By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
Aumiller Park looked like an invasion of sorts on Saturday evening. Monsters and zombies were there to attack the likes of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and a whole lot of other adorable costumed creatures.
But there was never any danger as there were a whole host of super heroes at the park as well – in addition to Bucyrus city firemen, policemen and the Crawford County Sheriff.
It was the annual Spooktacular in Bucyrus and the move from downtown to Aumiller Park made it even more spectacular.
“I think it’s great for the kids,” said Firefighter Barry Herschler from the Bucyrus Fire Department which went all out for the event. “It gets the community involved and everybody doing things together.”
And there was plenty to do, from taking hayrides, to checking out the real firetruck, putting a sledgehammer to an old police cruiser, going down the giant inflatable slides and getting past Blackbeard – a.k.a. Fire Captain Gordon Grove after getting a treat from inside the park’s primary shelter. There were even bicycles to be raffled off and taken home by some lucky winners.
There were also rounds to make to the corporate shelters where there was candy to be collected.
None was happier than a special guest who blew in all the way from Kansas.
“Candy,” said Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz when asked what she was looking forward to the most. Dorothy, better known as 9-year-old Layla Ellis, didn’t hesitate to say she was definitely going to eat the candy herself.
As far as her favorite candy she had to think a minute before coming up with, “a Hershey bar.”
Bucyrus Service/Safety Director Jeff Wagner was one of several city officials helping hand out snacks and he couldn’t have been happier with the turnout in spite of some rain.
“We’re putting it on for the community,” Wagner said, adding that Casey Easterday of the Bucyrus Fire Department was the real driving force behind this year’s event.
Wagner was only too glad to share the credit for the evening’s success. He cited the work members of the local labor unions representing city employees, corporate sponsors who decorated shelters and passed out candy, and groups like the Positive Seekers who handled the hayrides and the Bucyrus Church of the Nazarene who used the church’s buses to provide transportation to and from the park form parts of town.
PHOTO GALLERY: 2015 Spooktacular