Waving to the pumpkin people

Jerry and Mary Ann Hinrichs have some guests in their yard that have been catching the eye of those passing through Giltner for a while now. 
These pumpkin people have been greeting traffic for years now with a friendly wave and a reminder of the fall season.
“We’ve lived in town for years and we’ve had them,” Mary Ann said. “We lived out on the farm before and we had them up for probably four or five years at least.”
The happy duo gets new pumpkin heads each year and their children help set them up each fall.
“We have lots of people that say, ‘We waved at those guys again,’” she said with a laugh. “They know they’re not real but they see them waving so they wave back.”
Looking back, she noted that she doesn’t recall the exact reason they made pumpkin people. Their eldest son welded the waving frames for them and she found herself dressing them up each year.
With their location on the edge of Giltner, many farmers and truckers drive by. She has found that they have grown accustomed to their greeters and will ask her when they are going back up again.
The pumpkins have had a costume change this year as they switched from their Husker gear to a Giltner-themed orange. The constant she explained is the guy always has his overalls on.
One of the fun things that they have got to do is see the tradition grow as both their son and grandson have helped set up the pumpkin people.