October Memoirs

October has been my favorite month for as long as I can remember. There is something about the changing leaves, the crisp autumn air, the shorter days. And the pumpkins. How I love pumpkins. I don't know what it is about these bright orange orbs, but they make me happy. I fill my house with them. I fill my yard with them. I love to pick them. I make pumpkin quilts and table runners, pumpkin pie and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. And I love to see them covering the Kiddie Kollege lawn as they await to be carved for the Pumpkin Walk.

As many of you know, the Pumpkin Walk is something that I have been involved with for many years now. It is something I look forward to every year. I was a little girl still celebrating single digit birthdays when my grandparents first started the Pumpkin Walk. They decided that there needed to be something for the neighborhood kids to do at Halloween who were too old to go trick-or-treating. They collected left over pumpkins from a neighboring farmer's field and set them out on the Kiddie Kollege lawn for anyone to come carve. As neighborhood kids, we spent many hours the week or so before Halloween carving these pumpkins, turning them into our own individual masterpieces. Our carved pumpkins were then set up all over the Kiddie Kollege yard and we lit them up with candles on Halloween evening and the night before.

People came from all over to see our pumpkins. Grandpa would always wear a gorilla suit and

would have the time of his life jumping out at people and scaring the daylights out of them. My grandpa was a prankster in every sense of the word, and sadly, I am only beginning to see that now, after he has been gone for so many years. Grandma always dressed up in black as a witch, and I must admit that she was the most realistic looking witch I have ever seen, even to this day. My brothers and their friends set up little displays like a coffin, complete with someone who would jump out at you if you looked in, as well as a snake display table (yes, they were fake). My job was to walk around the grounds holding a taper candle in my hands and relight all the candles that had blown out. I still remember the feel of the wax burning my fingers as I would tip my candle to light another. And the smell of pumpkins with candles burning in them, to this day, reminds me of these childhood memories and of my grandparents. It is an instant trigger, as smell often is.

The Pumpkin Walk grew quickly and soon there were thousands of people driving from all over the Wasatch Front to come and see the pumpkins every year. Newspapers came and did stories on my grandparents, and with each year the event grew both in attendance and in the number of jack-o-lanterns. We learned tricks of the trade from year to year. Grandpa decided that if we sprayed the insides of the pumpkin with Lysol, it would probably keep the mold from growing so quickly. He was right. To this day we still spray them. He also decided that lighting the pumpkins with candles was simply too much work, not to mention a fire hazard. He decided that Christmas lights would be much more effective. This is still how we light them today.

In the mid 90s Grandpa's health began to fail him. It was at this time that he passed the control of the Pumpkin Walk over to my younger brother, Sheldon, and his friend Jason. They were mere teenagers at the time, but they took the reigns with both hands and not only kept the Pumpkin Walk alive, but kept it thriving. They had it down to a science, quite literally. Then in 1996 Grandpa passed away. And it was then that Grandma decided that it was a good time to let the Pumpkin Walk die as well. We were all devastated, but knew that Grandma was right. The event had outgrown our meager facilities and we simply could not handle the street congestion, the pedestrians on the dark streets waiting in line, the parking. It was time. And sadly, we all knew it.

Five years later...

I was a fairly new resident of Syracuse and a new member of the Arts Council, which was trying to put together some kind of Halloween festival or event for the city. They had not had the success they had hoped for with their current event, and so I made the mistake of saying out loud, "Have you ever thought of a pumpkin walk?" I have since learned that this is NOT the thing to say if you don't want to get involved in something. They instantly put me in charge of the event for the coming year. I made a few phone calls, reassembled all of the original group, and, needless to say, we were all thrilled to be doing it once again. Even Grandma, who made the decision to "let it die" was thrilled beyond words to have it back. She never missed a single night from that point on and would sit right at the front entrance, no matter what the weather, greeting people and talking to everyone who would stop and listen to her. She passed away in February of 2009, just a few weeks short of her 88th birthday. Last year was the first year without her. So as a tribute to her, and as a healing gesture for us, we brought her coat and placed it in her empty chair at the front entrance. I know that her chair went unnoticed by the thousands who came. But it was our tribute to her, and to Grandpa, for having a vision and building it into a legacy they could not have possibly imagined.

So back to why this is my favorite month:

Yes, this month is filled with things that I love, from falling leaves to vibrant colors in richly muted hues. But my favorite part of the entire month of October is when everything is all set up for opening night of the Pumpkin Walk and we turn on all the lights for the first time. And then the magic happens. Suddenly I feel my grandparents so close, and I know that they are near and that they are smiling. I am so honored to carry their blood in my veins, to carry on this tradition they started so long ago. It gives me a feeling of satisfaction and gratitude for them that words simply cannot express.

The Pumpkin Walk is now part of Syracuse City. They have been more than generous in giving it

a permanent home and cradling it in their arms for the past 8 years. They fund it. They pick the pumpkins and help set up and tear down. They handle publicity and public relations. They are amazing. (Kresta, Tiffany, Hollie. We love you! We could not do it without you.) And a very special thanks to my committee, which is really just a fancy word for a group of childhood friends and family who are now adults. So a hats off to Mom (and sometimes even Dad depending on his mood!), Brian and Ann, Brady and Stephanie, Joanna and Chris, Sheldon and Wendy, Liseanne and Jeff, Jason and Joni, Nick and Heather, Mike, Mike, Justin, James, and Jared!! I am honored to work with all of you. ( By the way: Jared, Justin, and James are highly attractive, eligible bachelors if any lucky ladies are looking to marry into the pumpkin carving family). ;)