Charlie and Snoopy carry on October tradition

Banner Graphic/Jared Jernagan Charlie Brown and Snoopy are the latest edition of an annual tradition of decorated hay bales on the Marion Township property of Bryce and Becki Arnold.

FILLMORE — Linus may already be off in the pumpkin patch waiting for the arrival of the Great Pumpkin.

A couple of his buddies have made their way to rural Fillmore, though, continuing a recent tradition for a Marion Township family.

Becki and Bryce Arnold have again decorated hay bales gracing their property, this time with Charlie Brown and Snoopy surrounded by pumpkins, flowers and even that lovable beagle’s red dog house/biplane/writing desk.

It is the fourth year the Arnolds have decorated the spot on Right-of-Way Road west of Fillmore. Past characters to grace the Arnolds’ property include Minions from the “Despicable Me” series, Mike and Sully of the “Monsters Inc.” movies and SpongeBob SquarePants (ironically, crafted from a round bale) and Patrick last year.

Becki said it was difficult to settle on an idea this year.

“This year I was struggling. I had several ideas,” Becki said.

Then a friend mentioned that 2016 is the 50th anniversary of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” and she loved the idea.

Another upside to the idea is that the bales can be repurposed over the coming months as the holidays change.

This is important because each of the first three years, daughter Olivia has had her picture taken with the decorated bales.

But this year Olivia, now a sophomore in college, is studying Australia and won’t be home until December.

“So I’m going to change Charlie’s shirt and we’re going to add hats,” Becki said. “I wanted something that could carry through until Christmas. And I like Charlie Brown.”

The decorations around Charlie and Snoopy will also change from pumpkins to a Christmas tree and other wintry decorations.

The longer display time just means more people can enjoy the bales, an aspect that the Arnolds enjoy.

“One year we had the DePauw track boys out here. We’ve had people stop from Texas and from Florida,” Becki said. “It’s funny. It’s really neat.

“We like them to have many visitors. My dogs watch the windows and bark when someone pulls up. We live far enough off the road that we don’t notice, so we know when the dogs start barking.”