100 Years Ago: Annual Halloween Parade Features First Children's Lantern Parade

ALTON - The East End Improvement Association hosted the annual Halloween parade and grand masquerade dance on October 30, 1925, as they had done every year since 1916. The first Alton Halloween parade and dance in 1916 was held to celebrate the completion of the long-drawn-out East Broadway street-paving project, which went from Henry to Cherry Streets and was open for the first time on October 31, 1916. A new feature of the 1925 parade, however, was the children’s lantern parade.

In early October, Playground and Recreation Commission superintendent John McWherter attended an East End Association Halloween celebration planning meeting to suggest adding a children’s lantern parade. The Playground and Recreation Commission furnished the cardboard, and McWherter made visits to local schools to display a sample lantern and explain the construction to fifth through eighth grade students. The idea was a success, and 1,000 children participated in the lantern parade. The lanterns were attached to the ends of four-foot-long sticks and were illuminated by candles. The students marched in rows of twelve, and the lantern parade extended over a stretch of five blocks. It “made a wonderful display which delighted thousands of onlookers. The designs included witches, black cats, hoot owls, goblins, skeletons, stolen gates, and other Halloween ideas, many of which showed marked originality on the part of the child constructors.”

The White Hussar Band headed the parade, followed by masqueraders. Next was the Alton High School Band (in costume) leading the lantern parade. Children from thirteen schools participated: Horace Mann, Milton, Clara Barton, Washington, Lincoln, Garfield, Humboldt, McKinley, Irving, St. Patrick’s, Cathedral, Alton High School, and the Orphanage. School principals, firemen, parents, Upper Alton Business Men’s Association members, and members of the American Legion escorted the children. They carried red lights and made sure everyone stayed safe. The parade started at Shields Street and the children joined at Cherry Street. The route went west down Broadway, turned at Easton Street, and doubled back. The children turned off at Henry Street and disbanded at Alton High School, where special street cars were waiting to take them back to their school buildings. The rest of the parade went to Turner Hall, where the East End Association held a masquerade dance with an attendance of 500.

We are so lucky that the tradition of the Alton Halloween Parade continues to this day. The 108th Halloween Parade will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, in downtown Alton.

Sources

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“1000 Children Feature Parade for Hallowe’en.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), October 28, 1925.

“1000 Children in Parade Here on Hallowe’en.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), October 28, 1925.

“Alton Halloween Parade 2025.” Great Rivers and Routes.https://www.riversandroutes.com/events/alton-halloween-parade-2025/

“Celebration of Hallowe’en On Greater Scale.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), October 7, 1925.

“Design Lanterns For Hallowe’en Parade.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), October 15, 1925.

“Hallowe’en.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), October 31, 1925.

“Jack o'Lantern.” [Cleveland]: [Mugler Engraving Co.], [1906]. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-DIG-ppmsca-98115.https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2024641550/

“Lantern Parade as Celebration of Hallowe’en.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), October 30, 1925.

“Plans Made for Celebration of Hallowe’en Here.” Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, IL), October 6, 1925.

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