Orange you glad it’s fall?
Carve out some time for a visit to the Kilchis Pumpkin Patch
By Gretchen Ammerman
Oregon Coast TODAY
Two triangles and a slightly jagged smile with three to five teeth is a perfectly respectable face for a Halloween Jack-o-Lantern carved into a pumpkin plucked from a pallet at a big-box store. You’ll likely take more care with the slightly more expensive gourds, chosen after wandering through a field like the one at the Kilchis Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch in Tillamook. But for massive gourds that reach weights surpassing one hundred pounds? Well, to cut into these, it’s best to call in an expert like master carver Tim Pate, who will be carving live at the Kilchis patch this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22 and 23.
The pumpkins created throughout the weekend will be auctioned off, with proceeds going to support girls’ sports programs in Tillamook.
Pate, who will be donating his nationally appreciated skills, was inspired by an act of kindness.
“Last year, I spent eight days in the hospital and I was in a bad way,” he said. “I had hair down to my waist at the time and once I was released from the hospital it was 100-percent matted and I really needed help if I didn’t want to lose all of it. After a lot of asking around, I found a woman named Sara that was willing to tackle it. It took a long time, but she was kind and patient and was able to save most of my hair. Honestly, she took me through one of my darkest hours.”
With all the time they spent together, Pate got to know the person that saved his hair and helped keep him from depression as his body healed, and found out that she was a girls’ soccer coach.
“That’s what gave me the idea to do this for a fund-raiser,” Pate said. “For example, there is a talented local softball pitcher who is trying to go to Spain. That’s the whole idea, helping these kids to realize their dreams.”
The pumpkins Pate will be working on range from large to massive.
“Yesterday I acquired a 450-pound pumpkin,” he said. “I’ll be carving a bunch of the roughly 100-pound ones I usually do, too.”
Pate’s skills have been tapped by Disney and many other corporate sponsors, and he even created pumpkins for an episode of the Portland-based TV series, “Grimm.”
“I’ve had a lot of sponsors over the years,” he said. “It’s given me the chance to carve a lot of interesting things on a lot of interesting pumpkins and I’ve had a lot of fun.”
A wood carver from an early age, Pate developed a signature style that helped add color the Oregon Country Fair.
“I was the onsite carver for many years,” he said. “I carved things into the trees and the benches; anything made of wood. I even carved a bridge troll into a bridge. Mostly I carved peaches into things, since that was the theme of the fair.”
Then, roughly 23 years ago, he moved to Sauvie Island where his canvases, and life, went through a seismic change.
“Someone found out I was a carver and invited me to carve pumpkins at the annual pumpkin patch at Sauvie Island,” he said. “I’ve continued doing it there every year ever since, even after it began taking me to so many other places.”
Looking at the detail of some of the faces that stare back from Pate’s pumpkins, it’s hard to believe that he does more than a few every season, but he can actually create several every day.
“I averaged 185 pumpkins a season for 18 years,” he said. “In the last five years I’ve slowed down a lot, but being slower means I get to choose my jobs more carefully and the jobs choose me more carefully, which I’m very grateful for.”
After more than two decades of helping Halloweens be more decorative, Pate still looks forward to the season.
“I can’t think of a more favorite time of year,” he said. “I love the children, I love looking at their faces while I’m creating something and I love how sincere they are with flattery or honesty when they aren’t so fond of something.”
Inspiring the carvers of the next generations is another thing that keeps him going.
“The kids love to tell me what they are working on and what their plans for their own pumpkins are,” he said. “I got inspired to carve when I was a kid, and those are the lessons you get to pass on. I just want to inspire kids like me who might find something they might enjoy doing for life the way I have.”
Pate will be carving live from noon to 5 on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22 and 23, at the barn at Hydrangea Ranch, located at 9455 Kilchis River Road in Tillamook. Bidding closes at 4 pm on Sunday. Place your bid in person or call 541-513-9949.