Pumpkin hunting fun in Beekmantown

PLATTSBURGH | A pumpkin patch sprung up overnight on the soccer fields at Beekmantown's town park. It was set up for a day of pumpkin picking, painting, snacks, cider, a hay bale maze and fresh apples. Pick-A-Pumpkin was approved by the Beekmantown Town Council a few months ago, an idea created by Councilor Cheryl Turner. By 11:30 a.m., families and kids were getting lined up for the start. All the pumpkins were donated by Dyer farms and free for picking. "We're all about bringing the community together for fall and the harvest, and it's a beautiful day," Turner said. The pumpkin patch team started at around 5 a.m. and may have relied on car headlights to line the soccer field patch. Two of the pumpkins got a special mark on the bottom. And the lucky youngsters who picked those went home with a scooter, too. Once given the go to run through a pumpkin row entrance, the kids scattered across the field to find their perfect pick. One young group of four youngsters, all members of the Fish family, found their pumpkins, all different, from a giant two-handed hauler to a perfect little round one-hander with a perfect stem. If kids rethought their choice, they went back out and looked again. The midday event had support from student athletes with Junior Varsity and Varsity Girls Volleyball, cheerleaders, the Yorker Club and others joining in to help their younger Beekmantown schoolmates. Adelaide, Ava and Makayla are volleyball players and came in costume to set a Halloween atmosphere. "It's nice to be here to help, even for just a few hours," Makayla said. "I wish they had this when I was a kid." Some of the older student athletes spent time after school carving and pre-painting some of the pumpkins to liven up the hay wagon. New York State Police troopers from the Troop B Community Stabilization Unit visited with their K9 team, Trooper Justin Stevens and Perkins, his 2.5-year-old Dutch shepherd. They were there to show some of Perkins' command skills. Stevens and everyone in the crew of five troopers were all graduates of Beekmantown High School. The busy morning pumpkin hunt sent everyone home with a hint of Halloween fun and ready to trick-or-treat.

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Pumpkin hunting fun in Beekmantown

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