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But just because her home isn't in a highly populated area, with lots of Halloween traffic, doesn't mean she can't decorate as if plenty of small children will be showing up to scare.
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Ruth Blainford of Holmen decorated her frint yard for Halloween.
PETER THOMSON photo |
The Holmen woman has been collecting Halloween decorations for 15 years, since she made the move from Texas to the Coulee Region. She has more than 100 Halloween items, including remote-control spiders, singing Frankensteins and skulls that burp candy.
"I decorate for almost every holiday," Blandford said, although Halloween is her favorite.
"I never really got to do it a lot when my kids were little," she said. "It's just something I enjoy doing."
Children in La Crosse and most other nearby communities will be out trick-or-treating from 4 to 8 p.m. today. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection recommends parents use neon glowstick necklaces, reflective tape and flashlights as part of their children's costume to keep them visible after dark.
Child pedestrian deaths are four times higher on Halloween than on any other evening of the year, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parents should urge children to only cross streets at corners so they can be seen by motorists, said Michael Bie, a spokesman for AAA Wisconsin.
Drivers should be especially careful when pulling in or out of driveways, and stay below the speed limit in residential areas "when the night is full of excited kids moving from house to house," Bie said.
Any trick-or-treaters brave enough to pass by the eight-foot spider and skeleton hanging in Blandford's yard is in for a treat — but only if they are quick enough.
"I have (battery-operated) hands that will grab your hand if you grab a piece of candy," she said.
Blandford said she always enjoyed Halloween as a child, and she still tries to "out decorate" her brother, Bob Kalovsky. Kalovsky and his wife, Sharon, live on Brice Prairie and have their own seven-foot Frankenstein.
What is the worst part about decorating so extensively? Blandford said it's the three weeks it takes to put out all the decorations and the $50 she spends on batteries every year.
"And Saturday, I'll pull everything down and start decorating for Thanksgiving," she said.
Anastasia Mercer can be reached at (608) 791-8256 or smercer@lacrossetribune.com.
