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Sabrina and Olivia C. scour the pumpkin patch on the lawn of First Congregational Church in Saugus on Thursday as they look for the perfect pumpkin to carve. (Spenser Hasak) Purchase this photo

Pumpkins spice up Saugus

Elizabeth Della Piana

by

SAUGUS — The First Congregational Church began its 23rd annual pumpkin patch this month. The pumpkins will be on sale until Halloween and can be found on the front lawn of the church.

The pumpkins arrived on Saturday, Sept. 21, and community members of all ages came to help unload the truck in the pouring rain. Young children, teenagers, and adults passed pumpkins along as members set them up on the front lawn. Afterward, they were treated to food inside the church as the community celebrated the beginning of their annual pumpkin patch.

Pumpkin patch volunteer Brian Arata, of Lynn, holds up a fairy house gourd, one of his favorites for sale at First Congregational Church in Saugus.

“The pumpkins come from a Navajo reservation in New Mexico, and believe it or not, they are shipped up here, and we don’t pay a penny. We sell the pumpkins, and if we hit a certain percentage, then we get 40%, and we send the money back,It’s all on the honor system,” Gene Decareau, a member of the congregation said.

He added that another shipment would be coming in and that the church normally sells between five to six thousand pumpkins a year.

“It’s an amazing thing. Some people are so generous. Like last year, the first day, a gentleman came up, and he saw all the pumpkins, and he had to stop, and he says, ‘I don’t want any pumpkins, but I’d like to start your day off right.’ He gave us $100,” Decareau said.

Pastor Bill Ladd also has plenty of stories from the patch, including one from his first year.

“I’ve been pastor for three years and I saw these … I helped unload … I’m like, how are we going to sell these? It’s like 3,500, and they sold,” Ladd said.

He said his disbelief continued as he was told another shipment would be coming in, and he watched as all of them sold again.

Pumpkins stretch as far as the eye can see at First Congregational Church in Saugus on Thursday.

Ladd has also heard many personal stories from the pumpkin patch and truly believes that no one ever leaves with a frown on their face.

“It fills everybody with joy,” Ladd said.

He added that people don’t just come from Saugus and surrounding towns but also from Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut, and some refuse to get their pumpkins from anywhere else.

The next shipment of 2,500 pumpkins will be in on Oct. 12.

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