How a business editor celebrates Halloween

Scott Perry, the business editor of the Herald-Review in Decatur, Ill., dressed up for Halloween in the newsroom Thursday.

The photo is by Allison Petty, a reporter at the paper.

In an email to Talking Biz News, Perry wrote:

Up until a couple years ago, this was an every year thing. Unlike this year’s costume, most of them were made by me — mostly with boxes and tape. Got to be such a big deal that even people who had moved on were sending emails each year wondering what I came as. I’m really proud of my newspaper box, Sponge Bob, and witch hitting a pole (just like those decorations, but real), to name a few.

After missing a Halloween, I started focusing my efforts on creating costumes for the annual Chamber Business Expo. Those costumes always have some connection to the newspaper and Business Journal, of which I am the editor. It started with me wearing a sandwich board one year. After getting so many positive responses, I stepped it up and went as a cheerleader (“Be a cheerleader for your business.” The skirt was made out of newspapers), Pac Man ( Don’t get gobbled up by the competition), the newspaper box made an appearance, a padlock (The perfect combination), and a bed (We got you covered. The blanket was made out of newspapers.)

I’m attaching a picture of my newspaper box costume. There’s a couple funny stories that go with this one. I decided to walk around downtown in the costume with a co-worker. While I was stopped on a corner, a woman came up and REALLY tried to put money in the slot to get a paper. I guess the legs hanging out the bottom of the machine didn’t set off any alarms. My co-worker had to point out it was a costume, not a real machine. Then at work, I sat inside the costume next to the desk of the person working the desk that night waiting for her to arrive. When she got in, she said something like “Is this Scott’s costume this year?” and opened the door, at which time I popped out. You can guess her reaction.

This year was just a last-minute decision as I was getting dressed for work. I had the M&M costume and thought it would be fun to surprise people again. It was.