From the Archives: 1935 Halloween celebrations

Oct. 31, 1935: Attending a Halloween Party at the home of the Robert Harrell family in Hollywood are, from left, Mary Jane Clary, Bobbie Harrell, Guy De Wolf and Crete De Wolf.

By Scott Harrison

Oct. 29, 2018 1 AM PT

A caption in the Nov. 5, 1935, Los Angeles Times reported that “Young Bobbie Harrell, son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Harrell of ... Hollywood, was the host to a lot of his young friends at a Halloween party last Thursday afternoon. When all the masks were removed, the children were entertained by a puppet show before they went into the garden to play around the scarecrow. ...”

Three 4-by-5-inch negatives from the 1935 Harrell Halloween party are in the Los Angeles Times Archive at UCLA. Two unpublished images are below.

I’ve added fourth image from a 1935 Halloween Festival in Anaheim.

Oct. 31, 1935: Group photo of children in costume for Halloween party. The party was at the Hollywoo — Oct. 31, 1935: Children in costume for a Halloween party at the Harrell home in Hollywood. Los Angeles Times Archive / UCLA

Oct. 31, 1935: Unidentified children in costume for Halloween party at the Hollywood home of Mr. and — Oct. 31, 1935: Puppets entertain children at Halloween party at the Harrell home in Hollywood. Los Angeles Times Archive / UCLA

Oct. 31, 1935: Attendees at the 12th Annual Halloween festival in Anaheim. An estimated 50,000 attended the two-day festival that included a horse show. Los Angeles Times Archive / UCLA