24th Annual Pumpkin Patch blows away the Nor’easter

By Tara Vocino

Approximately 70 children and teenagers unloaded a box truck full of pumpkins in approximately an hour and 15 minutes for Saturday’s 24th Annual Pumpkin Patch fundraiser — even in the Nor’easter — at First Congregational Church.

Driver Mark Smith, of Atlanta, Ga., awoke from a well-deserved nap after driving 2,400 miles in four and a half days from the Navajo Reservation in Farmington, New Mexico, which is where the pumpkins come from. “It’s fun,” Smith said. “I’m originally from New York, so it’s going back to my roots.”

Rev. William Ladd said the amazing volunteers braved the threat of a Nor’easter to come and help unload the pumpkins. “I’d been praying daily for the storm to push off and give us some room,” Ladd said in a separate interview on Sunday. “They were nervous. We were nervous…and then the morning came, and they came!”

Ladd added, with smiles, that friends, parents and coaches lined up, and the pumpkins got unloaded. And the wind and the rain stopped while they all did their work. “It just stopped!,” Ladd said. “Before we knew it, it was done — in about an hour’s time!”

Ladd thanked God and volunteers, adding that they couldn’t have done it without them.

Event Organizer Carl Spencer said there were football players, field hockey players, cheerleaders, volleyball players, charter school students, middle school students, high school students, among other volunteers, who were passionate enough to come in a Nor’easter. They unloaded 2,600 large pumpkins and 2,000 small pumpkins. A second shipment is expected in two weeks.

Saugus 12U Level 3 Cheerleader Avaleigh Kohr said the team volunteers annually, because they want to support fellow athletes, they love Saugus and they want to help the community. The team’s President, Allison DiPietro, called their dedication a tradition, adding that the team came two years ago in heavy rain.

Saugus High School Varsity Football Head Coach Gregory Bluestein thanked Athletic Director Matthew Serino for organizing volunteers from the middle and high schools. “This event is one of my favorite days of the year,” Bluestein said.

Saugus High School junior Sofia Rubio said she and her friends came to help the community and the United Church of Christ, which is a mainline Protestant denomination. “We plan to come back next year,” Rubio said.

School Committee Vice Chair Stephanie Mastrocola said she loves seeing the children and community get together and be off their cellular phones for an hour.

Trustee Scott Davis said this event is one of the savings of the church, selling 100,000 pumpkins since its inception. “I originally voted against it, but I’m glad it passed,” Davis said.

The patch is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through November 1 at 300 Central Street.