Former Pahrump resident drives hours to attend Pumpkin Days

Each year the Pahrump Disability Outreach Program’s (PDOP) Pumpkin Days draws hundreds of visitors to Ian Deutch Memorial Park, and this year was no different.

The small non-profit organization is dedicated to supporting children with disabilities, along with their families. PDOP also concentrates on education of the community regarding disabilities.

Being there

Prior to its founding, there was limited information for parents within the community regarding the various maladies and disabilities children suffer from.

Kim Walker was one such parent. She was at the park during the three-day event with her son, who is disabled.

She gave great praise to PDOP President David Boruchowitz, who is also the co-founder of the local organization.

“My son is 20 years old, but mentally he has the mind capacity of a nine-year-old,” Walker said. “He also experiences a lot of seizures. All of us in this program help each other if there’s an emergency or something. David has always been there for us. We are just one big happy family. If you need something, he is always there for you. David believes families should be there to help each other in times of need.”

Road trip

Walker, a former seven-year resident of Pahrump, moved to Southern California roughly a year ago.

She and her son drove five-plus hours back to Pahrump to help with the setup of the annual event.

“I’ve known David and dealt with David for over five years and we have helped him every year with this event,” she recalled. “When we moved to California, we really missed it. I took some time off work to come out here and help him set up for Pumpkin Days. We told him we are going to help him every year, regardless, if we don’t move back to Pahrump.”

Walker also spoke about the benefits of the PDOP program as it pertains to her son.

“This program has greatly benefited my son,” she said. “I don’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t for David. He founded a great organization and if anyone has disabled children, they need to get ahold of David because he knows where to get important and valuable information. As of next year, if things don’t work out in California, we are going to move back here to Pahrump.”

Bad timing

On Friday afternoon, Pahrump resident Caleb Lovejoy was spending time with his young son in the playground area of the park as volunteers worked to transform the park into an autumn-themed playland.

Lovejoy has lived in Pahrump, off and on since he was five years old.

Interestingly, he has yet to properly visit the Pumpkin Days event with his son.

“I am very familiar with Pumpkin Days, but every year it clashes with my work schedule because I’m always working on the weekends,” he said. “I usually come here on the day before, because I have to work nights. It really seems like a fun place to go and take your family. I wish I could bring my son here while it’s in full swing sometime.”

From now on

Walker, meanwhile, said she will continue to assist with future PDOP Pumpkin Days.

“I told David we would come back every year for this event because we also really miss Pahrump,” she said. “When I was living here, I was always be participating in different events in town. We will come up every time there’s a function, so we try to stay connected. My son really enjoys Pumpkin Days. If I couldn’t bring him here I was going to have somebody else bring him here. David is a very hard worker, especially when it comes to this event. If it wasn’t for David, people wouldn’t know how to stay contacted for important information regarding their child.”

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes