Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Of course there is the candy, the trick-or-treating, and the costumes, but Halloween to me means we are in the full swing of fall – a clean crispness to the air, sweatshirts and sweaters, perfect running weather, football, brilliant colors, leaf pile jumping, apple cider and popcorn, hot cocoa and tea, pumpkin spice, and the advent of fun family get-togethers with the approach of the winter holidays. There is something about the fall that makes me feel energized and at the same time relaxed and content. I love to go outside and breath in those fall smells and I just feel happy…balanced…
When I was a kid, Halloween often meant an annual visit from
my Grandpa Jim and Grandma Helen Ruchti as they made their way from their
summer home in Wisconsin to their winter home initially in Washington D.C. and
in later years South Bend, Indiana. When
I was in elementary school we lived on Hilltop Drive on a straight-away at the
bottom of a hill (the hill seemed huge to me as a kid). They usually would arrive in the afternoon
after I returned home from school. Often
accompanied by my brother, Greg, I would sit looking out of the big front
windows of my house, or better yet, from the front yard and wait for their blue
Buick with the big white bubble container to crest the hill. As soon as I would see them I would run into
the middle of the yard and wave. Grandpa
and Grandma knew I would be waiting, and as soon as they spotted me would flash
the lights and honk the horn. I would
cheer to myself (sometimes out loud) and run into the house to announce their arrival.
Grandpa and Grandma would also arrive with fall goodies such
as Haribo gummy bears and gourds and red popcorn ears from Grandpas garden. One year Grandpa even brought a Darth Vader
mask so he compliment my costume while accompanying me trick-or-treating (My
costume that year was Princess Leia, made expertly by my Mom and her sewing
machine.). But what I was most excited
about was the pumpkins! Every year Grandpa
would have a special spot set aside in his summer garden to grow the Halloween
pumpkins for jack-o-lantern carving.
During our summer visits to their house, Greg and I would go to the
garden with Grandpa to look at the thick green vines and see the yellow flowers
and dream how big and round and orange the pumpkins would be that year. The pumpkins brought to us by Grandpa (regardless
of whether or not they actually came from the garden) were never, ever a
disappointment!
Grandpa and Grandma would bring Greg and I each a pumpkin. It would be our job to each come up with a
jack-o-lantern design on paper. This was
sometime easy and sometimes very frustrating.
There are so many shapes from which to choose. What face would capture that year’s Halloween
the best??? Many friends would carve
designs into the pumpkins or paint them.
But to me, a “proper” jack was one with a fun, brilliant, or spooky
face! I remember I would come up with
many different variations, and then Grandpa and I would decide which one we
liked best and circle it on the paper so that Grandma would know which design
we had chosen. My Grandma was a very
good artist. It was her job to translate
our design, with pencil, to the pumpkin rind so that it could be expertly
carved to make our visions come alive.
(Picture from Halloween 1986)
Grandpa taught Greg and I how to carefully carve the lid
from the pumpkin- large enough to be able to get all the guts out, but not too
large to hinder carving an excellent, spooky face. He taught us to remove all the stringy guts
and seeds from the inside of the pumpkin, leaving the inside smooth and
clean. (Side note: Where many people are
expert pumpkin carvers, cleaning the inside of a pumpkin is a secret talent of
mine. I think Grandpa was proud that,
despite being a girl, I liked getting messy and feeling the stringy, slimy pulp
squish through my fingers.) We would sit patiently (and sometimes not so
patiently) as we would watch Grandma carefully draw the faces onto our cleaned
pumpkins. She was careful to get each of
our lines and expressions translated just right. She had a great eye! Grandpa would then deftly use the carving
knife to make our jacks come alive. As
we got older he taught us to do our own carving. (He gave us each our own Swiss army knife
too!) I remember being so nervous that I
would make an incorrect slice and mess up my jack. Grandpa gave us pointers, encouragement, and
much praise. I remember when I completed
my first jack face all by myself.
Wow! What an accomplishment!
When finished carving, we would separate the pumpkin seeds
from the pulp and give them to Mom for roasting. (Yum!
Salty and crunchy!) We could
smell the bags of popcorn that Mom was preparing to hand out to visiting
trick-or-treaters (yes this was before the days homemade treats were a no-no!).
We would place the jacks on a TV tray to
be positioned to look out the window for viewing by the night’s revelers. Candles would be inserted and lit, and we
would watch the faces come alive. It was
wonderful and mesmerizing to sit in the dark and gaze at those spooky and
comical faces that flickered and shimmered in the candlelight.
Grandpa had a file and later a picture album where he kept
our yearly jack-o-lantern design drawings.
How I long to look at those drawings to see how our designs evolved and
matured over time. Were there
themes? For example, did I always prefer
a zig-zag grin and a triangle nose? Unfortunately, the album was never found after
my Grandparents passed away. Hopefully
one day I will be able to find pictures of our jacks from past Halloweens that
I can share with you. It is a tradition
that has a special place in my heart that I will always associate with my Grandpa
and Grandma Ruchti. I can remember one
year in high school where I was more interested in a boy than carving a pumpkin
with my Grandpa. I will regret that
decision and that time I gave up with my Grandpa and Grandma for the rest of my
life.
I cannot turn back time for a do-over. However, I can honor my Grandparents by
ensuring that my favorite Halloween tradition continues with my family. It was hard to keep up with jack carving in
college and grad school and at times when the boys were little. However, I do have pictures of Derek’s and my
first jacks together and it has become a yearly occurrence with the boys.
Where my Grandpa oversaw pumpkin cleaning and carving, and my Grandpa drew the faces, I have taken on all those duties. I have tried my best to capture the heart and spirit of the drawings of my boys as I copy them for carving. (Especially because sometimes what they have drawn is fairly complex, if not impossible to carve! I now know why G&G guided us to choose some of our designs over others. Ha!). Zach has not been as interested in carving since he became a middle schooler. However, Ashton is still as enthusiastic as ever! I hope he will continue to join me carving as I plan to keep up the yearly tradition! And even if they are not participating in design and carving, Zach and Derek are always around to take pictures and critique our efforts. It is still very much a family event!
This year was Ashton’s first year to help with face carving
in addition to guts removal. He was so
excited! I could hear my Grandpa’s
soothing, encouraging voice flow through me as I guided Ashton in those first
cuts through the rough and slippery pumpkin flesh. Every year when I carve pumpkins I think of
my Grandpa and Grandma. I hope they can
forgive those years I was too bull-headed to participate with carving and are proud
that I am carrying on the tradition.
Like my Grandpa, I keep pictures of our pumpkin designs and love to see
how our ideas and tastes have changed over time. Rather than candles, the jacks now get lit up
by glow sticks of different brilliant, electric colors. However, the thrill and fascination are the
same, watching the jack-o-lantern faces come alive and light up the dark,
October night. And best of all are the
smiles and laughter of my family around me as we make our spooky jacks,
conjuring up the fun and memories of Halloweens past.
So, what about that Halloween where the dog ate half of your
brother’s Halloween candy you ask? That,
my friends, is a story for another time…
