Thousands enjoyed the sunshine and the many hundreds of carved pumpkins

October 15, 2018 at 12:05a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

People of all ages by the thousands found their way Sunday to the annual family- friendly Pumpkin Walk at Twilight at Fellows Riverside Gardens in Mill Creek MetroParks.

Guests strolled along pumpkin-lined paths as sunshine turned to twilight, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., to view the ghoulish apparitions carved or painted by park staff members and some 50 community volunteers for the enjoyment of young and old.

There were pumpkins of all varieties: Some bizarre, some smiling and friendly, and at least one with the back of its head caved in and missing.

“It’s a fun event that has become a community staple,” said Andrew C. Pratt, Fellows Riverside Gardens director.

For event volunteers Linda Tranum and her husband, Chuck, watching the people is the best part of the job.

A garden guide and master gardener, Linda says she loves being around the little kids and watching the expressions on their faces as they check out one pumpkin after another. “And sometimes, the adults get as excited as the kids,” she said.

Chuck, who served three years in the Marine Corps, including 1966-1967 in Vietnam, and from 1975 to 1992 in the Army as a paratrooper, agrees that the best part of volunteering is the people. “I like to see them enjoying themselves,” he said as he watched kids roll down the hills of Fellows Riverside Garden.

Beth and Paul Drennen of Canfield, joined by Skylar, 31/2, who wanted her face painted, said they “pretty much come every year” to the Pumpkin Walk at Twilight.

“I love the creativity of the carving,” said Beth, an employ at Gasser Chair.

“It’s kid-friendly ... a fun thing for the kids to do, and we like the free cider,” said Paul, a former member of Youngstown City Council and a sales agent for Zimmer Biomet.

First-time Pumpkin Walk guests, Rachel and Ali Bashir, of Warren, both of whom work at Great Lakes Cheese in Hiram, were wheeling around their son, Naveen, 31/2, still smiling after a tough day at the pumpkin patch.

“Naveen liked the pumpkins and the fountain,” his mother said.

Ali admitted, with a smile, that the Pumpkin Walk was a chance to get out of the house.

The Pumpkin Walk is also a pleasant, fun activity for widespread families to gather.

Jen Woodard, of The Woodlands, Texas, who grew up in Boardman, was home for a family get-together. She paused to take pictures of a walkway brick dedicated in “Loving Memory to Emmet Taylor,” her father, former owner of Taylor Oldsmobile dealership on Mahoning Avenue.

Also among the Taylor group were Melissa and Matt Taylor of Poland, and their daughters, Lila and Kate Taylor, great-granddaughters of Emmet.