Halloween's Front Line

There is a house at the corner of Kane Street and Strong Place that every Halloween becomes a local landmark. The stately home is surrounded by a black, wrought-iron fence. In late October, every spike on that fence it topped with a small carved Jack-O'-Lantern. That means an unbroken line of literally dozens of pumpkins, staring out balefully at the residents of Cobble Hill. It's a unique sight.

This Halloween, I asked the owner, who was passing out candy to the kids, about the pumpkin brigade. She said they carve them all in one straight session lasting about 14 hours. Depending on how many people are making the Jack-O'-Lanterns, I'd call that a pretty fast clip.

The only drawback with this display is the house tends to leave the pumpkins there well past Halloween, until they're shrunken, rotting shells of their former selves. What was once a delight becomes an eyesore. So, it someone at Kane and Strong is reading this: let's say Nov. 10, no later, OK?