The Blaine County Journal News-Opinion - We've Got The County Covered

For folks around Chinook the first weekend in October has come to mean: “Fall is here, time to gather pumpkins for Halloween at Finley’s Pumpkin Patch.” Ken Finley (dubbed Grandpa PumpKen by his family) died this past spring but thanks to son Jeff, and Jeff’s extended family, Ken’s legacy of providing pumpkins for locals will continue.

Not only do kids still get to wander the patch to find their own pumpkins for carving, they can use the kid-sized sling shots to shoot tennis balls at pumpkin targets, watch the pumpkin cannon fire real pumpkins and take a ride on an electric swing, likely the only one along the Hi-Line. And the Blaine County Library continues to benefit from the freewill gifts folks make for the pumpkins they gather. This entire saga all goes back to Ken Finley and his garden that morphed into the community’s go-to- pumpkin patch.

A brief history about Ken’s pumpkin patch and fondness for Halloween

I’m not totally clear about when and how Ken Finley started his garden spot down by the Milk River, near Chinook’s Water Treatment Plant. I do know he used to raise all sorts of vegetables, especially tomatoes, squash, cantaloups and some fall edibles. And along the western edge of the garden he would always have irises, all colors and available for bouquets or table arrangements.

Before Ken’s more recent full-blown move to raising only pumpkins, he started another Halloween tradition that all readers may not know about. Ken began holding his own Halloween parade. After we first moved to Chinook I would be gone from the area during the month of October, back in Washington state working at a pumpkin patch there. Ken’s start-up of his own parade was during that period.

A few years ago my connection to the pumpkin patch in Washington was done and I was home in Chinook for Halloween. On a 2019 mid-October morning I was at the Chinook Post Office and Ken walked in, all smiles and his typical “hail good fellow well met” disposition. He called me and one of the postal workers over to the front window and pointed. There was his trademark side-by-side (recognizable with his garden tools always standing up along the edges of the vehicle’s bed) with a generator in the bed and a trailer hooked to the back. The trailer was covered with corn stalks, pumpkins, assorted fall vegetables and a huge “blow up” turkey (he had included symbols of all the fall holidays). He explained, “It’s my fourth annual Halloween parade float.”

He went on to describe how he started the parade (he’s the only participant) four years ago with a few items in the bed of his side-by-side. Then he added the trailer and in 2019 he added a generator so he could light the decorations on the trailer. For those who missed his daytime parades through town, at night he parked the trailer at a friend’s house in town, generator running, so folks could see it lit up. Asked why he started the parade, Ken said, “I’ve always enjoyed parades. Doing my own parade I can be the parade marshal and my float always wins first place.” It’s hard to argue with that reasoning.

His last Halloween (2022) Ken added two more attractions to his pumpkin patch that still endure—an electric swing and his homemade pumpkin cannon. At first Ken was negotiating for a trailer-mounted Ferris wheel. But because of some transportation issues he ended up with the electric swing, now in its second season. Ken noted after his first use of the “new” swing for a private birthday party, “Those long-legged kids are just too big for this ride.” The swing is still a hit with the small-fry set.

I asked Ken’s successor, youngest adult son Jeff, if the cannon would be in use this year. “Oh yea,” Jeff said, “I finally got it figured out and we will be firing some pumpkins.” Last fall in his first public demonstration of the new-fangled cannon Ken added confetti and other objects that enhanced the visual aspects of a launch. That was Ken, always the showman and always trying to make things more spectacular and fun.

Start of a new legacy

Jeff Finley has already begun his own legacy at the pumpkin patch. He helped his dad, Ken, from time to time in past years, this year it was Jeff’s show. June, 2023, Ken’s memorial service was held at the pumpkin patch. The pumpkin patch was still set up basically like it was from the fall season before. Jeff said at that commemorative service, “Dad didn’t want an elaborate memorial service, I think this is just the kind of event he would have enjoyed.” It was at the memorial service that Jeff announced pumpkins had already been planted for the coming 2023 pumpkin season.

Asked later about his first solo foray in to the pumpkin season, Jeff said, “We had a great turnout. We had 300 people on Saturday (October 7) and 200 on Sunday. Even the bruised pumpkins were gone from the patch. It seemed like everyone had a good time.”

Val Frank, Director of the Blaine County Library shared, “This year we received $1100 from the free will donations on Saturday.” Since the freewill donations program began in 2018 Val Frank estimates the library has received about an average of $2,000 each year.

Looking forward I asked Jeff if he had any “takeaways” from this year’s experiences in the pumpkin patch. He said he didn’t have as many ripe pumpkins as hoped. “That,” he added, “means I need to plant earlier.”

I reminded Jeff that his dad was always looking for new attractions to add to the pumpkin gathering experience. Jeff’s response: “I’m thinking about adding some animals to the mix for next year.” Not sure what Jeff is thinking but you can be sure in the great tradition started by his dad,” Grandpa PumpKen,” there will be more fun things coming in the future to the pumpkin patch.