by Shelby Jurca
Staff Writer

Video by Melissa Dailey, KCBY.

This past Halloween, everyone was on the lookout for the perfect pumpkin to carve and fill their yard with joyful Halloween spirit. A Coppell pumpkin patch is set up every year at the Rejoice Lutheran Church to help turn yards everywhere from scarily plain to plainly scary.
The Pumpkin Patch was established a group of Coppell women who wanted to do something good for the community. Marcie Sandall, one of the ladies working at the patch, was one of the women who first came up with the idea for The Pumpkin Patch.
“One of the ladies in the group went to visit her mother and drove past a huge pumpkin patch when she was crossing Oklahoma,” Sandall said. “She asked them about how they got started and how someone could do one in their own town, and just brought a bunch of info back with her.”
Sandall and her group decided to take on this idea. They called the pumpkin vendors and got it set up, mailed the paperwork and, soon enough, they were getting pumpkins shipped in.
“At this time, [the church lot] was empty, the church hadn’t been built yet. We were over at a school across from St. Ann’s,” Sandall said. “So, that’s how it started and The Pumpkin Patch has been in business for over 16 years.”
The pumpkins sold are all grown in New Mexico, before being shipped to Coppell. Rules must be followed when handling the pumpkins.
“All pumpkins are measured and priced [before coming to Coppell],” Sandall said. “So, the price of the pumpkin depends on how big it is. 90 percent of all funds go to help the community – they usually go to different individuals or different organizations each year.”
Another protocol that is followed is throwing pumpkins that get wet or mushy in a compost pile. This pile then gets delivered to Coppell gardens to be used as fertilizer, further helping the community.
However, the Pumpkin Patch isn’t just a pumpkin vendor – it also serves as a place for parties and fun for community members.
“We hold many different events, usually birthday parties,” Sandall said. “Each little kid at the birthday party leaves with a little mini-pumpkin party favor.”
This fun-filled, exciting pumpkin market is one of Coppell’s most loved attractions. Many Coppell families have been visiting the pumpkin patch for many years and through many generations. Lindsey Gillings, a 2006 Coppell High School graduate, made many memories at The Pumpkin Patch and continues to as she enters motherhood.
“I’ve been going to the Pumpkin Patch since I was about 5 years old, and it has been a tradition since I was a little girl. Now, since I’m a mother, I can take my family there and make it a tradition for us,” Gillings said.
It has been 16 years of success for The Pumpkin Patch, and hopefully, it will be 16 more.