Berkeley, a Look Back: Halloween 1925 reported as quietest in years'

"A century ago, Halloween in 1925 had been from a police standpoint the quietest in years, the Berkeley Daily Gazette reported Nov. 2, 1925. Mischief' included soaping store windows (including almost every downtown store), turning off electricity to homes from the outdoor panels and doorbells being rung with the perpetrator then running away. The whole Berkeley police force had been on duty during the nighttime hours. Police kept youngsters moving mostly towards their own homes, according to the Gazette."

"In North Oakland, annoyed by boys playing harmless Hallowe'en pranks on Chabot Road by rolling tin cans on the porch of a house an irate citizen fired into a crowd of boys. He was apparently using a 22-caliber rifle, grazed a 13-year-old in the chest and shot a 14-year-old in the left leg. Both were treated at Alta Bates hospital. New apartments: The Whitecotton building on Shattuck Avenue between Bancroft Way and Durant Avenue was going to get three upper floors."

Halloween in 1925 was, from a police standpoint, the quietest in years. Mischief included soaping almost every downtown store window, turning off home electricity from outdoor panels, and ringing doorbells followed by fleeing perpetrators. The entire Berkeley police force patrolled at night and directed youngsters home. In North Oakland an irate citizen fired a 22-caliber rifle into a crowd of boys playing Halloween pranks, grazing a 13-year-old and wounding a 14-year-old; both received treatment at Alta Bates Hospital. The Whitecotton building on Shattuck Avenue was to receive three new upper floors with apartments served by two elevators and a central heating plant, designed with all outside rooms and abundant light. Downtown Berkeley saw numerous building projects and city management sought university support to share the cost of a new Bancroft sewer serving the Hearst Gymnasium for Women and nearby drainage needs.

Read at www.eastbaytimes.com