As the popularity (and attendance) of our Halloween parties grew, so did the pressure to come up with a creative and imaginative invitation. We didn’t always make it but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Included here are invitations for every year except 1979 and 1980. I’m not even certain we sent invitations those years but if you have one for either year,  please contact me. I’d really like to complete the set. To see a larger version of each invitation, click on the images below.

1974. The 1974 invitation was designed by Joe Browning and RP. For some reason, the location of the party is given as 3525 Stuart (instead of East Moreland). We think this was Pam Pylant’s Memphis address but no one seems clear on why the party wasn’t held there.

1975. The 1975 Halloween Party was held at the house on Carol Drive (Kennett) where Allan Johnson and Steve Mays were living. This was the first Halloween Party to be held in Kennett and I don’t think we expected all that much.

1976. Mays and AJ were still at the Carol Drive address in 1976 and they spent countless hours filling out individual “death certificate” invitations. Word processors and scanners were still ten or fifteen years away so this entailed rolling a blank certificate into Mays’ portable typewriter and filling in every blank.

1977. By 1977 the Halloween Party had become a hot ticket and there were way too many people showing up to send out personalized invitations. We went with a chain letter in 1977 and I apologize to anyone offended by our youthful attempt at humor.

1978. The Halloween Party in 1978 did double duty. Steve Mays and Barb Miltenberger got married in a 10 minute ceremony held in Dr. Miltenberger’s living room. Following the vows, the wedding party joined friends and family on the patio for cold beers. As dark fell, we put on our costumes and moved to Mays and AJ’s place on Barbara Drive.

In 1979 and 1980 The Halloween Party moved to Ann Hicklin’s home on College Avenue. Great parties but –as far as we know– no invitations.

1981. Nobody seemed willing to host the Halloween Party more than two years running and we were getting desperate in 1981 when Charlotte Peck agreed to let us hold the party in Dr. Peck’s vacant office on College Avenue. The invitation is a photograph of an unknown black man and his dog, taken by Charlie Peck (the photograph, not the dog).