By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Marion homeowners are bringing Halloween joy to people who pass by their homes.

Melinda Schroeder, who operates Melinda’s Home Away From Home day care at 202 S. Freeborn St., makes decorating for Halloween an educational and child-friendly endeavor.

“It’s a fun holiday because it’s all about the kids,” Schroeder said.

Her property is adorned with a lighted spider web in front of the porch and a “Boo!” sign.

Before the holiday, she and the children work together to make a tunnel out of John Deere boxes. The kids help paint and decorate the tunnel, and lights are strung inside it.

On Halloween night, the tunnel is placed on the lawn, and neighborhood children can crawl through it. It’s not always children, either, Schroeder said.

Dee Herzet has worked 15 years growing her Halloween lawn display at 327 W. Santa Fe St.

The display, mostly made up of animated inflatable decorations, runs from her driveway to the back of her property.

Her first inflatable decoration, a snow globe, was purchased from Hillsboro’s Dollar General when it first opened.

Since then, she’s added an outhouse with Frankenstein opening the door, a coffin with Dracula rising, a haunted pumpkin with a ghost popping out, and many other items.

Family and friends have helped build her collection.

Her father bought the haunted pumpkin. A friend gave her a Halloween wiener dog.

Besides inflatables, she has stationary decorations like two pumpkin totem poles that bookcase the displays.

Herzet loves hearing children squeal with delight when parents drive them past her yard.

People of all ages tell her they drive past every night to look because the lawn decorations never get old.

“I love to see the people’s faces and the little kids,” Herzet said.

The day after Halloween, the display will be removed, and Thanksgiving decorations will be put in its place.

The day after Thanksgiving, Christmas decorations will go up.

She also decorates for Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, and Valentine’s Day.