I have a soft spot in my heart for Kenova, West Virginia.

I’d never heard of the town until I had West Virginia History class in the eighth grade.

The name comes from the fact it’s the town where three states come together (Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia). Why that fascinated me, I don’t know.

When I first began working at The Daily Independent, I wanted to retain residency in West Virginia so I wouldn’t have to retest for my driver’s license, so I lived in an apartment in Kenova.

When I married, I moved to the west side of Huntington. But I drove through Kenova daily to come to work, usually straight along U.S. 60 until I got to U.S. 23.

In case you don’t know the area, there is a railroad track that blocks traffic at times. It’s considered the hyphen between “Ceredo” and “Kenova.”

Because of the train, one early autumn morning I detoured and came across a beautiful Victorian home with many jack-o-lanterns decorating it. At work, I told one of the photographers about it and urged him to photograph it after dark. A few days later, it was on the front of The Daily Independent.

Of course, word of what has become known as The Pumpkin House spread across the world, having been featured on international news outlets. The towns of Ceredo and Kenova worked together to develop a successful fall festival centered on the house.

Every year, I make a point of writing about the festival and showing pictures of the home, all lit up with what is now about 3,000 carved pumpkins. Every year, it seems the festival is bigger and adds events or features.

The festival makes the most out of a tradition of the Ric Griffith family — carving pumpkins for Halloween. Griffith said it began with carving one for each person in the family and year after year, the family added more pumpkins. Now, the community gets in on it by volunteering to carve, preparing The Pumpkin House for its annual influx of visitors.

It’s the ultimate small-town event, happening organically and bringing community members and curious visitors together for a good time.