Liz Estabrooks' home at 2230 Campbell St., on the north side of the street between Third and Fourth streets, will be the site of the revived Talking Pumpkin tradition from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Halloween.

The Talking Pumpkin will return to Baker City this Halloween.

The beloved tradition was started in 1962 by Chuck Schlingman, a Baker City veterinarian, and his wife, Virgene.

For the next 35 Halloweens, Chuck Schlingman would carve a jack-o’-lantern and place it on a chair near the front porch of the couple’s house on the south side of Campbell Street between Fifth and Sixth streets.

Inside the pumpkin Schlingman would place not the traditional candle but rather an intercom speaker.

As costumed children approached the jack-o’-lantern, Schlingman, sitting in the dark in a comfortable chair in his front room with a view of the front yard, would address each young visitor in his pumpkin persona.

Virgene would dispense the sweets.

One Halloween, they estimated 1,100 youths greeted the Talking Pumpkin.

“I’ve had some very forgiving neighbors,” Schlingman said in a 1997 interview.

He died in February 2014. Virgene died in May 2022.

Gina Mack-Villalobos and her husband, Joe, along with June Falcon, revived the Talking Pumpkin for several years.

And now, after many Halloweens without the garrulous gourd, Liz Estabrooks is preparing to reprise the pumpkin role in what she calls an “homage” to the Schlingmans.

“I like to give back to the community, and this is such a fun way to do it,” Estabrooks said.

Estabrooks, 65, moved to Baker City in 1977. After serving in the U.S. Army, she lived in Baker City from 1981 to 2011, then moved away due to career opportunities. She returned to Baker City after retiring earlier this year.

When Estabrooks bought her home at 2230 Campbell St., on the north side of the street between Fourth and College streets, she happened to be driving by the former Schlingman home, just a couple blocks to the west, when she thought of the Talking Pumpkin.

She has “great memories” of taking her daughter to the Schlingmans’ home.

“We loved it,” Estabrooks said. “It was a Halloween tradition.”

She will set up the pumpkin on a table in her front yard on Halloween.

She’s still searching for a huge natural gourd, but if that proves fruitless she has a big plastic jack-o’-lantern.

Estabrooks is planning to have the Talking Pumpkin in place on Halloween from 6-9 p.m.

She has been in touch with Mack-Villalobos, who recommended Estabrooks brush up on the movie characters that are likely to be favorite costumes for youths.

Her sister and brother-in-law will help on Halloween night.

Estabrooks said she was concerned trick-or-treaters might not show up to a new location. But she said Mack-Villalobos told her they will find the place if the Talking Pumpkin is there.