On October 22, 2022, West Mayfield held its first “Trunk-Or-Treat Down in the Hollow” community celebration.  Like many aging rust-belt communities, West Mayfield has experienced over the years a sharp decline in the number of young families with children who venture out into their neighborhoods participating in door-to-door Halloween activities.  Of course, kids still roam our borough each October in their creative costumes visiting their neighbors with the enthusiastic cries of, “trick or treat?” but times have changed.  Many older residents told us that they don’t get any kids at their door, while some receive only a handful.  And many parents have expressed concern for their kids’ safety walking the darkened autumn streets and visiting strangers’ homes.  

Indeed, things are not like they used to be in the borough.  It’s almost as if Halloween as we knew it is a dying tradition. But wait . . . 

A new kind of Halloween activity has sprung up in recent years sponsored by church groups, schools, civic organizations, and communities–it’s called Trunk-Or-Treat.  These events are usually held in a central location during daylight hours where access and safety are well managed. 

Here’s how it works: participants gather in a parking lot, decorate their cars, throw open their trunks or drop the tailgates and pass out candy to the kids.  The whole affair is compact and close, giving everyone–from neighbors to old friends to all sizes of kids–a chance to socialize and interact.  And the cars are usually creatively decorated and quite delightfully scary for the little ones. 

Trunk-Or-Treat events tend to be very enjoyable for everyone involved. This is why the West Mayfield Centennial Committee decided to add a Trunk-Or-Treat event to our traditional Halloween experience in the borough–and we were not disappointed.  More than 150 children and their families participated, along with 43 decorated cars and trucks.  Costume winners were Joslyn Tate (“Scarecrow”), Brielle White (Crazy Cat Lady”), Antonio Moon (“Chucky”).  John Larson was awarded a very special prize for his decorated 1923 Ford pickup truck.

This event was sponsored and organized by the West Mayfield Centennial Committee, chaired by Mayor Licia Cogley.  Our mission is to plan and organize our 100th Jubilee Celebration in 2023, and to improve the quality of life in the borough–living up to our motto: A nice place to live.