A pumpkin Obi-Wan Kenobi crosses lightsaber gourds with Darth Vader while a pumpkin R2-D2 looks on.
Nearby, pumpkin versions of the founding fathers are hard at work building a country (presumably one nation under gourd) in a small model of Independence Hall, the building in Philadelphia where both the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed.
At another scene, an Uncle Sam made of pumpkins stands surrounded by common American wares as Bing Crosby’s “What’s More American” regales passersby.
This is North Logan’s annual Pumpkin Walk — a yearly tradition where artists, organizations and other community members create scenes out of pumpkins for the public to marvel at.
The displays opened to the public Thursday, and can be seen Saturday, Monday and Tuesday from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. at Elk Ridge Park. This year’s theme in the city of nearly 12,000 is “All-American Pumpkins.”
Pumpkin Walk down memory lane
Marie Godfrey, who helps coordinate the annual spectacle, remembered how her mom, Ida Beutler, started the event 43 years ago.
At the walk Thursday morning, she recalled the pumpkin-oriented event’s roots.
In terms of holidays, Godfrey said that Ida loved Halloween second to only Christmas, but was concerned that the festivities were growing a bit dark.
“She wanted to do something fun,” Godfrey said. “Fun for children, families, community.”
So, with the help of her husband, Wallace Beutler, Ida got to work.
The family created pumpkin scenes throughout their farm near the mouth of Green Canyon. They invited the community to come see their work, serving cookies and apple cider to visitors.
Godfrey still remembers some of the family’s early pumpkin decor. She said the first scene she ever put together was Little Boy Blue sleeping on a haystack.
“‘He’s under the haystack, fast asleep,’” she recited from the nursery rhyme.
Another scene from her family’s early work that she remembered was Rapunzel, who would drop her hair from the window of her family’s milk barn.
“There were some fun scenes there,” she said. “But the magic continues here.”
The tradition carries on
Over the years, the event grew in popularity and Ida eventually turned it over to the city, which began hosting it at Elk Ridge Park in 1992.
Still, Godfrey stressed, the Pumpkin Walk has always been free — and generally free of advertisement. Though she explained businesses that volunteer to create scenes take credit for their work on small artist placards, the scenes themselves are ad-free.
“They really wanted to preserve the magic of childhood. I think that’s kind of the main thing,” Godfrey said of her parents. “They tried to just protect childhood — make it magical for all of their family and others.”
School classes frequently journey to the elaborate scenes. Kids shriek excitedly at the site of their favorite characters that they see recreated before them.
According to North Logan, more than 25,000 people come annually.
Godfrey’s family still works together to plan and create scenes featured at the walk.
The idea to create a Star Wars scene originated in the imaginations of some of her younger grandkids months ago, she said.
“We thought, if you’re going to think about that in the summer, we are going to make that dream happen,” Godfrey said. “I felt so thrilled they even thought about it, out of the blue.”
The Pumpkin Walk has also made its way into other families’ annual Halloween traditions.
Brittany Bailey of Smithfield said her family visits every year.
“We love the creativity. We love how family-centered and -focused it is,” she said. “We do have family that come from Salt Lake all the way up to see it every year.”
In addition to the Pumpkin Walk, North Logan has several other Pumpkin Days activities throughout October, including a Pumpkin Palooza Pickleball Tournament on Oct. 17, a parade and carnival on Oct. 23, and a pumpkin toss on Oct. 24.
