107 preschoolers trick-or-treated through a senior village in costume

A total of 107 preschoolers from St. Elizabeth Seton descended on Good Samaritan's St. Martin Village in Rapid City, South Dakota last week, moving along the senior community's annual trick-or-treat trail in costume and dragging increasingly heavy bags of candy. The event began about a decade ago, paused during the pandemic, and returned four years ago. Jana McCroden, senior director for Good Samaritan, said the idea grew out of her own kids attending Seton. Each resident gets a bucket of treats to hand out, and organizers make sure no one is left out, including residents who cannot afford candy themselves. "How many years were they able to hand out candy or hand out different items to kids?" McCroden said. The children collect more than they can carry, so adults bring wagons to haul the bags back to school. "Their bags get heavy," McCroden said. The preschoolers return in December to sing Christmas songs.