A smashing good time in Byron...unless you were a pumpkin

BYRON – The Byron Fire Station was the place to be on Wednesday evening, Nov. 1 – unless you were a Jack-O-Lantern.

Byron firefighters held their annual Pumpkin Smash Event from 4-6 p.m. allowing area residents to bring their pumpkins to the station and make a grand exit when dropped from the fire tower onto the parking lot.

A steady stream of kids and their parents carried, pulled and sometimes rolled pumpkins to the station to be dropped from the tower onto a bullseye painted on a portion of the parking lot.

“It blew up,” said Stanley Voyles, 10, of Byron, who casually recalled the fall of his pumpkin as he sipped on cider inside the station.

Quixton Atlee, 6, also of Byron, hustled his big pumpkin across the parking lot to the access door to tower. He climbed to the top, and with the aid of a firefighter, pushed the big orange squash off the rail.

Kelsey Warner and her two boys, Benjamin 3, and Joseph, 7, also carried their pumpkins to the tower where Kelsey helped Benjamin give his pumpkin a final ride to the cement.

“It brings the community together and the kids are super excited,” said Paul Brantner, a lieutenant with the fire department.

In between tosses, Byron firefighters used scoop shovels to slide the remains into a waiting dumpster. Spectators could also enjoy a cold or hot cider and a donut inside the fire station, served by Byron Park District representatives.

“I think we had 15 dozen donuts at 10 gallons of cider,” said Nick Warner, superintendent of parks for the Byron Park District.

The pumpkin smashing event has been held for approximately 30 years, organizers said.

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A Jack-O-Lantern snarls after meeting his demise when tossed from a fire tower during the Byron Fire Department's annual Pumpkin Smashing Event on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023. (Earleen Hinton)