43 pumpkins on display for Halloween

NEW HAVEN, Ind. (WANE) - One New Haven family brought pumpkin carving to a new level for their Halloween display this year. Usually only carving about 15, the Pickens Family carved a total of 43 pumpkins since Thursday.

A family tradition for the last 15 years, Shane Pickens said he had the opportunity to pick up a lot more pumpkins for the display at an auction at a pretty cheap price.

Six carvers participated this year to make their Halloween display the biggest it has ever been and were assisted by the littler family members, not yet old enough for a carver position. “They like to help out with the cleaning and pulling the guts out,” said Pickens.

The family started carving on Thursday for about 10 hours, got half of them done and then just about finished up Saturday night. Sunday morning, Shane said they had two left to go and while picking up more lights at Wal-Mart, noticed they had them for $1 and picked up five more.

“Everyone had to step up their game this year with as many pumpkins as we had,” said Pickens.

The family tradition is a lot more to Shane than just increasing the amount of carved pumpkins the family can produce. “For me, being a restaurant manager, and not having a lot of time, spending quality time with the kids, this is a great opportunity for me to get that family time that I feel that I lose out on.”

The pumpkins are lit by battery powered tea lights, but Pickens has been considering other methods to keep the pumpkins glowing and would like to get to the point where he can just plug them all in at once.

“Usually, I use a traditional tea light, but last year was so windy I spent have my time relighting them,“ said Pickens.

But all the hard work, hand cramps and legs falling asleep from holding their creations in place is all worth it to Pickens.

"It’s a lot of fun. I enjoy the time I get to spend with my kids, not to mention that feeling that we get from the trick-or-treaters that go by and the families that actually come because they hear about the pumpkins. Just to be able to talk with them and give a little bit more enjoyment out there as well, that means a lot to me, and knowing that we did it with our own two hands,” said Pickens.

The goal for next year’s display is 50 pumpkins. You can see the display at 1705 Ayr Dr. in New Haven.