By Julia Train
In 2010, Pam and Ed Schuman were asked to create a kid-friendly hayride for a fall event at Fresh Start Church because they were known to have an elaborate Christmas display with lights synchronized to holiday music.
Since then, they’ve continued using the float to bring smiles to children all over Egg Harbor Township and some surrounding towns. Unlike typical hayrides, this one is modified from a parade float. Despite the spooky music and special effects, this attraction manages to be an alternative to more terrifying haunted hayrides.
“We started very primitively, and every year it’s gotten bigger. We started taking it out to local neighborhoods and giving rides at our friends’ houses and now we have houses all over EHT letting us come in and do hayrides at their houses,” said Pam Schuman, one of the owners.
For the month of October, the Schumans follow a schedule that they create earlier in the year from requests that usually start in August. They then bring what they call the “hauntless hayride” to those houses and neighbors. Friends and family can all board.
The couple has two different floats — a castle and a pirate ship — that they rotate from year to year.
Both are computer-controlled and decorated with the Halloween theme in mind while taking into account that the majority of their riders are 12 years old and under.
This year, they’re using the castle, which is decorated with lights that are synchronized to the Halloween music, smoke, strobe lights and fire that shoots out of the top with a natural flame generator.
The float sits on a 24-foot trailer with an extension on the back, which is pulled by a truck or tractor during parades and never goes above 25 mph.
It’s built out of two-by-fours and lauan to keep it light and able to be disassembled quickly for weather and to store. The Schumans keep the float’s frames in the woods and sides in the shed.
“It’s just fun for everybody. The people in the neighborhood that see it coming. If they didn’t already know about it, they come out and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, look how awesome this is,’” said Mike Everland, a friend who worked with the couple.
The hayride is free for those who wish to ride. However, they ask those people to donate a bag of candy, if they can, so that they have some to give out to the kids during the Ocean City and Mays Landing Halloween Parades.
Last year they gave out 400 pounds of candy. This year, they’re looking at giving out about 700 pounds.
People who rode the float before are asked if they want to be on it for the parades and hand out candy.
“They’re definitely doing this out of the goodness of their heart. A whole lot of their own time and money [goes into this] because they love to see the kids smiling,” said Everland.
Those who are interested in riding can direct message Pam Helbig Schuman, Ed Schuman or Mike Everland on Facebook for the schedule, which isn’t published because they can’t have too many people on at once or showing up to someone’s house.
