When I Meet The Great Pumpkin

By: Peggy Sue Clay Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Of course everyone knows the story of The Great Pumpkin and how Linus waits for him every year in the pumpkin patch only to be disappointed when he finds out that it was only Snoopy, but you haven’t heard my story, yet.

It was October 1974; I was a five-year-old kindergartener at Robert E. Lee Kindergarten here in my hometown of Altus, Oklahoma.

On this particular day we had all been in the cafeteria to exercise or watch a little movie, I can’t really remember but when we got back to our classroom our teacher, Miss Bookout, had been rearranging the Halloween decorations on the wall. Needless to say that we were all very creeped out and just a little scared when we saw that the skeleton had moved from one wall to another!

The day went on and soon it was time for our Halloween party! I was only five and had never been to a Halloween party so this was a real treat for me, I was so excited! My class was having a real Halloween party and we were all wearing real Halloween costumes. (I feel the need to say that we were having a real Halloween party and wearing real Halloween costumes since today’s school children do not have real Halloween parties any more, they have “Harvest or Fall Celebrations.”)

We had our party in our classroom then we all went around Trick or Treating to the different classrooms and trailer type classes on our little campus.

Teachers and students alike were excited to see us, just as we were to see them when they came to our classroom, but soon it was time for us to line up and go to the next room. On this particular trip I was lucky enough to be first in line and when Miss Bookout told me I could open the door and start on our way I opened the door and there stood The Great Pumpkin!!!

Since we were in a trailer type room I opened the door not to a hallway but to the outside and there he stood larger than life! I gasped as I saw him standing there and I’m sure I was frozen then I said, “IT’S THE GREAT PUMPKIN!”

Everyone around me tried to crowd in to see him. From this point on I can’t remember what happened but I’m sure that he gave us a little greeting and he was off in a flash. Of course now that I’m an adult I realize that it was just someone in a costume but the site of seeing him standing there so big and round and orange with that happy smile just did something to me and I have loved Halloween ever since.

Thank you Great Pumpkin for making my childhood so special; I shall never forget you!