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About Wallowa County chieftain. (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Or.) 1943-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 28, 2020)
A10 LOCAL Wallowa County Chieftain Wednesday, October 28, 2020 Ghosts, ghouls and ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Misty McNall’s home transforms into a decadent display during October By RONALD BOND Wallowa County Chieftain Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Misty McNall prepares a joker Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, to go along with the “Alice in Wonderland” theme with a ghoulish twist for Halloween she’s been preparing at her Depot Street home in Enterprise. ENTERPRISE — Hal- loween is when Misty McNall, of Enterprise, really expresses her creative side. “For an artist, a canvas is pretty wide open when it comes to Halloween,” she said. For more than two decades, that canvas has been her home at 500 S. Depot St. which annually gets turned into an eye-popping display both ghouls and goblins are likely to enjoy. McNall said she fi rst dec- orated her home 21 years ago after getting some decora- tions when her daughter got her fi rst Halloween costume. “I found these cute little pumpkin lights when she got her fi rst pumpkin (outfi t),” she said. “I started adding on from there.” As the years went on, the decorating at her home — both inside and out — became more extravagant. Now, it fi lls her entire front yard, and lately has carried with it a theme. Her setup this year is inspired by “Alice in Won- derland,” and contains everything from a fl oating Alice, to a rabbit hole in the sidewalk that cuts through her yard, the Mad Hatter at a tea party and more. “Last year it was clowns, and I hate clowns, but it was a lot of fun,” she said. “I think next year is going to be ‘Beetlejuice’ — I don’t know. I found a lot of fun in the themes.” McNall also is resource- ful. She makes most of her Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain Misty McNall declined to say who was in the coffi n Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, at her McNall Slaughter House Wonderland she’s made at her Depot Street home. She’s employing an “Alice in Wonderland” theme with a ghoulish twist for Halloween. own decorations, and often will fi nd ways to reuse an item over and over. “I save a lot of money. I recycle and reuse on just about everything,” she said. “A lot of my dummies are made out of plastic jugs and branches.” Decorating in recent years also became a way to channel her creative energy to remember her dad, who died in 2014. “I’ve always been one who goes all-out anyway — my kids’ birthdays, I make the pinatas and cakes any- ways,” she said. “Putting all that (into it), and fi nding that in Halloween, I get really happy when I’m decorating.” She added of her dad that “he loved my creative side.” McNall, who described herself as a “little kid in a candy store” when she is out decorating, also enjoys get- ting in costume and integrat- ing herself into the display. “The funnest part is stand- ing there like you are part of the decorations and then scaring (trick-or-treaters),” said McNall, who will dress up as the Queen of Hearts this year. Halloween is the day she invests the most time deco- rating for, saying she usually tries to be done setting up by mid-October, though she at times is working on details days later. She noted in a Sunday, Oct. 25 interview that she was still decorating earlier in the day. “The cobweb is the fi nal touches,” she said. “It’s what kind of ties it all together and gives it the creep factor.” She also decorates for Christmas, and while not as extravagant, it also is a day she does get into for decorating. “I like Christmas, but Christmas is different and elegant and pretty,” she said. “I don’t get to have the crazy fun I do with Hallow- een. We do this new thing with Christmas with a funny theme.” For McNall, part of the enjoyment is the reactions from passers-by and getting others involved, which she said recently she’s been able to do. “When people go by and they stop to enjoy the deco- rations, it’s a good feeling,” she said. “We used to be the only people that decorated in the county. Finally other people started decorating. I think it’s fun for the kids. They have a lot of fun com- ing through my yard.” Cliff Bentz for Congress RANCHER. FARMER. BUSINESSMAN. Paid For By Cliff Bentz For Congress CLIFFBENTZ.COM