Since the early 1930s, CRLS has hosted many Halloween dances, bringing the CRLS student body together each year for a spooky celebration. By the 1980s, the event had become an annual fall festivity, but not without its controversies. Let’s go back and take a look at this tradition!
In 1934, an article titled 55 Dancers In Class was published by the Register Forum’s predecessor, the Rindge Register. The article, which centered around a dance teacher named Miss Robinson, reported that her ballroom class “held a Halloween dance at the Y.W.” on October 31st. This is the earliest reference to a school-wide Halloween dance and is seemingly where the tradition began. In 1936, the Rindge Register once again mentioned a Halloween dance, this time in an article called Dancing Class—Big Success. The article gave an update on Miss Robinson’s dance classes, noting an increase in male enrollment. Rindge Register reporters wrote that the boys in the advanced class had “a fine time” at that year’s Halloween party.
Surprisingly, the next mention of a Halloween dance wasn’t until 1978, more than four decades later. Under the Announcements section of the Register Forum, Rindge Register editors advertised a Halloween dance that would take place on October 28th. In an issue from the following year, Roy Crivello ’81 announced a “Halloween Dance at the War Memorial on October 27.” He added that tickets cost $2, or $2.50 upfront. In the same issue, Rindge Register writers advertised the dance with a drawing of a jack-o’-lantern.
Two years later, the RF announced yet another Halloween dance—this year, with prizes. The article describes that “prizes will be awarded for best costume: male and female, funniest and most original.” The RF’s writers suggested that students “bring in records” for the occasion. In 1981, the event was advertised with a simple slogan: “Come and party it up.” A later newspaper issue included a picture from the dance; showing a boy with face paint between two human head props, each with matching face paint. The photo was captioned “Which one is the real dummy?”
While the dance was skipped in 1982, it made a comeback in 1983. That year’s Halloween dance was the most heavily covered by the Register Forum, with several advertisements published beforehand. The dance began smoothly, with the “best costume” award going to a student dressed as a tube of Crest toothpaste. However, things took a turn for the worse when fighting broke out among students. An article covering the incident, titled Dance Ended Early; Outside Trouble at Fault, was published in the following issue of the Register Forum. According to Kathia Manzi, author of the article, the dance was cut short due to a fight near Broadway St. Manzi went on to write, “several policemen, patrol cars and a paddy wagon did appear at the scene.” Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
In 1985, the Halloween dance was advertised in a fall issue of the Register Forum; this would be the last reference to the event, as we’ve held very few since the 1980s. Despite their downfall, Halloween dances were undoubtedly a fun tradition, and we can only hope that they will one day return.
