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Annual tradition needs to roll back
(by Barbara Christian - October 12, 2012)
Annual tradition needs to roll back
It’s October, and you know what that means. No? Then let’s review.
Among other things, it means sitting down with the young’uns and carving a jack-o’-lantern into that perfect pumpkin you bought at the farmers market in South Russell or pumpkin field in Geauga County.
When you and the kids are satisfied with your pumpkin, set it out on the front steps for all to admire, and, when it gets dark, bring it inside.
“What?” you ask. Why would you bring the pumpkin inside at night? If you had to ask, then you haven’t lived around here very long. So take heed of what we are about to tell you.
If you do not bring your pumpkin in at night, there is a better-than-even chance it will be gone by morning. October is Pumpkin Roll month in Chagrin Falls, and it’s not the kind you find at the bakery.
Chagrin Falls High School kids start gathering (read: stealing) pumpkins this time of year. They filch them wherever they find them and hide them away until they have stashed enough to make a splash.
On the appointed night, usually between Halloween and Election Day, the purloined pumpkins are put on the back of a pickup truck, maybe two pickup trucks, and the wait begins.
As the wee hours approach, pumpkin perpetrators make their way to the top of Grove Hill. The trucks arrive, back up to the hill, open the tailgates, and everyone cheers as the load splatters to the pavement. The mess soon becomes an orange slime as the kids use the broken gourds as sleds and ride them down the hill.
Although the date of the roll is secret, police always know and show up to watch for drunkenness, bad behavior, danger and injuries. After about an hour, cops call an end to the prank, everyone goes home, and the street crew arrives to clean up the mess before morning rush hour.
This October ritual has been going on for the past 50 years, which makes it not just a tradition but a force of nature. The Pumpkin Roll is not sanctioned by the school district, and it is not invited by the village. It just happens, and, like a force of nature, it cannot be stopped. Or can it?
Lately, patience has grown thin. Tradition be damned, some folks want to put an end to the stealing and view the Pumpkin Roll as nothing more than vandalism and a public nuisance. They want to be done with it. And each year that drum beat grows louder and steadier.
Maybe it’s time for those of us who love this tradition to figure out a way of making it a little less outlaw and a lot more lawful but without turning it into an adult organized and endorsed “event.” Not an easy task.
It could begin with the kids. They could save the tradition by adopting their own Pumpkin Roll code of ethics. How about ...
• No drugs or alcohol. Bar those who have indulged. Drive them home.
• Steal pumpkins only in the school district. Kenston and Solon folks don’t get why they are forced to participate in a Chagrin Falls tradition.
• Take the roll back to before it became a media event. Juniors and seniors only, no invited guests, parents or TV crews. Even if the prohibition means this best prank won’t ever be seen or streamed far and wide.
There will be sacrifice. But some things are worth saving, and the annual Pumpkin Roll on Grove Hill is one of them.
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