ELYRIA, Ohio — A northeast Ohio neighborhood has rallied together to help continue a 22-year Halloween tradition.
For more than 20 years, when driving down Abbe Road in Elyria, you couldn’t miss one spooky Halloween display.
Bob Haas, a retired Lorain firefighter, was the man behind it.
“This is a tradition that Bob loved and the reason he loved it is because he knew that people loved it,” said Shannon Haas, Bob’s wife.
“The first two years I was here, I literally felt like I was living with someone who was a minor celebrity from September to December because everyone talked about it. He knew the high level of appreciation for it because so many people brought their kids here and he wanted to grow it and have it continue forever, as long as he was alive basically,” said Shannon Haas.
Bob Haas died of COVID complications on Aug. 26, which is usually when he would start transforming his front yard into the Shadow Valley Cemetery.
That’s when the neighbors came together.
“Our street loves this and even if Bob came home, he would be too weak to do it. So, I got the neighborhood to say ‘yes, we’ll help. We’ll put it up one more time,’” said Tammy Troglin, a neighbor.
The decorating got into full swing earlier this month as a way to honor’s Bob’s memory.
“Fantastic guy, always willing to take time out of his day to help someone else. If I’m wheel barreling something to the backyard, he comes back there, ‘hey, Dan, do you need any help?,” said Dan Troglin, another neighbor.
Once Halloween is over, some of those who helped decorate this yard will take their favorite parts of the display and put them in their own yards to honor Bob and to keep the tradition going.
“People have already chosen, already have it planned out. A lot of them plan to grow it over the years as well, so that’s really exciting to see it might continue and grow,” said Shannon Haas.
