Spooky and smiling carved pumpkins decorate many doorsteps during October, but they weren’t the first vegetable in history to be carved and put on display.

Instead, the turnip was the original jack-o-lantern veggie of choice, said Peter Loose, a local artist.

Loose’s historical pumpkin knowledge and ornamental clay jack-o-lantern collection will be on display during Athens’ 36th Annual Harvest Festival.

Churning butter in a wooden barrel, making soap with lye and hand-washing clothes are other activities of Georgia’s rural past that will be part of the festival.

Demonstrations include bee-keeping, broom making, quilting and making corn-husk dolls.

Participants will wear traditional clothing, eat candy apples and dance to the traditional strumming of the dulcimer and mandolin.

Caroline Self, who works for the leisure services and arts division of the Lyndon House, described the event as an educational experience focused around the 1850s, when the Lyndon House originated.

“It’s a fun, hands-on event for people to learn how things were originally done,” she said.

Last year, about 11,000 people attended the event. This year, the personality of the festival is more focused on art, Self said.

Loose said this will be the first year his pumpkin patch will be on display.

As the turnip story goes – told by Loose – a rude, drunk blacksmith named Jack made a deal with the devil, which sparked the spookiness of All Hallow’s Eve.

Denied entrance to both heaven and hell, Jack wandered in darkness. The devil tossed Jack a burning ember for light. Jack popped the hot coal into a turnip he had been eating.

Pumpkins became popular in the Victorian Era because Americans had too many of them. Loose said they are used to keep away the bad spirits, who are afraid of the light.

Part of his 40-piece collection is the work of Hewell’s Pottery in Gillsville, about an hour from Athens.

This gallery is the inventor of the terra cotta jack-o-lantern with a hat sold across the U.S.

Chester Hewell said he began making red clay pumpkins in 1973 when his son was born.

“It started out of sorriness,” he said. “I didn’t want to cut a real pumpkin.”

The Harvest Festival is a family-friendly event for all ages, particularly elementary-aged children.

It is co-sponsored by the Lyndon House Arts Center and the Athens Community Council on Aging. Horse and carriage rides will transport people between the buildings.

Loose encourages college students to come out and relive the excitement of childhood while experiencing the sweet, simpleness of old times.

“It’s a break from the ordinary,” he said. “It will lift your spirits, I guarantee it.”