NEW CASTLE —
Most folks will buy a plot of land to build a home.
But when Tom “Mud” Fee purchased the lot next to his mother’s Loraine Avenue house last year, it was have a home to put his plots.
Fee and his lifelong buddy, Brian “Bart” Sizer, both 27, are the architects of the Croton Cemetery, a Halloween display of lights and sound, mist and the macabre that each year lures passers-by two blocks off Croton Avenue for a bit of spirited fun.
It all started in the yard of Fee’s childhood home with one coffin, a guillotine and a handful of headstones, but has grown annually as the two spend their own cash and off-hours building new displays each Halloween. It wasn’t long before the pair were expanding, with permission, into an adjoining lot.
Last year, the owner of that piece of ground wanted to sell, and Fee jumped on it like a vampire on a jugular.
“When it went up for sale, I said, ‘I can’t stop doing this,’ so I went and made a move on the property – just for Halloween,” the East Side resident said. “We’d had permission to use it before, but I didn’t want to take a chance on losing it.”
Included among all the carnage and creepiness are more body parts than you can shake a broomstick at, such as the ones browning nicely, thank you, on a charcoal grill right next to Frankenstein.
Still, there’s really only one part that is at the heart of the display. And it’s why the mix of graves and ghastliness is called “Haunting for Hooters.”
“We’ve been doing this for years,” Sizer said. “About three years ago, we started accepting donations. A lady came down and told us, ‘You should collect.’ We said, ‘Alright, but let’s donate it,’’ and it being October, we came up with breast cancer.”
Last year, the pair said, they donated $350, adding that they’re already off to “a good start” this year. The display – complete with Fee, Sizer and a few friends adding a live ghoulish component – is open for viewing from 7 to 10 p.m. every night during October. A donation box is on a post near the eastern end.
The two say they take about a month-and-a-half building and organizing the display, and two days to set it all up.
“Two days, with a lot of help — family, neighborhood friends,” Sizer said. “The cemetery probably takes the longest to get up with all the tombstones to put in the ground.”
Set construction is done “after work, weekends — from when we wake up to dark,” noted Fee, whose mother-in-law is a breast cancer survivor. “We do everything in Brian’s garage. He has all the tools and everything, then we bring it down here and we set it up.
“Storage is the big thing. Last year, we had to rent space to have room for it all.”
Though the street generally is quiet, Fee said, neighbors don’t seem to mind the nightly parade of cars and screams. One family, he added, actually sets up lawn chairs across the street from the cemetery to watch the fun.
The whole thing builds to a climax on Halloween, “when it’s just out of control,” Fee said. “Cars up and down the whole street, and kids everywhere.”
So what happens when October finally turns to November?
“People have said we should do Christmas,” Fee said. “But I don’t think so.”
(Email: d_irwin@ncnewsonline.com)
Closer Look
Related Photos
-
Architects of the display are Tom ‘Mud’ Fee, left, and Brian ‘Bart’ Sizer. The pair built and set up the display themselves next to the Loraine Avenue home of Fee’s mother. Dan Irwin
Related Links
Discussion
Photo Gallery, Story: Lifelong friends create Halloween display to fight breast cancer
- Closer Look
-
-
On The Record: Today’s births, police items and district judge reports
On the Record is a periodic update of public information coming out of the Lawrence County Government Center and local police departments. Look inside for the latest listing of police items and district judge reports.
-
Vo-tech budget loses support
Now there are only two. That is the number of school districts that have approved the Lawrence County Career and Technical Center budget for the 2013-14 year after Union board’s withdrew support this week.
-
County starts drug takeback program
Lawrence County’s district attorney is initiating a drug takeback program for local residents to turn in unused or expired medications.
-
Mom’s donates rolls to tornado victims
A local pepperoni roll company has found a way to help victims of the Oklahoma tornado. Leslie Pratt, owner of Mom’s Whole Foods, is sending about 1,700 pepperoni rolls to the ravaged area this weekend to help provide food for the tornado victims as they continue to sift through the rubble of what were once their homes.
-
Photo Gallery: Check out our images from the Shenango High prom!
The pomp. The pageantry. The pairs. The pictures. Yes, it’s prom season once again in Lawrence County and the New Castle News is on hand to document all the fun and excitement. We hope you enjoy our photo galleries! Today, Shenango High.
-
Photo Gallery: Some powerful and heartbreaking images from tornado aftermath
Oklahoma City-based AP photographer Sue Ogrocki was at the Plaza Towers Elementary School, which was destroyed, and saw rescuers pulling children out of the rubble. This is her account of what she witnessed, including some of her most powerful — and heartbreaking — images.
-
Photo Gallery, Story: Laurel senior county’s new dairy princess
The two candidates cross their fingers and the crowd goes silent, awaiting the verdict. And the 2013-2014 Lawrence County Dairy Princess is — Rhonda Mitcheltree!
-
In The Schools: Keystone Exam could up graduation stakes
The typical Pennsylvania student will spend more than 46 hours taking standardized state tests during his or her academic career. That equals more than a week’s worth of school and does not take into account the amount of time that schools spend specifically preparing for tests or helping students who have failed standardized tests.
-
Are We Ready? Funds from all levels help prepare for disaster
Local fire and police departments and ambulances services spend countless hours training to prepare for manmade or natural disasters. This all breaks down to money for equipment, man hours and training costs.
-
John K. Manna: Data shows decline in number of primary voters
Voter participation isn’t what it used to be. That’s nothing new, but there has been a significant drop in voting here in Lawrence County. And it’s happened suddenly, particularly in the so-called “off-year” elections.
- More Closer Look Headlines
-
