A smashing end to Halloween in Mundelein

It wasn't pretty, but smashing pumpkins was a fun and environmentally fitting finish to Halloween fun Saturday at the Mundelein Community Center.

Families dropped pumpkins down the sled hill, slung them in a makeshift slingshot and finally smashed them with baseball bats, all to prepare the gourds for composting, at the Mundelein Park District's first pumpkin drop.

"This is better than watching TV," said Carson Beck, 9. "This is way awesome."

The Mechanics Grove third grader used a baseball bat to smash a pumpkin that had gamely survived rolling down the sled hill and being flung from a towel.

"I thought it would be fun, be never expected that he would enjoy it this much," said Carson's mom, Martha Beck of Mundelein.

Recreation assistant Nora T'Niemi organized the event that attracted 24 participants.

"We had heard about people dropping pumpkins from the top of buildings, but we added a twist by dropping pumpkins from the hill. Kids had the opportunity to smash the pumpkins, and at the same time, learning more about composting and helping the environment," T'Niemi said.

Participants cleaned up the debris, collecting the orange chunks for the compost pile at the Prairie Crossing farm in Grayslake.

Mellon siblings Liam, 13, and Mallory, 14, worked together to chuck pumpkins using a towel as a slingshot.

"We finally got the timing right the third time we tried this," said Liam who attends seventh grade at Carl Sandburg School. "Besides being fun, this is a better way to break down pumpkins for composting."

Rolling the pumpkins down the hill was fun, Mallory Mellon said.

"Trying to get the pumpkin in the basket as it rolled down the hill was fun," said the Carl Sandburg eighth grader.

Pumpkins add zinc, iron and phosphorous to the compost pile.