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For many of us, Halloween is a one night affair attended by a small group of neighborhood kids strolling down the sidewalks with grocery bags full of candy. On Springfield St. in Somerville, however, Jack McGlashing and his neighbors set up weeks in advance for their annual Halloween festivities that attract hundreds.
"[We started] about 30 years ago. It was for my children. They liked it so I kept [it] up," Jack McGlashing, a long-time Medford resident who grew up in Cambridge, said. "Everyone around here does it for the kids. It's a good time.”
For the McGlashing's, it's a family affair. Jack and his elder son Matt, 22, are working together this year to decorate. "Ya, [my son will] do it for sure, long after I'm gone,” said McGlashing.
Jack, who works as a project mechanic at MIT, has hunted for the scariest costume he can find for over 30 years: "Do I plan on retiring? No. I plan on doing this for as long as I live," he said. "Halloween is my favorite holiday."
Correction:
(11/03/14) An original version of this article suggested that Springfield Street was located in Medford when in fact it is in Somerville.
Halloween on Springfield Street
10/31/14 – Somerville, MA – Jack has hunted for the scariest costume he can find for over 30 years: "Do I plan on retiring? No. I plan on doing this for as long as I live," he said, "Halloween is my favorite holiday." Jack with his son Matt in front of their home. (Nicholas Pfosi for USA TODAY)
