As students return to school, the community begins to prepare for fall. Football games appear on the schedule, pumpkin spice candles line the store shelves and a 12-foot plastic skeleton makes his appearance on Fourth Street.
Wait. What?
A few years ago, Halloween enthusiasts went crazy over a 12-foot plastic skeleton (officially named “Skelly”) to decorate their yard for the spooky holiday. Lifelong Whitesboro resident, Thomas Sampert, was no exception. Raised by a teacher, his mom always did a fantastic job of decorating their house for the holidays, and now as an adult, Sampert has enjoyed doing the same.
Unfortunately, the oversized skeleton was either sold out everywhere or was being scalped at ridiculously high prices, so Sampert opted for smaller five-foot tall skeletons to decorate for Halloween. Then, last year, he was finally able to score his dream purchase ahead of the season.
Sampert was eager to put the oversized skeleton up in his back yard at 728 White Street right away, overlooking Fourth Street and Hayes Primary School. It was a little too early for Halloween, so Sampert decided to make it a “Welcome Back to School” decoration. But how?
The stars aligned when he was shopping in an antique store in downtown Whitesboro and found a bundle of old Whitesboro football jerseys for sale at $5 each. Upon closer inspection, Sampert realized they were his actual jerseys he and his teammates wore during his 8th grade year. He bought them and used them to decorate the oversized skeleton (who wears the jersey of his friend and, later, best man at his wedding) and the smaller skeletons.
A backpack and a “Welcome Back to School” sign (hand painted by Sampert’s mom) completed the look, and students returning to school last year had a fun surprise.
“There are all sorts of ideas online of how to decorate and pose these skeletons,” Sampert said. “Mine is kind of the poor man’s, small-town version.”
The house at the corner of White and Fourth Streets was originally owned by Sampert’s grandmother. As newlyweds in 2016, Sampert and his wife moved into the house and lived there for nearly 10 years. They have recently moved to Main Street, along with their three-year-old and seven-week-old children.
Sampert’s in-laws now live at the house, and there was much talk about what to do about the skeletons.
“Do we move them with us to Main Street, or do we keep them at my in-laws’ house?” Sampert said. “We ultimately decided the skeletons have to stay at that house – after all, it’s for the children. Besides that, we need that big guy close to the football stadium to intimidate opponents. If we can break out a few wins, I’ll take credit.”
This year, the skeletons were waiting to greet students on the first day of school. Unfortunately, the oversized skeleton needs some repair work – a mouse has chewed through the cable that runs the skeleton’s LCD eyes, and a small part has broken at the joint where the head meets the neck. Sampert is working to obtain the parts to make the necessary repairs.
The skeletons take some work, but Sampert feels it’s worth it.
“We have to spread joy wherever we can,” he said.