"The Most Priceless Thing": Mister Scarecrow Says Farewell

Allen Timmons, the kindly, blue-eyed man with an Alabama accent whose sweet-filled syllables stretch like taffy, has a message to share with his many friends here at Berkshire Botanical Garden, particularly the children who attend the annual Harvest Festival.

Diagnosed earlier this year with Stage-4 lung cancer, he wishes to extend his gratitude — and a fond farewell.

Let it be known here and now, that was Allen behind that mask. For more than a dozen years up until last year, he served as the Harvest Festival’s ubiquitous Mr. Scarecrow, a character of his own creation. As he recalls it, the scarecrow plan was hatched after he and his wife, Nancy, were invited to attend the Festival by BBG members the late Karl and Marianne Lipsky. 

“I noticed there was no scarecrow,” he said recently at his home in Ashley Falls, “and I just thought, ‘You know, gosh, you’ve got to have a scarecrow at a harvest festival.’”

The next year, a scarecrow showed up, unannounced. He was a hit.

“The only thing I could think of was, I put a pumpkin over my head,” Allen recalls. “I got a large pumpkin, and I carved it out, paper thin, and I barely squeezed the thing over my head, and it rested on my shoulders, and it was just the most hilarious thing.”

He and Nancy modified the costume over the years. They replaced the pumpkin with a woven burlap hood. Copious hay or corn stalks issued from flannel and denim.

Allen’s relationship with the Garden would grow over the years. A professional builder of birdhouses and tree forts, he submitted one of the 11 structures included in the Garden’s 2017 outdoor exhibition entitled “PlayDate!: Playhouses in the Garden.” His playhouse remains here, the focal point of the Children’s Discovery Garden. He donated it.

“Allen has always been a gentle soul, a big guy, full of heart,” said Nancy. “His love for life is always bright. He’s the man I love, and I can’t bear the thought of losing him to this terrible disease.” The couple has a grown daughter, Emilie.

Donning the costume and persona of Mr. Scarecrow was always something Allen looked forward to. As Mr. Scarecrow, he chose not to speak but instead freely roamed the Garden, warmly greeting people and often posing for pictures with them. One little girl once asked him if he was a “real scarecrow.” He shook his head “yes,” and she replied, “I knew it, I knew it!” She then proceeded to tell him all about herself.

“Those are the moments he treasured,” said Nancy. “He liked that no one knew it was him. He felt free. He loved it.”

Allen’s generosity extended beyond the Garden. An accomplished songwriter and musician, he has dedicated his time and talents to various causes, including ExtraSpecialTeas, a non-profit in Great Barrington that supports individuals with special needs in integrating into adult life. 

Despite now being paralyzed in half his body due to his illness, Allen wants this to be known: “I’m a very happy man. I’m incredibly blessed. I’m so grateful.” 

We’d like to share with you some particular thoughts of the man behind the mask, our dear friend, our beloved Mr. Scarecrow: 

I found that when I looked through the mask, all I saw were the eyes of the children and the adults, and that, to me, was very magical. Mr. Scarecrow’s view of the world is very narrow; there’s no peripheral vision. Everything is only what’s in front of him at that moment, and so most of the time, I was looking into the eyes of these children. And what I discovered, something really quite profound, is that children, when they look at us, they look deep into our eyes because they’re looking for truth and meaning. Our eyes are the windows to our soul. So that’s what Mr. Scarecrow gave me. He gave me an opportunity to look into the souls of people, of children, and to see the power that Mr. Scarecrow possessed, this incredible joy that he has in his own life, to bring a smile upon that face — wonderment, laughter, a moment of joy — it’s just the most priceless thing I can think of in life. 

I don’t think there’s anything in life that can give us more than that, than seeing the evidence or the power that we have within our own self to affect other people’s lives in a very real time. That to me is the magic of Mr. Scarecrow.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Our friend Allen Timmons died on Oct. 19. Our condolences go out to his family and dear friends.]