First, you need to know the official story as told by Anoka Halloween

POKE AROUND THE RIGHT parts of the internet for a few minutes and it’s easy to find what is supposedly the first city in the United States to hold a Halloween parade: Anoka, Minnesota, the self-proclaimed “Halloween Capital of the World.” Dig a little deeper, though, and the story turns out to be more complicated.

First, you need to know the official story as told by Anoka Halloween, Inc., the non-profit organization that promotes Anoka’s history and organizes the annual festival. According to legend, the town’s parade dates back to 1920.

“Anoka, Minnesota is believed to be the first city in the United States to put on a Halloween celebration to divert its youngsters from Halloween pranks,” the history page reads. “When Anokans awoke to find their cows roaming Main Street, windows soaped and outhouses tipped over, they decided something had to be done.”

The people of the town organized a costume parade and block party, so the story goes. A man named George Green came up with the idea along with city leaders like the Anoka Commercial Club and the Anoka Kiwanis Club.

The parade was a success, with bands, clubs, and city groups taking part. There was popcorn, candy, and peanuts. At the end, a sanctioned bonfire raged at Bridge Square. “Celebrations have been held every year since 1920 with the exception of 1942 and 1943 when the festivities were canceled because of World War II,” the Anoka Halloween page states.

A 12-year-old boy named Harold Blair is responsible for launching Anoka’s campaign to be recognized as the “Halloween Capital of the World” by the rest of the country, when he wore a sweater with the title sewn onto it during a trip to Washington DC in 1937. A modern Minnesota congressman, Bill Luther, helped make the title official. In 2002, Luther asked Congress to reaffirm the proclamation that Anoka is the “Halloween Capital of the World,” according to congressional records of the House of Representatives.

“Anoka is thought to be the first to put on a citywide celebration and parade to provide families with alternative activities and fun on Halloween,” Luther told other members of the House. He briefly mentioned the above history before stating, “Due to the celebration’s size and community significance, Anoka first proclaimed itself the ‘Halloween Capital of the World’ in 1937.”

However, history, as it often does, gets in the way.

“Many older celebrations were before Minnesota became a state (1858) or the city of Anoka existed (1878),” Gary Munkholm of Anoka’s Halloween, Inc. wrote in an email. “We are probably the largest and longest celebration presently and that’s the Halloween capital designation.”