Growing up Halloween: Trick-or-treat pictures chronicle neighborhood kids' costumes through the years
BEVERLY — It's not likely Liz Frattura will forget her Halloween costumes growing up.
If she ever has a memory lapse, she only needs to visit her childhood neighbor Gail Stains, who's been taking pictures of trick-or-treaters for nearly three decades.
Her ex-husband, Bob Stains, started the tradition in 1981, and now Gail and her husband, Steve Cornell, spend the day before Halloween hanging the laminated photos — categorized by years — on the railings and siding of their Giddings Avenue house, and on boards covering their front lawn.
"When we were younger, we would always take time to take the pictures," said Frattura, now 26. "We would stop by early, before things got busy."
The display is always a draw for friends and neighbors, former subjects who return with kids of their own, and often strangers who just keep coming back to make fun of their old costumes and pose for a new shot.
"I get to see myself grow up," Frattura said. "But even more, I get to see my brother and friends. It's kind of cool to see the progression."
She laughed at some, and cringed at others as she flipped through the displays during a sneak peek before it all goes on display.
"I can't believe how old some of these are," she said.
