Happy Halloween Haunts - Page 2

How the best in creativity and imagination spark annual Eichler Halloween traditions
By Adriene Biondo
  Fridays on the Homefront
The carving handiwork above is by one of professor Matt Kahn's students…in an Eichler setting. Photo: courtesy Dutchbaby
  

Renee Underwood, a nearby neighbor who moved into the tract with her husband, Karl, in 2009, commented that the yearly party at the Dunnings' Eichler has become one of the neighborhood's favorite holiday traditions.

The late Matt Kahn—Stanford professor, artist, and legendary associate of Joe Eichler—was well known for being "the best-known pumpkin carver who lived in an Eichler home."

"As part of one of his innovative courses [at Stanford]," the Eichler Network's Dave Weinstein reported, "Matt would have his students carve pumpkins for Halloween. Many would be displayed in front of the Eichler home he inhabited on the Stanford campus."

Professor Kahn's artful display of jack-o-lanterns was "a sight that must be seen to be believed," the university noted when it recognized Kahn for 'distinguished teaching and service' in 2010.

Over the past few years, an unusual sight seen basking in many a mid-century neighborhood are flocks of skeletal lawn flamingos, standing in their familiar one-legged pose.

  Fridays on the Homefront
A skeletal lawn flamingo: taking the bird down to a whole new level.
  

Those flamingos, as our Dan Smith reported, surely make you do a double take, increasing your "own chance to be a social media influencer by undergoing a new style for the holiday…[They include] skeletal flamingos with eerie glowing eyes, and of course the zombie version in which some undead lawn gnomes are feasting on the poor pink bird."

Ensembles of skulls and giant hairy spiders have been known to creep out Halloween visitors at Concord's Rancho de los Santos Eichler neighborhood.

And in Walnut Creek, John Dark, an Eichler owner who grew up there in Rancho San Miguel, remembered Halloween highlighted by 60 children, all in costume, parading en masse down the street. "It was just adorable," he said.

Fridays on the Homefront
Skeletons hang out at this Halloween setting among Walnut Creek's Rancho San Miguel Eichlers. Photo: Dave Weinstein

As these and other Halloween traditions endure, we're reminded: This year, whether you find yourself baking vampire bat cookies for the kids, or hanging lights for a block party, it's a time for dressing up in costume, kicking back, and enjoying the company of friends and family.

It's what Halloween is all about.

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