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The Prank Omertaà

By Jim Tobin churchgoing and definitely rule following Orson Welles’ infamous 1938 radio
except for one night: Halloween. Like broadcast of War of the Worlds
On April Fool’s Day and Halloween, most small towns, the people who lived was not intended as a hoax, but
by students on teachers and in Langford didn’t have the money to hand many of those who tuned in late
locals on tourists, even by out candy, leaving trick or treaters with were plunged into panic, convinced
companies on clients and audiences - only one option – trick – each Halloween. that Martians truly were invaiding
America has a rich tradition of pulling New Jersey. The performance has
pranks. Abraham Lincoln once shocked The easiest prank was to soap the since become pop culture history.
his stepmother by taking two small kids windows of the downtown businesses.
with muddy feet and lifting them up Police chief Homer Olsen never bothered Dad said the best prank was tipping
while they walked up one wall, across the catching the culprits because everyone’s over outhouses. Almost everyone back
ceiling and down the other wall. Franklin children were involved. However, some then had an outhouse and no one was
D. Roosevelt put effervescent powder in particularly zealous kids would add wax spared. Some industrious farmers who’d
the chamber pot of a stern governess. But to the windows, resulting in substantial been hit more than once tried to stake
whoever the trickster and whatever the cleaning efforts (and displeasure) from down their outhouse on Halloween, but
gag, one universal truth with any prank the merchants. culprits always rose to the challenge.
is not getting caught. If nothing else, have Some homeowners would retaliate by
plausible deniability - like the Mafia’s oath Some of the more industrious youths would carefully shifting their outhouse to one
of secrecy, prized pranksters never tell. search for any unlocked cars, shift them side. As teenagers crept through the
into neutral and push them out of town, dark, at least one would fall in the pit the
I have often enjoyed listening to my leaving them for their frantic owners to outhouse had once covered. I guess that
father tell me about the pranks of his find the next day. These days, I’m sure was a way for people to put a little ‘vim
youth. Recently, I tried to pin him down you’d be arrested for grand theft auto. I and vinegar’ back in their youth!
on some of the details of living during the asked him if anyone ever got in trouble I tried to think of something I’d done on
1930s and ’40s in rural South Dakota. and he said, “No, the people just believed previous Halloweens, but my friends and
Back then, most kids were hard working, it took some of the ‘vim and vinegar’ out I had been too busy collecting treats to
of the kids.” Those were forgiving times! leave time for tricks. We’d once considered
toilet papering a house, but that activity
One of Texas’ most legendary pranks involves famed UT mascot Bevo. was the province of the senior girls who
According to lore, in 1917 a group of Aggies branded the steer with “13-0” tossed hundreds of rolls of toilet paper
to commemorate a previous football victory. Embarrassed, UT altered the high into the trees of football players’
brand by changing the 13 to a B, the dash to an E, squeezed in a V and used houses. Our pathetic efforts would have
the 0 as an O. Thus, Bevo was born. left us humiliated when compared to the
66 | SUNRAYS OCTOBER 2016 girls’ passionate papering skills.
Racking my brain, I thought, “Surely
we must have pulled some Halloween
pranks?” There was one year we decided
to invest in a dozen eggs and a few cups of

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