Halloween happenings

Trunk or Treat at First Presbyterian Church, corner of Church Ave. and Ninth Street. Oct. 31, 5-8 p.m.

Trunk or Treat at Mena First United Methodist Church, Oct. 31, 4:30-6 p.m. in church parking lot (behind the church), 501 Ninth St.

Janssen Avenue Florists & Gifts (across from Janssen Park) will be handing out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Businesses on the south side of Mena Street will be handing out candy from 4-5 p.m. on Halloween to all little trick or treaters.

Some participating merchants include RE/MAX Realty, South Main Signs & Graphics, The Corner Shoppe, Mena Flea Market, Aleshire Electric, Stewman’s Florist, and Washburn’s.

On Oct. 28 from 4:30-5:30 p.m. (The Ouachitas) will host their third Martin Street Trick or Treat event. Businesses will hand out candy to local kids for a couple of hours.

After the Trick or Treat event there will be food vendors and live music from 5:30-9:30 p.m.

The Green House Cottages of Homewood will have their annual Halloween Festival on Oct. 31 starting at 5 p.m. and lasting as long as the candy holds out.

UARM will be having candy and games once again for trick-or-treaters on Oct. 31 at the ballfields at McMillan Park, 4:30–7:30 p.m.

Free Halloween map for Mena https://map.proxi.co/r/qtlivVxYSx8IB6lIHAwF

Add your house for trick-or-treating, business or event to the map.

If you need help adding your address leave a comment.

Just click the green button in the corner and add point (you enter your address)

Then families can use the map to see which houses are participating in handing out candy to trick-ortreaters.

Paid

Mena-Polk County Senior Center’s Halloween dance is Saturday, Oct. 28 at the center, 401 Autumn Drive (off Racetrack Road). The dance is from 6-10 p.m. Admission is $6. Finger foods and potluck. Everyone is invited.

Elk’s Lodge, Hwy. 375 East/124 Elks Lane

Friday-Saturday, Oct. 27-28 and Tuesday, Oct. 31

6-10 p.m.

Haunted House - $5

Hayride - $3

For 21-plus:

Halloween Dance and Costume Contest

Saturday, Oct. 28

8 p.m. to Midnight

$10 advance tickets/$12 at door

Music by the Parker Francis Band

All proceeds from all events will benefit the elderly food baskets.

Mena House of Fear

320 Mena St. (old high school)

Oct. 27, 28 & 31

6-10 p.m.

$5 per person

Check out House of Fear Mena on Facebook for rules and what to expect for certain medical conditions (No, that is not a scare tactic. There are strobes, lasers, fog and more). The haunted house takes up most of the ground floor, making for a lengthy nightmarish experience.

By Richie Lawry

Last Saturday, family and friends gathered to say goodbye to my Daddy. He was one of the most interesting people you could ever meet. His life revolved around his love for God, family, and cars. Anyone who knew him knew that he had a passion for cars. I drove one of my Daddy’s unique car creations to the memorial. It had started as a Chevrolet El Camino, but Daddy had grafted the front end of a 1950 Studebaker to the front of it. He called his creation a Studemino.

As I was driving the Studemino to the memorial, it started to lose power, and soon after, it quit as I went up a steep hill. I had to call my cousin to rescue me. As my daughter and I were waiting to be rescued, she started laughing. “It is so appropriate to be having car trouble on the day of Grandpa’s memorial,” she said. Through the years, Daddy had broken down on the highway too many times to count. It was almost a trademark. And he often ran out of gas trying to get to that next gas station that was a couple of cents cheaper.

At the memorial, people remembered their experiences with Daddy, almost all centered around a car. So many people in attendance remembered Daddy giving them rides in his old cars or even letting them drive them. Daddy loved showing his cars to people and sharing them.

Another theme was his trustworthiness. You could count on Daddy to keep his word. As people shared stories, I remembered one he had told me about his childhood. When Daddy told me the story, he said he learned the importance of keeping your word from his Daddy.

When he was young, his family called my Daddy Bobby. The cold Kansas winter wind blew as the young boy walked down the icy country road. The gravel road was coated in sleet and ice. “Be careful, Bobby,” Daddy said, “you don’t want to slip and fall