There will not be a haunted house in downtown Park Forest this year.
For more than a decade, and as part of a national Haunts Against Hunger campaign, donations of nonperishable food and money accumulated during the Halloween season was distributed to the food pantries at both Rich and Monee townships as well as St. Irenaeus Catholic Church in Park Forest.
The collection point was usually at a large vacant storefront in downtown Park Forest which was converted into a haunted mansion. Price of admission was a can or box of food or a $5 entry fee. All the proceeds were used to buy more food.
Each year, the Schaefer family — Chuck, Kim, and their children — would cover their front yard weeks in advance with a homemade décor featuring ghosts, goblins, hags, witches and assorted demons. A garbage can was used for drive-up or walk-up donations of food. When word got around it became evident others wanted to help. Soon, a “haunted house” was added. Talala School and Calvary United Protestant Church were the first two sites for the eerie facility before it was moved to downtown Park Forest in 2014.
Chuck Schaefer would purchase all materials needed to turn an empty space into a spooky residence. Because of COVID-19 lockdown last year, the downtown domicile was replaced by nearly 40 houses throughout the south suburbs taking in both food and money for the pantries.
Park Forest donated recycle bins to all houses willing to be part of the food drive. That effort added up to 500 food items and $3,650.06 in donations, including a contribution from the village as well as money collected by the Schaefers from their Flamin Hotties Chili stand at the farmers market.
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In early September of this year, while starting to make plans to hopefully reopen the haunted house, the Schaefers were stunned when they received an email from the village. The site, normally used as a storage facility, was not available because it was to be part of a business expansion.
“We were told that none of the empty properties were available,” said Chuck Schaefer.
Faced with the nearly impossible task of finding, in less than two months, a suitable space that met fire department regulations, the Schaefers decided to sell some three hundred sheets of plywood needed to retrofit any site into a proper haunted house as well as some of eerie things that “decorated” their front yard at 210 Nashua St.
Yes, there will be a can in front for food contributions. Hopefully, Schaefer says, there will be haunted front yards throughout the area collecting food and money.
Vernice Johnson-Warren, who as head of the Talala School Parent-Teacher Organization worked closely with the Schaefers almost from the start of their food drive, is donating blue recyclable bins from the village to all residents interested in helping.
You can also drop off food items at Village Hall, 350 Victory Drive, or to Johnson-Warren this Saturday at the farmers market chili stand. One house, Monee Manor at 24006 S. Cicero Ave., in Monee, quickly announced its willingness to join in the drive.
Yes, although the lingering threat of COVID-19 menaces us, so does hunger for far too many.
The last time we looked, the USDA reported that about 4% of all Illinois households suffered “very low food insecurity,” a phrase which translates to homes in which hunger is often an unwelcome guest.
The last time we looked, the National Retail Foundation estimated we would spend more than $8 billion on Halloween costumes, candy, house decorations and parties. That included shelling out more than $350 million on pet costumes for the holiday.
Your dog may not need a funny hat and your cat may not need a ballet skirt to celebrate the holiday, but your neighbor may need food to get though the day.
I recently read a quote from Mother Teresa. “If you can’t feed 100 people, feed just one.”
Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.