A Halloween mystery: Pumpkin appears on Jim Thorpe statue every year

A number of legends, bits of lore and mysteries make up the history of Mauch Chunk and Jim Thorpe.

From Princess Onoko to the handprint on the wall in the Old Jail, townspeople and tourists alike love to hear the stories that are woven into the fabric that has made up the town over the past 200 years.

One mystery that fascinates many each Halloween is the carved pumpkin placed atop the head of the statue of the late Benjamin F. Barge’s monument in the Upper Mauch Chunk Cemetery by someone who has kept the tradition alive for decades.

“I don’t know who does it,” said local historian Jack Sterling.

Bill Solomon of Jim Thorpe said he can remember the pumpkin appearing since he was a child.

According to various accounts by residents, the pumpkin appears on the educator’s mortarboard just before trick or treating begins in the borough.

The statue’s head is not easy to reach either.

With the monument standing at approximately 100 feet tall from ground to tip, the statue’s head where the pumpkin is placed stands about 15 to 20 feet off the ground.

According to historical reports, the cemetery where this annual event happens, located in the heights section of Jim Thorpe, is the final resting place of many of the town’s millionaires, including the Cortright, Leisenring and Packer families.

But none of those wealthy families are marked by as ornate a monument as Barge’s, a millionaire educator who died in 1902.

In addition to the height, the 80-ton granite monument created by P.J.A. Binder of East Mauch Chunk depicts an educator in full cap and gown holding a book, a fitting tribute to the man who many called the most cultured citizen in Carbon County in the 19th century.

Another tale that surrounds Barge’s monument is the book the statue holds.

Sterling said that he heard many years ago that on Halloween eve, the statue blinks his eyes and turns a page in the book.

“I remember driving down South Avenue, watching to see if he turns a page in the book,” he said.

“He’s got an interesting history.”

Who was Benjamin Barge?

To many, the name Benjamin Franklin Barge doesn’t stand out as much as Asa Packer, Mary Packer Cummings, or other wealthy individuals who made up the millionaire families who called Mauch Chunk home, but he accumulated just as much wealth over the course of his life and was looked upon as one of the most educated in Carbon County.

According to the Upper Mauch Chunk Cemetery records, Barge was born on May 30, 1832, in Lockport to Christian and Elizabeth (Schlosser) Bertsch Jr.

Following his school days in a tiny Lockport schoolhouse, Barge went on to pursue a formal education, graduating from Yale in 1857, historical reports state.

Barge’s career took him to several seminaries across Pennsylvania, where he quickly became one of the most popular educators for his belief that students needed a well-rounded education in both academics and recreation.

Most notably during his career in Pennsylvania, he was the president of the Philomatheon Institute in Birdsboro.

His career path moved south after the father of the love of his life refused to allow the marriage with his daughter because he felt Barge was not wealthy enough. Barge would remain a bachelor the rest of his life.

According to a sign at the cemetery about Barge, “He achieved recognition as an educator, having instituted many reforms to the school systems in the south” and established his own seminary in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Barge returned to Mauch Chunk after the Civil War and following his retirement from the wholesale grain and lumber commission business in 1897, began to travel the world extensively.

In 1902, Barge made his final voyage, spending months in Bad Nauheim, Germany, due to failing health before passing away there on Oct. 30.

His body was brought back to Mauch Chunk, and the monument in his memory that he had commissioned was erected and placed just above his grave.

So who places the pumpkin on Benjamin Barge’s head?

The answer may never be revealed.