Remembering Halloween at the Oliver Mansion

Before the home became a part of The History Museum, it was one of the best Trick or Treating spots in town

BY TONI LAWRENCE // POSTED OCTOBER 29, 2024

Growing up in South Bend in the 1950s and 1960s was much different than now, especially on Halloween. We went trick-or-treating in groups and watched out for each other. Most of our costumes were homemade, and we used pillowcases or paper bags instead of plastic buckets. Treats consisted of full-size candy bars (there weren't any mini or snack-size bars back then) and homemade goodies like caramel apples and popcorn bars.

Our neighborhood was the historic district of South Bend, and many amazing homes and mansions were within walking distance, including the three granite mansions on West Washington Street: Tippecanoe Place, the Oliver Mansion (Copshaholm), and the Castle, which was our home, and smallest of the three.

My parents purchased our home in 1940, and we owned it for over 40 years. At that time, Chapin Street dead-ended at West Washington Street; later, it would be extended to Lincolnway West, tearing down homes in the process. One of those homes belonged to the amazing and large (12 kids) Basker family. They lived next door. My brother Joe, sister Jo Ann, and I were best friends with Mary, John, Tom, Tim, and Andrea Basker.

The Oliver Mansion was directly across the street from our house. It had a granite fence surrounding it that just called for you to walk on it. My brother Joe and I liked to climb and walk the fence, or sit on the top while waiting for the bus. Although I sometimes saw a woman or girl looking out a window on the second floor, and sometimes a groundskeeper, I never saw much activity at the mansion. I don't remember even seeing lights over there. It was always dark and mysterious.

My friend Barb recalls walking on the wall one day when a groundskeeper grabbed her ankle and said, “scared me to death”. He told her not to get up on it anymore because it loosened the stones, and that a person could fall and really hurt themselves. She promised not to do it anymore and quickly ran home. The next day, the groundskeeper said he had been looking for her and apologized for scaring her. He invited her to come to the back door off the kitchen on Halloween night, promising a nice surprise for her.

At that time, Halloween was two nights long - Beggar's Night and then Halloween Night. Parents went out with younger kids, but after we outgrew parental supervision, we went out on our own - in groups. The older girls oversaw their younger siblings, and the boys usually went their own way. It was a big neighborhood, and everyone knew and looked after each other. If a bully, usually an older boy or two, tried to take our candy, we would scream and get help from our brothers, or a parent giving out candy. If the bullies were successful, we went home to get the older Basker boys, who were protective of us. We didn't need them very often, but I wouldn't want to be the thief if they caught him.

We were pretty confident going out on our own. Most houses gave out regular-size candy or homemade goodies, apples, and boxes of raisins. When they ran out of candy, we got pennies or small change. We covered a lot of ground those two days!

Across the street, looking at the Oliver house, I thought it was spooky, but the perfect place for a night of light-hearted fun. Often, the boys would hide in the shadows and attack us just to hear us scream. There seemed to be lots of shadows! We followed the brick driveway to the servant's entrance at the back of the house (I don't remember why we knew to go there). The people there were so nice, and an older lady would often be the one to pass out full-size chocolate bars and homemade popcorn balls.

My friend Barb, who the groundskeeper promised a nice surprise, went to get her treats and said, “Boy, was it! Several full-size candy bars, two big caramel popcorn balls with nuts, and some money. I was so thankful! I passed out hugs and thanks. It is one of my great memories!”

Halloween was so much fun, and everyone I spoke to had fond memories.

Note: I never had the opportunity to enter the mansion, except for the kitchen entrance, until I took a tour on my 50th birthday. My brother tells me it was Mrs. Oliver who passed out the candy. I thought Mrs. Oliver had died years before, so I did some research. I learned the woman dishing out the candy was actually one of the four original Oliver children, Susan Catherine. I found that she and her brother Joseph were both living in the mansion at that time. I also found out her rooms were on the second floor, in the front of the house facing Washington Street, so she must have been the face I saw watching us play. Both Susan and Joseph continued to live in the house until they passed in 1970. I also learned from my brother that the family had a chauffeur who drove them around in a 1950 Packard touring car.

Toni Lawrence grew up in South Bend, IN, as Mary Schmidt. She attended Ball State University, Indiana University, and Southwestern Michigan College. She is semi-retired in Niles and a proud grandmother of six.