Oct. 25, 2010
Pumpkin House Part One
By Sandee Lloyd
Ric Griffith wears many hats. He is the Mayor of Kenova, West Virginia and owner of Griffith Feil Drug Store and old-time soda fountain, but at this time of year he is the man with the Pumpkin House.
Ric and an ever-changing group of volunteers carve and set out over 3,000
pumpkins in a myriad of displays covering his yard and house.
I visited Saturday afternoon as they were starting the installation of the pumpkins on the roof line of the house and on shelves surrounding the yard. Fox Heaberlin was on the roof setting the pumpkins over the lights while Jimmy Hankins and Doug Kiser (Ric's father-in-law) stood on a ladder and Nathan Copley handed the pumpkins up. They had a regular assembly line going and in a surprisingly short time had the roof edged with pumpkins.
Nathan Copley is a 17-year old senior at Chesapeake High School, in Chesapeake, Ohio, and with his grandmother, Lilah Copley of West Huntington, West Virginia, were volunteering because they had always wanted to help out. Ms. Copley was working in the back yard scooping out the insides of the pumpkins with another group of volunteers.
All around the yard are racks of shelves lined with lights waiting for the pumpkins. There is a boat shape that will be transformed into Noah's Ark with every kind of animal represented. At the back of the yard is the highlight of the display; a wall which will hold an orchestra of pumpkins and a choir. The pumpkins will be carved to represent different instruments and each set of instruments will light as they are featured in a song. There are bells that will be carved as left and right and when lit will appear to be swinging as the lights shift from one to the other.
The choir will sing along with some of the music. One of Ric's favorites for the choir is "Ode to Joy." He said he gets tired of drawing similar faces with their mouths open, singing, and likes to slip in a few surprises such as Mickey Mouse or Darth Vader. He said that most people don't notice the celebrity faces mixed in.
Ric's favorite is the "1812 Overture" because it builds to a crescendo with crashing symbols and drums and fireworks and the light show with it is incredibly impressive. Other songs performed by the orchestra will include "Stars and Stripes Forever," "Carmina Burana" and the theme song from "Pirates of the Caribbean."
In addition to the pumpkins, there will be spooky creatures in the trees, and one tree will have a talking face greeting people and waving its stick arms at them.
Every day for the next few days the volunteers will set up approximately 500-600 pumpkins and they will be lit until the entire display is finished later in the week. Ric said he had to have the house rewired because he used to use extension cords and kept blowing fuses. He had to manually turn all the sets of lights on and off. Now all the lights are on new wiring and on automatic timers that turn them on at dusk and off at dawn. He does turn the sound down around midnight so his neighbors can get some sleep.
Ric said he used to have a cat choir that sang all night that was placed next to his neighbor's house. He said about midnight every night he'd see his neighbor outside dressed in pajamas looking for the cord so he could turn off the cats. Ric chuckled and said he didn't have to remember to turn that set off as the neighbor always did it for him. Now he has moved the cat choir across the yard next to his own house.
The front yard is full of pumpkins lined up in neat rows with an instrument drawn on the front and the instrument's name written at the top so Ric will know where to place them in the orchestra.
In the back yard are thousands of pumpkins in varying states of preparation. A group of volunteers, including 9-year old twins Emily and Olivia Gill and their mother Jennifer Gill of Huntington, were busily scooping out the insides of the pumpkins, then putting them in a cart to be sent to the carving area. Overseeing the operation was a pumpkin wearing a hard hat.
Using power saws to carve out the designs were Richie Dorsey, 80, of Kenova, a good friend of Rics; Tom Lewis of Huntington, another good friend, who said it was his first time helping out, and that his great, great, great uncle had built the house; and Ruth Thayer of Wayne, West Virginia, who works with Habitat for Humanity. She said she has already started making some pumpkin butter to sell and that the members of the Lavalette Womens Club and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity will take the pieces cut out of the pumpkins and make pumpkin butter, fudge, cookies and bread and set up a cart to sell the pumpkin-flavored goodies to raise money. She said they always raise thousands of dollars for Habitat for Humanity. She said they will also have coffee and hot chocolate depending on the weather.
After the pumpkins are carved, they are put into a bleach solution to help kill bacteria and slow down the rotting process. All parts of the pumpkins are used, with the insides and cut off pieces used for goodies, and after the display is taken down the pumpkins will be given to a farm to be used as animal feed.
People were stopping by to watch the activities. One adorable little girl, Caitlin Sullivan, 2, was trying her hardest to pick up a pumpkin, then failing that, decided to count them instead. Caitlin was with her mother, Cristi Berry Sullivan. They are from Richmond, Virginia but were in town visiting Cristi's mother and for Cristi's reunion with the class of 1982 from South Point High School in South Point, Ohio.
Another visiting couple were Kenova Police Chief Bud Lett and his lovely wife Misty. They were marveling at the different designs and noticed a group of pumpkins with the faces of presidents drawn on them. Mrs. Lett wished she had dressed more casually so she could help out.
While drawing designs on pumpkins Ric was taking with the Letts and told them how he doesn't get a whole lot of sleep during this time of year and how one year due to bad weather they were running behind and he had been up about 36 hours straight, and decided at about 3:00 am to fix a TV dinner. He sat down to eat and woke up about an hour later with his cat sitting on his lap happily licking up the last of the mashed potatoes. The cat had eaten every bit of the dinner, vegetables and all, while Ric slept.
The Pumpkin House is a true labor of love for Ric and his volunteers. Anyone wishing to help is more than welcome to stop by anytime. There is always something to do and many, many pumpkins waiting to be carved.
The Pumpkin House is free and will be open every night at least through Halloween from dusk until dawn. It is located at 748 Beech Street in Kenova, West Virginia.
Pictures include Caitlin and Cristi Gill; Ric Griffith; Lilah Copley, Emily, Olivia and Jennifer Gill along with a group of volunteers scooping out pumpkins; Richie Dorsey, Tom Lewis and Ruth Thayer carving pumpkins; Fox Heaberlin, Jimmy Hankins, Doug Kiser and Nathan Copley putting pumpkins on the roof; Bud and Misty Lett; and scenes around the house.
These pictures and more can be viewed at http://lloydphotography.ifp3.com.
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By Sandee Lloyd
Ric Griffith wears many hats. He is the Mayor of Kenova, West Virginia and owner of Griffith Feil Drug Store and old-time soda fountain, but at this time of year he is the man with the Pumpkin House.
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I visited Saturday afternoon as they were starting the installation of the pumpkins on the roof line of the house and on shelves surrounding the yard. Fox Heaberlin was on the roof setting the pumpkins over the lights while Jimmy Hankins and Doug Kiser (Ric's father-in-law) stood on a ladder and Nathan Copley handed the pumpkins up. They had a regular assembly line going and in a surprisingly short time had the roof edged with pumpkins.
Nathan Copley is a 17-year old senior at Chesapeake High School, in Chesapeake, Ohio, and with his grandmother, Lilah Copley of West Huntington, West Virginia, were volunteering because they had always wanted to help out. Ms. Copley was working in the back yard scooping out the insides of the pumpkins with another group of volunteers.
All around the yard are racks of shelves lined with lights waiting for the pumpkins. There is a boat shape that will be transformed into Noah's Ark with every kind of animal represented. At the back of the yard is the highlight of the display; a wall which will hold an orchestra of pumpkins and a choir. The pumpkins will be carved to represent different instruments and each set of instruments will light as they are featured in a song. There are bells that will be carved as left and right and when lit will appear to be swinging as the lights shift from one to the other.
The choir will sing along with some of the music. One of Ric's favorites for the choir is "Ode to Joy." He said he gets tired of drawing similar faces with their mouths open, singing, and likes to slip in a few surprises such as Mickey Mouse or Darth Vader. He said that most people don't notice the celebrity faces mixed in.
Ric's favorite is the "1812 Overture" because it builds to a crescendo with crashing symbols and drums and fireworks and the light show with it is incredibly impressive. Other songs performed by the orchestra will include "Stars and Stripes Forever," "Carmina Burana" and the theme song from "Pirates of the Caribbean."
In addition to the pumpkins, there will be spooky creatures in the trees, and one tree will have a talking face greeting people and waving its stick arms at them.
Every day for the next few days the volunteers will set up approximately 500-600 pumpkins and they will be lit until the entire display is finished later in the week. Ric said he had to have the house rewired because he used to use extension cords and kept blowing fuses. He had to manually turn all the sets of lights on and off. Now all the lights are on new wiring and on automatic timers that turn them on at dusk and off at dawn. He does turn the sound down around midnight so his neighbors can get some sleep.
Ric said he used to have a cat choir that sang all night that was placed next to his neighbor's house. He said about midnight every night he'd see his neighbor outside dressed in pajamas looking for the cord so he could turn off the cats. Ric chuckled and said he didn't have to remember to turn that set off as the neighbor always did it for him. Now he has moved the cat choir across the yard next to his own house.
The front yard is full of pumpkins lined up in neat rows with an instrument drawn on the front and the instrument's name written at the top so Ric will know where to place them in the orchestra.
In the back yard are thousands of pumpkins in varying states of preparation. A group of volunteers, including 9-year old twins Emily and Olivia Gill and their mother Jennifer Gill of Huntington, were busily scooping out the insides of the pumpkins, then putting them in a cart to be sent to the carving area. Overseeing the operation was a pumpkin wearing a hard hat.
Using power saws to carve out the designs were Richie Dorsey, 80, of Kenova, a good friend of Rics; Tom Lewis of Huntington, another good friend, who said it was his first time helping out, and that his great, great, great uncle had built the house; and Ruth Thayer of Wayne, West Virginia, who works with Habitat for Humanity. She said she has already started making some pumpkin butter to sell and that the members of the Lavalette Womens Club and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity will take the pieces cut out of the pumpkins and make pumpkin butter, fudge, cookies and bread and set up a cart to sell the pumpkin-flavored goodies to raise money. She said they always raise thousands of dollars for Habitat for Humanity. She said they will also have coffee and hot chocolate depending on the weather.
After the pumpkins are carved, they are put into a bleach solution to help kill bacteria and slow down the rotting process. All parts of the pumpkins are used, with the insides and cut off pieces used for goodies, and after the display is taken down the pumpkins will be given to a farm to be used as animal feed.
People were stopping by to watch the activities. One adorable little girl, Caitlin Sullivan, 2, was trying her hardest to pick up a pumpkin, then failing that, decided to count them instead. Caitlin was with her mother, Cristi Berry Sullivan. They are from Richmond, Virginia but were in town visiting Cristi's mother and for Cristi's reunion with the class of 1982 from South Point High School in South Point, Ohio.
Another visiting couple were Kenova Police Chief Bud Lett and his lovely wife Misty. They were marveling at the different designs and noticed a group of pumpkins with the faces of presidents drawn on them. Mrs. Lett wished she had dressed more casually so she could help out.
While drawing designs on pumpkins Ric was taking with the Letts and told them how he doesn't get a whole lot of sleep during this time of year and how one year due to bad weather they were running behind and he had been up about 36 hours straight, and decided at about 3:00 am to fix a TV dinner. He sat down to eat and woke up about an hour later with his cat sitting on his lap happily licking up the last of the mashed potatoes. The cat had eaten every bit of the dinner, vegetables and all, while Ric slept.
The Pumpkin House is a true labor of love for Ric and his volunteers. Anyone wishing to help is more than welcome to stop by anytime. There is always something to do and many, many pumpkins waiting to be carved.
The Pumpkin House is free and will be open every night at least through Halloween from dusk until dawn. It is located at 748 Beech Street in Kenova, West Virginia.
Pictures include Caitlin and Cristi Gill; Ric Griffith; Lilah Copley, Emily, Olivia and Jennifer Gill along with a group of volunteers scooping out pumpkins; Richie Dorsey, Tom Lewis and Ruth Thayer carving pumpkins; Fox Heaberlin, Jimmy Hankins, Doug Kiser and Nathan Copley putting pumpkins on the roof; Bud and Misty Lett; and scenes around the house.
These pictures and more can be viewed at http://lloydphotography.ifp3.com.
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