A happy Halloween in Bedford

Unafraid of forecast, township lets trick-or-treaters run like wind

Katelyn Feltz, 6, left, peeks in her bag as she and Chloe Erickson, center, join trick-or-treaters in Bed-ford Township. Unlike several area communities, Bedford did not cancel trick-or-treat Thursday.

THE BLADE/KATIE RAUSCH
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Katelyn Feltz, 6, left, peeks in her bag as she and Chloe Erickson, center, join trick-or-treaters in Bed-ford Township. Unlike several area communities, Bedford did not cancel trick-or-treat Thursday.

LAMBERTVILLE — Fear of high winds and rained-soaked children pushed many local officials into changing tricking-or-treating from Thursday evening to alternative dates this weekend. But in Bedford Township, little witches, ghosts, and goblins braved the weather and Halloween went on as scheduled.

The streets in the Captiva subdivision bustled with the sounds of children laughing as they ran from door to door collecting candy in pillowcases. They had to endure a light, steady drizzle, but no downpours. Occasionally a heavy wind gust broke through the laughter and caused people to turn their backs to the wind, but all in all, it was manageable.

By 6 p.m. Thursday, Sue Stevenson sat in her attached garage on Sandpiper Drive surrounded by Halloween décor, ready for trick-or-treaters. “Kids around here, they come rain or shine,” she said. Her good friend Melody Clare and her two kids, 5-year-old Harmony and 3-year-old David, were the first to stop by.

PHOTO GALLERY: Tricks and treats in Bedford on Halloween

TRICK-OR-TREAT TIMES: Click here for the most up-to-date list of area festivities

David Clare, 3, left, and his sister, Harmony, 5, peer inside a pumpkin as they wait for the rain to stop and for trick-or-treat to start in Lambertville.

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Ms. Clare was undaunted by the rain. “There is no way of changing Halloween,” so switching it is not the same, she said. “Whether or not it is raining or thundering or pouring, I’m still taking my kids out and they are going to have fun,” she said.

Vanessa Stevenson, 13, was also unfazed by weather. “It’s just rain. It’s not gonna kill you,” she said.

Tricking-or-treating was postponed in Toledo and several surrounding communities Thursday after Toledo Mayor Mike Bell had a meeting with several area mayors, officials, and police chiefs, said Jen Sorgenfrei, a city spokesman.

The forecast for rainy, windy weather was a concern for the group, she said, although by early evening in Toledo, too, the rain had let up after being intermittently heavy throughout the day.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, 0.85 inch had fallen since midnight at Toledo Express Airport. A wind advisory was in effect for much of the Toledo area until 6 a.m. today for southerly and southwesterly winds of 20 to 30 mph, gusting to 50 mph, overnight with peak strength around midnight.

Contact Marlene Harris-Taylor at: mtaylor@theblade.com or 419-724-6190.