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Closer Inspection: Va. pumpkin carver finds his groove

Drive on Centreville’s Hartwood Court on Halloween, and you may come across a front lawn filled with pumpkins. Noel Dickover carves more than 40 in a tradition that has grown each year. — Kris Coronado

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What began as a lark in 1998 with a carving of Scooby-Doo has become a bit of an obsession for Dickover, a 44-year-old government contractor. In 2003, there were five pumpkins; in 2010, 45. And today the entire family — wife Nam, 44, son Justin, 18, and daughter Sarah, 13 — is in on the fun. He estimates that a few thousand visitors come by to see the display.

Benjamin C. Tankersley / FOR THE WASHINGTON POST

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