Jack-o’-lanterns to light up Monongahela
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Landon Dodd, 9, his brother Gavin, 6, and their grandmother, Nancy, of Monongahela, carve pumpkins at the Monongahela library that will be used in a display in the city.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Emily Wingo, 5, of Monongahela gets help from her mom, Angela, drawing a face onto a pumpkin.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Jeremy and Angela Wingo of Monongahela and their two daughters, Emily, 5, and Caraline, 7, carve pumpkins at the Monongahela library. The pumpkins will later be hung on light poles along Main Street to celebrate the Halloween season.
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Morgan Dodd, 8, of Monongahela, along with her brothers Landon, 9, Gavin, 6, and their grandmother, Nancy, carve pumpkins at the Monongahela library that will go on display along Main Street in the city for the Halloween season.
In the spirit of Halloween, Monongahela is lighting up Main Street with a pumpkin spice.
For the third year in a row, Monongahela Main Street partnered with Monongahela Area Library to carve pumpkins and hang the jack-o’-lanterns from utility poles along West Main Street.
“The reaction has been great,” Monongahela Main Street Executive Director Terry Necciai said. “We’ll see parents post on Facebook that their kids get excited when they drive through town because they get to see the jack-o’-lanterns.”
The Avenue of the Hanging Jack-o’-lanterns project began three years ago when Monongahela Main Street received a $500 “Lighter, Quicker, Cheaper” grant from the Monongahela River Towns Program. The money went to purchasing camping lanterns from which the pumpkins hang each year.
“We were looking for ways to rebuild the downtown,” Necciai said. “I wanted a project that everyone would help out on. This was designed to get everybody involved.”
Necciai said about 40 pumpkins were donated by Triple B Farms in Monongahela. They were then carved by individuals and families during a carving party that began at 11 a.m. Saturday and was followed by a Halloween story time.
“We enjoy helping out the community,” library director Amy Riegner said. “We’re more than just books here – we’re trying to be a center for the community.”
Each pumpkin hung is sponsored for $20 by either businesses or individuals. Necciai said the local businesses will often sponsor carvings related to their business, such as a coffee mug for the café, or a carving of tools for the hardware store.
The lanterns will be hung in time for the Halloween parade at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“There are a lot of Halloween-type events here,” Necciai said. “We have the best Halloween parade. It’s kind of like a town party.”
Riegner said from 6 to 7 p.m. Oct. 29, the library will host a Psychology of Fear presentation by psychologist Daniel McClure Neff, who will talk about how and why people react to scary stories and movies.