While driving down Clinton Street in the month of October, you are sure to see a house with many extravagant Halloween decorations in its front yard. A tractor full of pumpkins, hay bales, and other fall and Halloween themed decorations fill Joan Bumpus’s yard every year. 

Bumpus has been a resident of Stockbridge since 1953 and is notorious for decorating her iconic yard for Halloween and Christmas. The tradition began in 1973 when she started celebrating the upcoming holidays by decorating with her husband and children. 

“I imagine we started out small, and then when we’d go through different towns we’d see  decorations that we liked,” said Bumpus. “So we would bring it back and add it to our house.”

As her children grew older, Bumpus didn’t stop decorating. She and her late husband found joy in the small-town attraction her home had become during the holidays over the years. 

“We have so many people that stop, and now at Halloween people will bring their kids and set them up on the pumpkin wagon and take pictures with them,” said Bumpus. “That’s why it’s worth it to do it, because we enjoy hearing from the people.”

Bumpus’s house does attract a lot of attention. Compared to all of the other Halloween decorations neighboring her house, her display beckons many young trick-or-treaters and adults alike.

“She really puts a lot of effort and detail into her decorations. It’s just nice to see in the community,” said Kim Killinger.

Bumpus has no plan to stop her tradition of decorating. She says she enjoys the reaction and the happiness the people of Stockbridge get from her decorations. 

“I still decorate because people talk about the decorations when they see it,” said Bumpus. “So I just feel like, you’ve got to do it, because the people are looking.”