A 12-foot-tall skeleton named the Big Leboneski and a group of his friends are having a pool and hot tub party in Bellefonte to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
It’s the latest Halloween display created by Nancy Saxton-Mattie and her family, who for the past three years have been participating in the nationwide Skeletons for Saint Jude fundraiser.
Saxton-Mattie had already enjoyed coming up with creative holiday displays that made use of the small pond at the front corner of her family’s 1291 Pine Circle property. But after she saw a home in Ohio that had gone viral for its massive skeleton decoration as part of the Saint Jude fundraiser in 2021, she knew she had to get in on the fun.
“I was like, that’s awesome. I want to be a part of that,” Saxton-Mattie said. “I’ve always donated to St. Jude over the years, any time we’ve had some extra cash. So it was just awesome to combine my love of decorating and fall, and to go ahead with an excuse to buy a 12-foot skeleton.”
The first year had the Big Leboneski dunking another skeleton in the pond. Last year was a bowling theme. Now this year is a pool party that becomes a hot tub party at night.
While the Big Leboneski stands with a flamingo inner tube around his waist, several skeletons lounge nearby while others hang out at the “hot tub,” where a witch brews up a poisonous punch. Passersby can see it any time of day, but at dusk everything lights up and misters gave the look of steam rising from the hot tub.
A QR code on sign at the display links to the family’s St. Jude fundraising page, which you can visit directly here. A donation box is also available for cash contributions.
The Mattie family raised about $1,500 each of the last two years and is aiming for the same this year. (The fundraising page and QR code this year are the same as last year’s, so it displays a two-year total Saxton-Mattie hopes will eclipse $3,000.)
Skeletons for St. Jude has also caught on at least one other location in the Bellefonte area. Titan Market, 2042 Axemann Road, in partnership with the Milesburg Lions Club, has its own skeleton display this year to raise money for St. Jude.
For the Matties, the display is a labor of love, and putting it together the display each year is no small feat.
“It takes several weekends. Usually every weekend in September, if the weather’s good my husband and I are out there putting stuff up,” Saxton-Mattie said. “Getting things where want is really easy, but then it’s the putting in the lights and figuring out the timers and extension cords and everything else.”
And it’s not the only time of year the family puts on a creative holiday display. Around Christmas, they utilize he pond for an ice skating scene featuring Peanuts characters.
“I own a lot of lights, and I keep adding,” Saxton-Mattie said. “I’m trying to find solar options as much as possible right now.”
