Faces
His pumpkin patch serves a higher calling M
ost religious art is in the form of stained-glass windows, stat- ues and paintings. Bill Habe-
dank uses pumpkins.
That may seem like an odd choice, but Habedank’s depiction of Jesus with Peter is remarkable—even more so when you realize it’s only one of more than 100 pumpkins carved each Halloween by the member of First Lutheran Church, Red Wing, Minn. For more than 35 years, Habe- dank has used his self-taught jack- o’-lantern making skills to create a visual display of faces, ranging from SpongeBob SquarePants to members of the Red Wing community to Jesus. “In 1976 my children were getting interested in Halloween so I carved them a couple of pumpkins,” he said. “Then I decided to grow my own pumpkins, and I had a bumper crop. I decided to carve them all up. As I got better at it I kept adding to the show, to where I’ve had more than 150 pumpkins the last few years.” The “show” is a multilevel display of jack-o’-lanterns, illuminated by Christmas lights and resting on bales of hay. Each year, Habedank looks for new characters to carve. Beginning about 10 days before Halloween— with a variety of carving tools—he creates 10 or more works of art a day. They are stored in a friend’s walk-in cooler and put on display from two days before Halloween until a week after.
Though he doesn’t live on a major 100 plus birthdays
This photo shows only one-third of the pumpkins Bill Habedank (inset) carves. As many as 2,000 visitors come to see the more than 100 pumpkins he displays each Halloween. Any donations he receives are given to charity.
thoroughfare, Habedank said the display has received possibly as many as 2,000 visitors a season.
“For years I had done it for free,” he said. “Then in 2000 a guy asked if I had a donation box. It got me thinking. I wasn’t about to start charging people, but they might want to donate to the food shelf here and to the American Red Cross. They have given a lot over the years, so I try to give them a good show. I try to do as many new ones each year as I can.”
Habedank has felt bad about the crowds disrupting his neighbors, but that
won’t be a problem this year. The display is moving to downtown Red Wing. He is working with the Red Wing Arts Association, which is located at the Red Wing Depot.
Though he can still carve an intricate design in a pumpkin in an hour, Habe- dank is scaling back by encouraging others—and teaching them—to handle some of the workload. He hopes to eventually have enough volunteers so the annual display can continue after he stops. Unlike stained glass or statues, pumpkins don’t last, so only photographs and memories remain of Habedank’s handiwork. “It’s kind of like doing sand art,” he said. “You just have to enjoy it while it’s here and then come back next year to see more.”
Jeff Favre Favre is a contributing editor of The Lutheran.
101: Helen Hoffnagle, Messiah, South Williamsport, Pa. 100: Helen Brooks, St. John, Miamisburg, Ohio; Alma Carmichael, Trinity, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.; Virginia Deu- ben, St. John, Des Moines, Iowa; Suzanne Kunda, Hope, Annandale, Va.; Ruth Laurit- sen, St. John, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; John Sherman Lehman, Christ, Buffalo Mills, Pa.; Adeline Lindstrom, Stockholm, Cokato, Minn.; Lois Schroeder, Messiah, Vancouver, Wash.; Nina O. Wee, Our Savior, La Crosse, Wis.
Share your stories of ELCA Lutherans and your 100+ members in “Faces.” Send to:
lutheran@thelutheran.org or “Faces,” The Lutheran, 8765 W. Hig gins Rd.,Chicago, IL 60631.
October 2013 43
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