THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021 Page 5 Return of the Orange Glow Tractor trailer truck from New Mexico carrying the annual pumpkin shipment finally arrives in Saugus Center PART OF THE PUMPKIN BRIGADE: Left to right, volunteers Barbara Davis, Debbie Spencer, Amanda Ciampi and Sonny Santiago display some of the pumpkins and gourds that are for sale at the First Congregational Church Pumpkin Patch through Oct. 31, or while they last. ALL MINE! Four-year-old Nicholas Roberson of Methuen shows off his little pumpkin from the shipment of 4,000 that arrived at Saugus Center last Saturday, Sept. 25. IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH: Carl Spencer, who helps organize the annual arrival of some 4,000 pumpkins for the First Congregational Church, is happy after the pumpkins get unloaded last Saturday. (Saugus Advocate Photos by Christopher Roberson) UNLOADING TIME: Volunteers empty out the tractor trailer truck that drove more than 2,300 miles from the Navajo Reservation in Farmington, N.M. to Saugus Center for the 19th Annual Pumpkin Patch at the First Congregational Church. By Christopher Roberson D espite being more than nine hours late, the fabled Pumpkin Truck rumbled into Saugus last Saturday, Sept. 25 to deliver approximately 4,000 pumpkins to the First Congregational Church. Carl Spencer, who helps organize the annual event, said the pumpkins are loaded into the tractor trailer truck and driven more than 2,300 miles from the Navajo Reservation in Farmington, N.M. “It usually takes us about three hours to off-load,” he said, adding that a second shipment will arrive later this month with an additional 2,000 pumpkins. Spencer also said this was not the first time that the pumpkins have arrived behind schedule. He said, three years ago, PUMPKIN TIME: Gregory Antonelli of Lynnfield with family members April, Lisa, Genaro, Alessandra and Nicolas. the driver was delayed by a snowstorm in the Rocky Mountains. This year, Spencer said the driver left New Mexico on Sept. 21. “He was on the road for four days,” said Spencer. He said the church’s Pumpkin Patch began 19 years ago as a fundraiser for the youth group. “It’s tripled in size from when we first started,” he said, adding that the event brings in approximately $10,000 each year. “We did it for the town,” he said. “In Saugus, this is a yearly tradition. It’s turned into a community thing, Saugus looks forward to it.” The pumpkins range in size from small tabletop pumpkins to large 25-pounders. They are available for purchase every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Halloween on Sunday, Oct. 31 with prices ranging from 75 cents to $40.
6 Publizr Home