A Reader’s Perspective – My Favorite Day at the Pumpkin Patch

By Karen Spencer

I have been involved with the Pumpkin Patch at the First Congregational Church in Saugus Center for many years and have many happy memories of people picking pumpkins. My favorite day at the Patch this year was the day after our closing, Nov. 1. I worked our last day, Halloween. At the end of the day, we had as many as 800 pumpkins not sold left on our lawn. The next morning, Nov. 1, my husband Carl, who is the Pumpkin Patch coordinator, left the house at 6:30 a.m. in the dark to go to the church. At the church he put a sign on the lawn that said, “free pumpkins” and took out some wheelbarrows.

I waited an hour until it was light and headed to the church. As I pulled up to the church, I saw a scene that belonged in a movie. Trucks and cars were lined up on both sides of Hamilton Street. There were 15-20 people on the church lawn picking up pumpkins to load into their vehicles. Everyone had a story to tell.

One man rented a trailer to attach to his truck. He was filling the trailer and truck to bring to his daughter’s farm in Maine. Another man filled his truck to bring to a neighbor in Vermont that was a poor farmer to feed his animals. Some of this man’s pumpkins would be brought to his home in Golden Hills to feed his chickens. Another man was heading to a farm in New Hampshire. One lady was going to feed her horses in Saugus. Another lady had pigs in Saugus. Some went to Connecticut, and some went to chickens in Western Mass., etc.

A teacher stopped and took two pumpkins for a science lesson. A mother took two pumpkins because her children were disappointed that they hadn’t carved any. Everyone had a story. Pumpkins were going to feed animals all over New England and people were so happy. No pumpkins were going into a dumpster.

All pumpkins were gone by 11:00 a.m. What a beautiful sight!

  Editor’s Note: Karen Spencer is a member of First Congregational Church and a longtime volunteer at the church’s annual “Pumpkin Patch.”