Pumpkin House continues tradition

Mike Young has always loved Halloween. When he paired up with his wife, Sara Bartlett, their house on Edgewood Drive became well-known for its annual pumpkin display.

Bartlett and Young had known each other as children. Each married, had children and divorced. Then they reunited and married a number of years ago.

The weekend leading into Halloween, extended family and friends gather at their home to carve pumpkins into jack-o’-lanterns, which then are lit and placed around the house Halloween night.

“We don’t put them up on the roof anymore, and there are less than there once were, but we still love it and people have come to expect it,” Bartlett said.

The house is affectionally known as the Pumpkin House, and people come from throughout the area to see it.

Young finds stencils for the carvings, which range from the traditional to the intricate and unexpected.

He said the carved pumpkins last a few days, then they feed them to the deer.

“One year we thought all of the trick-or-treaters had come through,” Bartlett recalled. “Then there was a knock on the door and it was a family that was all upset that they’d missed the Pumpkin House.’”

Lee Whitby of Newton said, “They just make Halloween something even more special than it is. Sara and Mike are great and add something so special to the holiday.”