Skeleton Wedding, Swinging Rat, and Old Time Cartoons Among Ferndale Boo-tification Winners
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Oct. 29, 2019)
Ferndale, MI- A skeleton couple surrounded by spooky friends and family seems frozen at the alter on the lawn of 211 West Webster as part of one of Ferndale’s most elaborately decorated houses.
The Ferndale Beautification, along with Oakland County Times Editor and Publisher Crystal Proxmire, spent over two hours on a bus going to check out over 30 homes that had been nominated for Boo-tification Awards. Winners were chosen from each quadrant of the city. There were so many entries, and so many close scores, that the FBC chose to honor the top three winners from each area.
Homes that have won in the past two years were not considered.
In NE Ferndale, it was 1441 Orchard that had a yard full of spooky decorations, with the added bonus of vintage black and white cartoons playing by projector in the window. They took first place for the NE quadrant, followed by 2448 Bonner and 2781 Horton which had an enclosed porch with Halloween characters staring out.
SE Ferndale got into the Halloween spirit with the first place winner at 201 Jewell and the second place at 301 Jewell. 1791 E. Troy took third place, with a menagerie of haunted features including a skeleton being electrocuted in a barrel of toxic waste.
SW Ferndale had the wedding of the year, accented by a graveyard and even a guest wrapped in spider webs hanging upside down in a tree. A real-life wedding provided many of the props, including wine bottles and glasses. This was at 211 W. Webster. 850 Farmdale was a close second, with a corner lot packed with animated displays, including a swing hanging from a tree with an adorable rat skeleton sitting on the seat. Laura Mikulski, founder of the Ferndale Rat Patrol and FBC Member, was delighted with the rat’s inclusion, and everyone was impressed with the creepy audio track of a little girl’s voice saying things like “Do you want to play” with screechy, windy, eerie sound effects. 333 Farmdale took third place, with their thoughtfully constructed graveyard in front, and the two upstairs windows made into glowing eyes.
NW Ferndale had some good spooky fun also. 440 Lewiston had a tugboat hull full of zombies seeming to sink into the lawn, with green and blue lights giving it a scary sea type of feeling. And 320 Woodland dazzled with adorable flying ghosts projected on the facade.
Homes were scored based on curb appeal, creativity, use of lights, and theme. The Ferndale Beautification Commission encourages residents to decorate for holidays, and will be doing another contest for Holiday Lights in December. They also present Beautification Awards, including the Coneflower Award and Block Award, during the warmer months.
Learn more about the FBC at the Ferndale Beautification Commission Facebook Page.