Most days, Sooy Place Road is a dark, meandering thoroughfare that cuts through the heart of Tabernacle, connecting Route 72 and Route 70.
But for one week of the year, it is slightly brighter, illuminated by more than 160 jack o’ lanterns spread across the front yard of the Dauria family home.
Twelve years ago, Tom Dauria, a fruit and vegetable seeds salesman, and his family started carving the samples of pumpkins he had shown to farmers in the area.
“It started with enough to spell happy Halloween, then as the kids grew up, more friends and family got involved,” Tom said. “Now we’re known as the pumpkin house in the neighborhood.”
That’s a title Tom’s wife Cindy is proud of.
“When kids come trick or treating on Halloween, seeing how excited they are walking up the driveway is really fun. It’s funny to see cars slow down as they drive by the house at night with all of the pumpkins lit,” Cindy said. “It’s grown exponentially.”
The display catches the eye of any passerby as an orange glow emanates from the Daurias’ porch and driveway. Tom uses between 12 and 15 strands of old Christmas lights to illuminate the display. As the number of pumpkins grew, the complexity of the carvings grew with it.
“It really transformed from pumpkins with the triangle eyes and circle mouth to some really detailed carvings and etchings. What the kids have done with it is really cool,” Tom said.
When his daughters Emily and Kayla started inviting friends over for the carving, those invited didn’t realize what they were signing up for.
“At first, they think it’s just a few pumpkins and just a few people at the house, but then they come over and it’s like ‘whoa,’” Kayla said with a laugh.
Over the course of the weekend, more than 25 people will come through for a drink, something to eat and to carve a few pumpkins, Cindy said.
“We look forward to it every year. It’s a lot of fun for us to be with our family and friends for the weekend,” Cindy said.
With more than 160 pumpkins being carved over the course of a few days, it makes for a lot of pumpkin guts, but even they are put to use.
“My dad will feed some to our chickens, leave some out for deer to eat but the rest of it we compost,” Kayla said.
Even as the Dauria family has spread out across the state, they are reunited each year for the annual carving event. Travis Dauria now lives with his wife Katie and son Cameron just outside Ocean City.
“It’s really an awesome weekend for us and a lot of fun to see the display when it is finished and all lit up,” Travis said.
