Pumpkins for a park
Cameron Probert/ Columbia Basin HeraldChristoper Minney plays in the cans in front of Frontier Middle School during Make a Difference Day.
MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake resident Kirsten Ketchum, 11, helped her grandmother pick five pumpkins from Gen. James H. Doolittle Park Saturday.
The pumpkins were a surprise for Barbara Proffitt's grandchildren in Spokane.
Ketchum named just one criterion for selection.
"Size, because I figured they'd all be fighting over the biggest one," Ketchum said.
Pumpkins were sold at the park in celebration of Make a Difference Day 2008. Proceeds benefited the park's outstanding construction bill and the Larson Heights Elementary School Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO).
Other events occurred simultaneously throughout Moses Lake. The Basin Piecemakers Quilt Guild made quilts in honor of wounded service men and women.
An aluminum can drive at McCosh Park benefited Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation. Eyeglasses, hearing aids and cellphones were collected at the park as well.
A second recycling drive called "Kids Recycling for Doolittle Park Playground" was held at school sites throughout Moses Lake. At the park, organizers collected cans, sold pumpkins and offered handmade bracelets and bookmarks for sale.
Larson Heights Elementary School teacher Debbie Sackmann donated the pumpkins, said PTSO co-President Jessica Carpenter.
"She was kind enough to give us all these pumpkins," Carpenter said.
Half the proceeds went to Doolittle, and half went to the organization.
Zach Ralph, 17, carried a pumpkin on one shoulder.
"My girlfriend brought me out here, telling me to go get her a pumpkin," Ralph said.
Moses Lake residents Drake Waites, 5, and Meghan Waites, 10, helped their family choose some pumpkins.
"We wanted to support Doolittle," said their father, Webb Waites.
He said he wanted to make sure the park has enough funds to pay off its debt.
Sophia Crapson, 12, sold crocheted bracelets. Her mother Suzi Crapson sold knitted bookmarks.
Suzi Crapson said she helped the park since it was in the planning stages. For Make a Difference Day, she and her daughter brainstormed ideas for what to make.
"We knew we needed to do something that was quick, and we could produce several of them," she said.
They also wanted to make items affordable to children, Crapson said.