60s Halloween Window Painting

In the 1960s, in Elkhorn, my home town, the downtown merchants used to sponsor a Halloween window painting contest.  Schoolchildren could submit a design, and if chosen, got to paint the design on a store window with poster paints.  Seems like I remember there being prizes, but maybe we just got our name in the Elkhorn Independent.  I liked drawing and painting, and I had a competitive streak in me, so I entered several times.  These pictures make me look very serious, but mostly I think I was self-conscious about my glasses and the space between my front teeth.  This one must have been taken about 1961.

I enjoyed painting on the windows; I think this was the jewelry store.  It was cold, though.  I had on a hat and winter coat, and the corduroy pants my mother used to love to have me wear. No gloves, so my fingers would turn white.

He I am again, about 1963.  I'm still keeping those teeth hidden, and am looking chilled.  Or perhaps I was outgrowing the activity.  Looking at these paintings now keeps me humble.  It occurs to me that these contests were great motivation for me, a chance to create designs, and to get some recognition for my art.  It was fun to see all the colorful pictures on store windows, and I have to think that it brought people downtown.  I don't suppose it was very much fun for storekeepers to clean off the poster paint in November, but looking back, I'm glad they allowed us kids to decorate.