Pumpkin House 2003 Lights Up Kenova
By Grant Traylor

The beautiful town of Kenova is a quiet, homely town for 11 months out
of the year. However at the Griffith residence, there is something
about the month of October that sends everyone in town and beyond
carving to get to the middle of the buzz. The answer lies in the
Pumpkin House, the town’s largest October attraction.

Ric Griffith is normally known as the owner of Griffith & Feil
drugstore which has served the community for dozens of years. At this
time of year though, he is hard at work with his infatuation--or as
some call insanity--with decorating his residence with pumpkin’s.
According to Griffith, this is the 25th year of his pumpkin palace and
it has become a masterpiece to the beholders who come from all over the
tri-state to see his estate. In all the years, he has amassed nearly
17,000 designed pumpkins.

In visiting Griffith tonight, we see exactly how hard at work he is
working on this beautiful roadside display of pumpkins. Griffith
stated initially that it started out as a family deal with just a few
pumpkins, but in looking around one could see exactly how big the
annual event has become. Tonight, only 1,400 of the pumpkins were
finished and on display for the public. However by Thursday, his
Beech Street residence will have over 2,700 pumpkins shining brightly.

The simple preparation of these items was of particular interest as the
intricate detail was seen in each carving. Griffith said that he came
up with designs year round to come up with all the different designs
seen this week. “I’ll just look at something and say ‘That’s a
Pumpkin!’,” Griffith said wiping sweat and rain from his face.

The growing number of pumpkins used makes his volunteers a necessity to
the success. Griffith grinned and said, “Once October hits, they come
to me asking what to do before I can even call any of them. I don’t
have to go looking for help at all.” The 100+ volunteers were found
toting ladders to a sign that said “Welcome to the Pumpkin House!
Kenova, West Virginia”. Of course, each letter was its own pumpkin
surrounded by detailed designs by the prince of pumpkins himself.

These designs are all very elaborate and each adds a certain flavor to
the multitude. To have 2,700 different designs in a year is very
amazing, but then again what wasn’t about this house. “ I have five
different full notebooks of my designs that I create and I start here
and just draw them up in October. The crew and I take jigsaws and each
works out as seen.”

In looking at the house, you would think it would take months and
months of planning and designing to set up, but Griffith assured
differently. “We start at the beginning of October and I’ll be out
here carving and designing at nights, sleep a couple hours and get up
to do it again.”
This feverish pace would wear out most people and Griffith even
admitted to some degree of difficulty for an energetic individual as
himself. “I was going to Burger King one night to get some coffee so I
could work longer and after I placed my order, I fell asleep in the
drive-thru. I was awakened by the honks of others and as I stirred,
the workers at the drive-thru just sat and laughed. I looked at my
clock and I had been asleep ten minutes,” as Griffith said with a
sheepish grin.

Even though the 2,714 pumpkins is 90 more than last year, Griffith
indicated that next year he was looking to eclipse the 20,000 pumpkin
mark. “We think next year can be incredible and we are already laying
out designs for the yard. First things first though,” Griffith stated
as we gazed at the gourds that ranged from Disney characters and sports
logos to religious and patriotic symbols. With this final look,
Griffith was off to put his artistic touch on a few more
jack-o-lanterns including the largest of the gourds, an 80 pound
monster of a pumpkin.

The Pumpkin House, located at 748 Beech Street, will be illuminated
throughout the holiday. It is advised to get there early to find
parking and it is also asked that due to heavy traffic in the area
Thursday evening, visitors please be careful of trick-or-treaters from
the hours of 5 to 8:30.