Rudi Barbee called 911 Friday evening after noticing that pumpkins had been stolen and smashed all over Nucla and Naturita. Barbee, known as Al Booker on social media, lives in Nucla and is very concerned about the mess — what’s been known for years locally as a teenage tradition.
Barbee told the Forum Saturday night that town employees shouldn’t have to clean the pumpkins up; furthermore, he said those employees were off Friday to Sunday, so the pumpkins would rot. He added even though people claim deer will just eat the pumpkins, having deer in the road is not safe. He said it’s problematic for motorcycles and bicycles. And, he wasn’t sure the pumpkin smashing was done only by teens; he wondered if adults were involved. He planned to stay up Saturday night and film any suspicious activity on Nucla’s Main Street.
Barbee spent time cleaning up some of the pumpkins. He said he worked three hours on Friday evening, from the court house to the co-op. He doesn’t like these types of traditions and had plans to call Montrose County Sheriff Gene Lillard to voice his concerns.
He’s furthermore disappointed that local deputies laughed at his 911 call.
“It’s disrespectful,” he said. “The first night there were 30. Friday night there were 18 or 19, and more on Main Street.”
Barbee had let folks in the West End know he was unhappy on social media, but his anti-pumpkin smashing stance wasn’t received well.
Tammy Gillaspy told the Forum she wants the kids to have their fun. She said most of the local cops have also smashed pumpkins in their youth, and doing so doesn’t make a teen a degenerate. She said anyone who lives in the West End and doesn’t want their pumpkin smashed should bring it in by 8 or 9 p.m. She said the activity is just a rite of passage, a game.
Years ago, she grew a giant pumpkin and her family carved it carefully. She said kids stole that one too, but she wasn’t disappointed. In fact, she was amused that teens put it in the top of the school breezeway, so it could be viewed before entering the gym.
She said the pumpkin smashing was nothing to be worried about, then or now. And, she said people should notice the kids didn’t make any pumpkin mess in their new school parking lot.
“They’re not trying to hurt anybody,” she said. “Call them degenerates, and I will be the first to step up. We have good kids, for the most part.”
Law enforcement commander Bruce Schmalz agreed pumpkin smashing is a tradition. He said it could be viewed as controversial, but he thinks the community would prefer to see teens out smashing gourds, rather than participating in true criminal activity. He also said many people are glad they don’t have to compost theirs, including his wife.
He added that if most West End residents were against the smashing, it would be different.
“But the majority of the community supports the teens in letting them have some fun once a year,” he said.
He said it’s unfortunate if a family new to the area didn’t know about the pumpkin smashing tradition. Perhaps they had a small child who got their pumpkin taken.
“But the pumpkin is not going to last forever,” he said, “and it’s easy to bring them in, if you don’t want something to happen to them.”
He said in the future, anyone who doesn’t want their pumpkin stolen or smashed should take it inside.
