In our middle-class ’50s Edmonton neighbourhood where I grew up, there was one Halloween ritual no kid in her right mind ever missed.
First thing, we’d all rush over in our witchy or skeleton costumes to the Davisons’ house where tall, lanky Ted, a.k.a. “The Dad,” would be passing out full-sized—repeat, full-sized!—Coffee Crisp chocolate bars (my dad’s favourites), boxes of Smarties and more. Take your pick.
No pipsqueak mini-bars in those days. So yummy, full-sized treats, especially real chocolate ones, stood out in the sea of cellophane-wrapped suckers, crappy fake-chocolate, packets of wee Shell-out candies, and chewy Halloween “kisses”—sticky toffee-like treats that could pull out your dental fillings and came wrapped individually in paper festooned with tiny orange pumpkins and black witches. Some kids flattened those wrappers, rubbing them with the backs of their fingernails to save them, maybe to make Halloween decorations next year.
The smart kids got there early because once in a blue moon, or maybe I should say a Halloween moon, they ran out. Especially as word got out over the years. As time went on, some of those “kids” in the crowd waiting hopefully on the Davisons’ front porch steps looked mighty tall to be trick-or-treating.
Here’s the thing—Mr. Davison, The Dad, worked for Rowntree’s, in those days one of the largest manufacturers of chocolate treats in the world. Any kids of his must have grown up thinking they’d died and gone to heaven having a dad with a job like that.
Everyone knew that Rowntree’s made quality stuff, but at the time I had no idea they’d been making it in England since the 1860s. Henry Rowntree was a Quaker and the company was embedded with a strong Quaker philosophy. Even more interesting, Cadbury and Fry, the U.K.’s other two big sweets manufacturers with stellar reputations, were also founded by Quakers.
As for those Coffee Crisp bars my dad loved, they were made by Rowntree starting in the 1930s. Ditto Kit Kats, Smarties and more. But Coffee Crisps have a real Canadian angle—from Day 1, they were produced at a plant in Toronto where they’re still made, albeit under the brand-name Nestlé, Rowntree’s parent company today.
YOUR HALLOWEEN CHOCOLATE HACK
All this was floating around my bewitched brain since the magical day is approaching faster than an old hag riding a broom. Plus the news keeps reporting that world cocoa prices are still super high, more than doubling since the start of 2024.
We’ve got our climate disaster to thank for that, as drought and high temperatures stressed cocoa trees in West Africa, which provides 70 per cent of our global cocoa supply. Then they got hit with torrential rains and black pod (a fungal disease), and more weather challenges followed.
Chocolate makers around the world are going nuts, including those producing the little chocolate mini-bars trick-or-treaters love. Not only are the wee bars getting even smaller, shrinkflation means there’re even fewer bars per bag.
But have I got a solution for all you candy disher-outers this Halloween. Here’s my own mom’s recipe for puffed wheat squares from the days of trick-or-treating on the Davisons’ doorstep in Edmonton. Easy to make, fun and tasty, and guaranteed prairie cheap. You only use two teaspoons of cocoa, but it tastes like a whole lot more.
Wrap them in some bewitching paper, and kids of all ages will go nuts for them. Happy Halloween!
Mom’s puffed wheat squares
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. corn syrup
1 c. brown sugar
2 tsp. cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
Steadily stir the above in a saucepan over a No. 3 heat and slowly bring to a boil until it’s syrupy. (Drop a bit in cold water; when it forms a soft, chewy wad, it’s ready.) Add the syrup to 8 cups of puffed wheat in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Pack the mixture into a large buttered pan. Cut into squares when cool, and get ready for the goblins.
Halloween fun, Whistler-style
Here’s a sampling of just some of the local fun. For more community Halloween events, check out Pique and the RMOW websites.
Tapley’s Farm is once again hosting their trick-or-treating extravaganza for the 41st year! Read all about it in Pique. You can get to Tapley’s or anywhere in town Oct. 31 via a free shuttle, thanks to the RMOW, BC Transit and Fastpark. (Tip your mask to everyone at Whistler Waldorf School who decorated the buses, spooky-style.)
Then stand by for Halloween fireworks, 7:30 p.m. at Myrtle Philip school field, thanks to donations by Nesters Market and the skills of Whistler’s Fire and Rescue team.
In a lovely gesture of welcome, the Whistler Pemberton Newcomer Service is hosting a pumpkin-carving event at Whistler Public Library 11 a.m., Oct. 28. Everyone welcome, but you must register. And remember—bears love pumpkins just like humans do, so don’t leave them outside.
Finally, for all the big tricksters in town, dig out your fishnets and campy corsets. Arts Whistler is presenting the cult classic, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Oct. 30 at the Maury Young Arts Centre in the village.
Have a safe and fun Halloween however you spend it, especially if you’re doing the Time Warp tonight!
Glenda Bartosh is an award-winning journalist who was supposed to have been born on Halloween, but popped out two days prior—the only thing she’s been early for in her life.
