Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice
St. Raphael’s collects pumpkins to provide color to their residents
Halloween may be the season of pumpkin carvings, but the autumnal fruit isn’t just a one-month affair – pumpkins decorate the tables of households across the country, in the form of pie or as spice for coffee and cocoas, and at the St. Raphael’s - SMP Health of Valley City, pumpkins will decorate the rooms of residents as well, thanks to the generosity of their community … and the ingenuity of one inspired staffer.
“Thanksgiving is pumpkins (too) and I thought ‘what could we do, something different … something to cheer up this place, (add some) colors, because we have this snow,” Renee Simpson, who works at St. Raphael’s, told the Times-Record. “Family can come in and see what they are thankful for, and everybody put family on their pumpkins … and the family can see it.”
Simpson ran into a challenge, though, as she tried to bring some gourd cheer to the hospital – where on earth can you even find a pumpkin once spooky season is ended?
“After Halloween, they get rid of all the pumpkins in town,” Simpson said. “I wanted to buy some and there was none.”
So, Simpson turned to the community for help. Putting a post up on Facebook, she asked anyone who hadn’t yet discarded their Halloween pumpkins to provide them to the care center, and the turnout exceeded expectations, with some 20 pumpkins arriving at her door.
“They’re really nice (too),”
Simpson said.
The residents then decorated the pumpkins with their own individual designs, adorning them in bright colors and expressing what they are grateful, thankful for. From patriotic displays of love of country to tender displays of love of family to playful displays of love of turkey, the pumpkins reflect a range of emotions and embody a variety of appreciations during this season of Thanksgiving.
The Times-Record, too, wishes you all a happy Thanksgiving, wherever you may find yourself celebrating. We’re thankful for our readership, for the community which continues to support us - and for people like Renee Simpson, who do their part every day to spread a little warmth during a long winter.