Story By John Mann

The Guntersville Ladies Civitan Club opened the doors on one of its biggest annual traditions this past Saturday with its Pumpkin Patch sale right on Gunter Avenue.

“It’s our biggest fundraiser by far,” Pumpkin Patch Chair Paula Patrick said. “As we get into October it’s packed. Weekends are popular but also weekdays when people get off work or out of school we will have a big crowd show up. Because we do it every year people will start asking us in September when we are opening the Pumpkin Patch and we see a lot of the same customers every year, and a lot of kids pressure their parents to come by so they can pick out their pumpkins.”

Proceeds from the Pumpkin Patch are used by the club to fund their service projects which help those with mental and physical disabilities. These include things like Camp ASCCA, the Rosebud Home, the Special Olympics, Every Child’s Playground and Night to Shine. Originally a project of the Men’s Civitan the pumpkin patch was adopted by the Ladies Civitan when that group disbanded, with the Ladies now having operated it annually for several years. 

At the Pumpkin Patch patrons will find Jack-o-Lantern style pumpkins, more standard pumpkins that typically used for carving, as well as decorative pumpkins in multiple sizes and colors, gourds, corn stalks, hay bales and mums courtesy of the Colony Garden Club.

In addition to the pumpkins there is also a photo spot set up for patrons and occasionally face painting done by the Junior Civitans when they are available. Patrick says the Junior Civitans have been a very helpful ally for the club and its projects.

“We love working with the Junior Civitans,” she said. “They are so energetic and even today they made posters and were out letting cars know this was opening day. They are involved with all of our projects really, they help with our greenery sale and here with the Pumpkin Patch they help out so much with the children. It’s really important that they interact with the community and it also teaches them about service and working hard for a good cause.”

The Pumpkin Patch is located in the empty lot across the street from the Rock House Eatery in Guntersville. The property is owned by Jeff Mclaughlin, who runs a law practice in town and recently campaigned for mayor of Guntersville in an election that went all the way to a run-off. The spot puts the club right on the main road through the city, sitting between the two one way roads that run through town, and the visibility allows them to draw in customers who might not have been aware of it.

“We love this spot,” Patrick said. “The lot is owned by Jeff McLaughlin and every year he gives us this spot with no charge so we can set up the pumpkins and we are very grateful to him to allow us to be right here in town. People can see us when we drive by, they honk and sometimes they will be going somewhere else and circle back after they see us from the road.”

The Pumpkin Patch is completely staffed by members of the club, with one hundred and forty two person shifts to get them through the five weeks that the patch will be open. This is a busy time of the year for the Ladies Civitan as they have multiple projects both underway and upcoming for the last few months of the year.

The club has seen a big change recently as at their special meeting on September 17 they swore in their newest batch of officers which included current president Lori Hunt, who took over for the outgoing Icy Lou Sanders.

“Lori Hunt is our new president and we have so much going on,” Patrick said. “It’s an exciting time of the year because we’re right in the middle of our greenery sale, we have the Pumpkin Patch going, we have the Tour of Homes coming up and we’ll be at the Fall Festival on October 11 where we will be sharing information about all of that.”

The Pumpkin Patch will be open through the entire month of October all the way up to Halloween on the 31st. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday but they are also open from noon until 6 p.m. from Sunday to Friday and is located across the street from 1201 Gunter Avenue. You can find more information about the Ladies Civitan Club and their current fundraisers by visiting them on Facebook under “Guntersville Ladies Civitan Club.”