In 1914, two young boys from the Borough dressed themselves in Halloween garb and marched through town tooting their musical instruments. Who were the boys? They were the late Paul Kiess and Ralph Miller.

The Coopersburg Band followed through and sponsored the parade for a few years, followed by the Fire Company, the Lions’ Club, and the Southern Lehigh Jaycees. In 1966, the Coopersburg Halloween Parade Committee was formed and has sponsored the parade to date.

During the early years, automobiles were not very abundant so the floats were drawn by horses. All of the organizations in town; lodges, Fire Company, ladies auxiliary, schools, churches, as well as the residents, cooperated to make the parade the highlight of the year. People would string lights along the front of their homes to light the way for the marchers. Young men carried gas lights to provide light so the band members could see their music. The people paraded for the sheer fun of it as there were no prizes. The Marshal of the Parade, who was usually a prominent citizen, led the parade marchers on horseback.

The parade would form at the Baldwin House on Station Avenue; proceed west to Main Street, north on Main to Linden Street where the parade marchers would have to ‘counter-march’. This is a term no longer used in connection with the parade, but was most common in the old days. The parade would turn around in the street and proceed in the direction from which it came, marching side by side with the balance of the parade for several blocks. This sometimes caused problems with bands passing each other and each playing a different number. The Baldwin House was also the scene of the end of the parade as it returned to the place from where it started. In later years, the parade ended at Town Hall, and in the last decade, at the Calvary Bible Fellowship Church.

When the Fire Company and the Lions Club sponsored the parade, they started the practice of awarding prizes. Up to the year 1980, the parade was a Saturday evening event. Due to the increase of incidents that endangered the marchers, the parade was moved to a Sunday afternoon.

Believe it or not, at one time there were two Halloween Parades in the Borough! The Borough changed the route by omitting that part of town located across the railroad tracks. The residents of that area became a bit upset and several of them decided to have their own parade. And they did the very next night following the Borough Parade, marching only on “their side of the tracks”.

Today, the parade, which has become a traditional community event, has expanded well beyond the Borough boundary for participants and volunteers. It is still a great time for all