How did this town become 'Halloween Capital of the World?'
Lila Johnson is a seasoned business reporter with a background in finance, having graduated from the University of North Dakota. She has previously worked with local business journals and focuses on small business success stories and entrepreneurial initiatives.
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ANOKA, Minn. — According to legend, it was all the pranks that started it — including a fateful tipped outhouse. In 1919, rambunctious youths reportedly left a trail of pranks and shenanigans across the town of Anoka, Minnesota, stranding wagons atop homes, releasing cattle to wander and flipping an outhouse that was, regrettably, occupied. The town's leaders decided they had to do something. The following year, hoping to divert the youngsters' enthusiasm, they held a "supervised Halloween frolic" of costume contests, live-chicken scrambles, a night parade and a street dance — and it worked. "More than 1,000 school children turned out in costume, danced, sang and engaged in the games," reported the Oct. 31, 1920, Minneapolis Journal. "Ash cans and back gates were undisturbed for the first time in the community s history, citizens said last night. The first Halloween celebration held by Anoka, Minnesota, to distract and entertain its youngsters, was described in