Halloween activities aren't what they used to be. For example, in Butler, the former Halloween parade is no more and neighborhood trick-or-treating has been reduced to a skeleton of its former self.

Safety concerns, waning community interest and other issues that sparked the decisions reducing the fun and excitement of the observance here are things with which other communities also have wrestled. Some places have been able to keep alive most of their Halloween traditions, albeit with some modifications, while in some places all trick-or-treating, or trick-or-treating after dark, as well as other activities, have gone by the wayside.

One of the issues Butler's downtown merchants deal with daily is how to attract more customers. One way not to attract additional customers and business is by failing to exercise imagination via sales and other attractions. Another way is to reject opportunities for special open hours tied to other things that might be happening in the community.

But first those additional activities must exist, and not enough of that happens in this city's downtown.

It's true that every month can't be December, when many families' attention focuses on holiday shopping. However, Halloween could hold additional business potential for downtown Butler merchants, if the merchants, Butler County Chamber of Commerce or some other group or groups made the downtown interesting from a Halloween perspective.

It has happened in other places - downtown Johnstown in Cambria County being one of them.

Businesses and organizations exert much time and effort preparing scarecrows - actually, many of them could be better described as ghouls, ghosts and witches - for display and competition in the city's downtown park. The display, which is sponsored by the Greater Johnstown Chamber of Commerce, is visited by people from throughout the Johnstown area in the days prior to Halloween.

For businesses that choose to stay open on some of the nights that the display is in place, additional sales opportunities are possible. But even if they don't stay open, the people walking to and from the park are reminded about what shopping opportunities exist there, and some future business is undoubtedly generated in that way.

Butler could be turned into a scenic "witches' brew" if some group like the Butler County Chamber of Commerce stepped forward to sponsor such an event. The city has the vacant Woolworth's site, the area around the courthouse and Government Center, and potential settings in front of stores and other businesses where such an endeavor could be successful.

Perhaps a first time for such a project would initiate a Butler Halloween tradition and, in the process, help at least some businesses to cash in on the event.

It's worth a try.

It might be too late for this year, but Halloween 2005 offers plenty of time for such planning to take place.

A couple of store windows decorated with a Halloween motif and Halloween window painting by schoolchildren don't have the impact by themselves that they, along with a scarecrow display - and energetic promotion - could have.

Again, the issue revolves around imagination and people willing to get involved, including the Downtown Butler Association. Such an activity could revive some of the memories and fun that Halloween formerly meant for today's adults, and it could produce excitement for today's children and help enhance their enjoyment of the Halloween experience.

Halloween in Butler need not be branded with the letters R.I.P.

- J.R.K.