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| SUNRAYS OCTOBER 2014
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Left: JJ Olstad as an award-winningWon-
der Woman in 1978; and again in 1997
(inset).
Costumes through the years
Submitted by Sue Olstad, N56
I’
ve
always been a crafty person
and particularly enjoy mak-
ing Halloween costumes for my fam-
ily—kids and adults alike. When the
youngest two children (18 months apart)
were little, I usually made them cartoon
character outfits. For instance, start-
ing in 1975, when Erik was 3 and JJ
was 1, they were Snoopy and Casper;
followed by Cookie Monster and Elmo
(’76), Underdog and Kermit (’77), Bugs
Bunny and Wonder Woman (’78), Woody
Woodpecker and Pink Panther (’79), and
Tom and Jerry (’80).
Fast forward to 1984, when we were liv-
ing in Saudi Arabia, where I have fond
memories of dressing the entire family
as the Pan Clan—JJ was Peter Pan; I
was her mother, Suzann Pan; Paul was
the father, Paul Pan; and Erik, being
12 and not as enthusiastic about Hal-
loween anymore, was Peter Pan’s lost
brother, Grunt, in an outfit with an ugly
mask and black cape that he put together
himself.
With so many memories, I digress from
my main focus of the story—my JJ. Back
in ’78, she was Wonder Woman and won
her first prize in a costume contest at
school (she got a little “Winner” ribbon—
Mom was thrilled!).
Well, in 1997, I recreated her Wonder
Woman costume when JJ was then in
her 20s. She asked me to make the cos-
tume for her for a party that she and
her friends were attending in Houston.
The results were fabulous, and she again
won the costume contest; but this time
the prize was much larger: $500 in cash!
Needless to say, Mom was thrilled once
more—and her father and I were treated
to dinner shortly thereafter.
Our first granddaughter was born last
year to JJ and husband, Jason. I can’t
wait until she’s old enough to want to
dress up at Halloween—specifically, as
Wonder Woman—and, hopefully, she’ll
ask Grandma to help her with her cos-
tume.
Halloween
Memories
Editor’s Note: We asked readers
to submit their favorite Halloween
memories and photos of costumes from
years past. Check out the whimsical
costumes and magical memories!
