Witchy Woman
By June Capossela Kempf
The first time I set eyes upon Winnie the Witch, I was sitting in a school bus right behind the driver, serving as a chaperone on my son’s pumpkin pickin’ class trip – 40 years ago.
As we rounded the corner from Edgewood onto 25A heading east, the driver asked me to look for Wick’s farm. “It’s on the left,” he said.
I peered out the window, expecting my search to be futile, given all the farms around, but to my delight, I quickly spotted the huge figure of an old witch, looming high above the landscape, watching over her patch of pumpkins like a mother hen over her chicks. All the kids whooped and hollered as they scampered out of the bus, but instead of making a beeline to the rows and rows of ready to roll pumpkins in the field, they lingered by the big witch that seemed to be watching them under her big bulging penetrating eyes.
“Don’t you want to get a pumpkin?” I asked little Mikey, as he gazed at Winnie.
“I like her,” he said. “I can get a pumpkin anywhere, but I have to come all the way to Saint James to see a big witch like that.”
Mikey finally joined the rest of the class that happily rounded up 46 pumpkins under Winnie the Witch’s shadow; and when it was time to depart, they all turned around to wave goodbye to her - and I thought:
So this is Saint James? What a nice town! What a cool witch!
For all the years between then and now, Winnie was the image that we came to associate with the charming hamlet of Saint James.
I didn’t get to move here until way after my own kids grew up. In fact, most of those children on that bus then, now have families of their own. At this time of year, they are very likely planning pumpkin picking trips – to somewhere else. And that’s because Wick’s farm is no longer Wick’s Farm and Winnie is now desperately leaning over on her broken broom, looking as if she is pleading for rescue like an abandoned puppy in a TV commercial.
Although Winnie was constructed back in the 70’s out of wood scraps, metal and fiberglass, she seemed to come to life as soon as she was completed and given a name. She made her debut on the property of farmer, David Wicks (Wick’s farm) and before long became such a colossal sensation, she wound up on Roadside America’s great attraction list.
For decades, she stood her ground against all kinds of weather and distress, all the while endearing herself to the community and to visiting tourists from far and near. Then came hurricane Sandy and the closing of the farm followed by neglect and decay. Winnie was left to rot by the side of the road, open to public display, humiliation and ultimate debate. Some view her ominous presence as a gargantuan eyesore - a pox on the community, calling for demolition, while others cherished fond memories of by-gone Halloweens, pleading for restoration.
“We referred to her as Mrs. Halloween,” one young at heart fan sadly testified.
And Mikey never forgot. “I still stop by the roadside and remember the first time I ever saw that big witch, “ he said. “I hate to see her falling apart after all these years.”
Over the years, Winnie had been regularly maintained. She underwent three renovations in her time, but now interest seems to have declined as well as funds. Her days were numbered until two local heroes came forward to rescue her from the wicked wrath of the bulldozer.
Victoria Johnston and Kenny Maher, took up her cause at a time when Saint James began its celebrated revitalization of Lake Avenue. The couple thought that this was the perfect time to set up a beauty treatment for the good witch. But she was not included in the Lake Avenue project and Covid 19 forced many potential backers to scale back. Undeterred, the dedicated duo set up a GoFundMe account with a goal of $30,000. last March 2021. To date they have received less than $4,000. And now Winnie looks like she is about to fall face down into the Saint James mud.
What happened?
I know, Winnie is not standing on any corner of the targeted Lake Avenue redo, but Saint James is Winnie’s turf too. It just doesn’t seem right that she could just disappear from the very route that cuts right through the heart of Saint James.
Can Winnie be saved? Or is her restoration just a frivolous waste of money and effort at a time when there are more serious causes to address?
Well, perhaps that is the very reason her renovation is such a vital investment. We need to preserve an icon like Winnie, if only to lift our spirits or conjure up a pleasant memory as we travel around town these days with all our worries..
Maybe, with a little bit of luck and lots of support, we can help Winnie rise from the depths of decay and once again stand strong and proud, watching over and welcoming future generations of pumpkin pickers into her magical spell.
And then if the dream comes to pass, don’t be surprised if next Halloween, you see Mikey and his kids attending Winnie the Witch’s long awaited unveiling ceremony-right here in Saint James where she was born.
June Capossela Kempf: Essayist and Author of : Yo God! Jay’s Story, a memoir and Lady of the Dollhouse, a YA mystery