The Pumpkin Patch

Setting Up

The patch takes a small army before a single pumpkin arrives. A crew of twelve to fifteen meets on the lawn in early October to put up the mural, the artwork and the fence rails — and, by long-standing arrangement, there are homemade cinnamon rolls waiting for whoever shows up.

The first delivery is usually a smaller load, timed so we can open softly ahead of the Downtown Kaufman Harvest Festival. The big unloading days come after that, and they are exactly as much fun (and exactly as much work) as they sound. Patch T-shirts and hoodies are ordered at the start of the month.

Field Trips and Story Time

Most weekday mornings, groups of children come through. They sit on the straw bales for songs — guitar, and some years a banjo — and then work their way along the pumpkin science display, where volunteers hand them gourds to turn over and ask questions about. There is a scarecrow photo board, an antique tractor to sit on, and every child leaves with a pumpkin in both arms.

The patch draws the rest of Kaufman in too. Kaufman ISD police officers have posed on the tractor; neighbors stop in on their way past; families come back on the weekend for photographs under the shade trees.

Why We Do It

Every pumpkin sold supports the ministries of this church, and buying one from FUMC is a genuinely useful way to help. The Methodist Women's cookbook — a collection of recipes from members, friends and family — includes a section of Pumpkin Patch recipes, and is sold at the patch alongside everything else.

By the time the last pumpkin goes, the church has already turned toward Christmas for Kids. It's the same crowd of volunteers, a few weeks later, doing the same thing for a different season.