isn’t YOUR house the “Jackpot” house?
Permalink for this comment Mary says: October 21, 2009

I also give out full size candy bars. In everyone’s haste these days, they forget to stop and enjoy everyday things. I live at the end of the street and I found kids just skipped me to get to the next house so they wouldn’t have to walk to the end and back up to go on with their candy hunt. When I started giving out the real bars, they came. Now, we get them all and love seeing their faces and costumes. Halloween is so much fun for the young at heart.
Permalink for this comment Andrew says: October 21, 2009

Great memories of scoring a full-size. And then there was always the dentist on the block that had the nerve to hand out floss and tooth brushes. Jerk.
Permalink for this comment Jim Doran says: October 21, 2009

This blog makes me happy.
Permalink for this comment Peg says: October 21, 2009

Thank you so much for the trip down memory lane! My mother, Mrs. Stenavage, God bless her, was quite thrilled when someone showed her your comments. Thank you for the kind and fond words. Halloween, quite honestly, does not hold the appeal it once did as God has since called me to ministry. He has allowed me the opportunity to now share joy with both children and adults in a way that is everlasting. I do thank God for the moments and memories of fun and laughter that He has given each of us through our childhoods, and my mother is so flattered and thankful that she was a part of one of your special childhood memories. Thank you again, John, for the trip down memory lane. “Gertie” flew high for about 10 years and retired very content after her years of service! The true ‘jackpot?’ – Jesus. God bless!
Permalink for this comment Blake says: October 22, 2009

In the late 70s there was a family on our block that would give out those 18” plastic tubes full of candy – the ones with the monster heads on top. I’m not sure they even make them anymore, but that house was definitely worth visiting twice that night…