Over 500 Halloweeners and their parents, grandparents, and guardians attended a spooky and special party Wednesday evening.
Dr. Bill Mercer, a local physician, long-time health officer for the Wheeling-Ohio County Health Department, and now the general physician for Project Hope, staged The Great Pumpkin Party at the Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum in the Elm Grove neighborhood of Wheeling. Oglebay’s Jon Banco played a big role in making the gathering a great success, and LEDE News also participated in the event.
Mercer donated his Peanuts collection in 2023 for a special display dedicated to Snoopy and the crew in the basement of the Toy & Train Museum. On occasion, Mercer will guide tours through the display so he can share his stories about how he acquired the rare and unique collectibles.
Mercer received special permission to use the image and likeness of the Peanut characters from the family of Charles Schulz, so Peanuts songs, displays, and a showing of “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown” were scheduled as parts of the evening. Mercer also set up stations so attendees could learn how to draw Snoopy, enjoy Great Pumpkin cookies and learn about the legendary tale, and to tour The Peanuts display in the museum.
