From stumps to 'stumpkins': Louisiana city turns hurricane damage into Halloween decorations

DERIDDER, Louisiana – The city of DeRidder, Louisiana, has seen better days, as it continues on the road to recovery after the double-helping of hurricanes this season.

Resilient as ever, the community has not let Laura, nor Delta, dampen its spirits. Instead, the people of DeRidder have decided to turn their lemons into lemonade – or hurricane debris into Halloween decorations.

In a city known for its trees and contributions to the forestry industry, Hurricane Laura brought devastation at the end of August. Where those tall pines once stood there are now only stumps. As trees and limbs were removed from yards and homes they were stacked tall on the side of the roads for the debris pickup to grab.

With Halloween right around the corner, DeRidder officials were eager to bring some sense of normalcy to their community and began to brainstorm ways they could bring their popular yearly Halloween festivities to a post-hurricane, COVID-safe community.

Ashley Craddock, DeRidder's Director of Community Service, was searching for an activity to do with her family when she stumbled upon "stumpkins." Stumpkins are stumps, trunks, or limbs of trees painted and decorated for Halloween, just like you would decorate a pumpkin.

Craddock saw stumpkins as a way to get the community in the Halloween spirit and a way to make the town look more festive, but most importantly, as a way to transform the depressing piles of hurricane debris into something lighter and happier.

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With Mayor Misty Clanton on board, the community stumpkin project started as a fun suggestion for people who might be tired of looking at their piles of debris.

The feedback from the community was so positive, the city decided to make a contest out of it. Community members can decorate stumpkins for their yard and submit pictures to Craddock, who then uploads them into an album on the city's Facebook. Whichever stumpkin has the most likes on its photo wins.

Some look like jack-o-lanterns, others like Frankenstein. There are wicked witch stumpkins and ghosts that say "Boo!" There are fire breathing dragons and even a mummy or two.

There are friendly forest animals, unicorns, and bats. Special appearances are made by Jason from "Friday the 13th" and the Sanderson Sisters from "Hocus Pocus."

For Mayor Clanton, getting the community involved in something like the stumpkin project was vital to keeping the community's spirits high.

"2020 has dealt us all a very unfair hand. To add two hurricanes on top of a very difficult year truly devastated our community. Adults and children alike needed to be reminded that joy can come from even the most broken of things. Our community has lost so much. But, we are committed to finding the silver lining," Clanton said.

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This article originally appeared on Beauregard Daily News: After hurricanes, DeRidder, Louisiana, turns damage into decorations