BILLINGS — While most families are handing out candy or trick-or-treating on Halloween, one local family is on a different kind of mission to hunt for the most spook-tacular Halloween displays across Billings.
Watch how a Billings family is keeping the spirit of their late father alive through a Halloween contest:
For the past seven years, the Oedekoven family has run the Billings Halloween Decorating Contest in Haunting of Michael Oedekoven, a contest that honors their late husband and father, Michael Oedekoven.
“We just wanted to give Halloween the same love that Christmas seems to get with people going around and looking at lights," said Tiffany Oedekoven, one of Michael's three children.
Each year, nearly a dozen family members pile into a van and tour various decorated houses around the city. They visit every entry in a single night, which can sometimes be up to 20 homes. They judge not by size or budget, but by creativity and heart.
"It's hard for us to judge these," said Tiffany. "I'm just looking to see who put the most fun, interesting, heart into it, unique stuff into it."
This year, the family received 10 entries. Homes enter the contest through the family’s Facebook page. Several days before Halloween, the Oedekovens make their judgments and share photos of the entries online. The top three winners receive donations from their family business, Asphalt Plus. First place gets a check for $100, $75 for second, and $50 for third.
“It's so funny because they just love to have us come," said Melinda Oedekoven, Michael's wife. "They even bring us out candy bars or apple cider, you know, I mean, they're just excited to see us."
The Oedekovens said they often favor originality and homemade displays over larger ones and enjoy seeing when participants put in lots of effort.
“We used to have a rubric, and we used to try to be very efficient about it, and then we just kind of started to use our emotions," said Melinda. "We kind of like this, the whole homemade thing, because that's what Mike did. He was so creative. He was so artistic."
The family's contest stems from a long history of Halloween traditions and memories. Melinda's husband, Michael, loved everything about the holiday. They raised their children, Tiffany, Tenille, and Tyler, while running their family asphalt business. Every year, it was the spooky holiday that they looked forward to most.
“He used to make all of our costumes. I remember I went as a unicorn one time and then he'd paint our faces,” said Tiffany. "He could fix and build just about anything, and then he was a great artist.”
But on October 25, 2018, tragedy struck. On his way to a job site in Fromberg early that morning, Michael was killed in a head-on crash with another vehicle driven by a 16-year-old. Both died at the scene. He was 56.
"It was a circumstance that I would pray that nobody ever has to go through," said Melinda. "And we overcame it.”
The following year, the family launched the Halloween decorating contest in his memory. Through it, they have turned their grief into something beautiful and healing.
“It was a tragedy, but, you know, I really enjoy what we're doing because it kind of keeps him alive with us," said Melinda. “Some things that we do, others might think is morbid, but I think Mike would get a kick out of it.”
Now, Mike’s creativity shines through his children and grandchildren. For Tiffany, Halloween is also her favorite holiday, and she usually decorates her house with elaborate decorations. She has also helped produce and write the script for the Scarity Haunted House at the Depot for four years. Her brother, Tyler, his wife, Nicole, and their children act in the haunt each year, as well as one of Tenille's sons.
“He would just decorate the kids' faces, and he was so good at it, and now Tyler, which is Mike's son, my son, does the same thing," said Melinda. “You can just see Mike through his kids and his grandkids."
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“He was always just about spending family time together too, so our family is always doing everything together, always has," added Tiffany.
For the Oedekovens, Halloween isn’t just about ghosts and goblins, but about finding the light within the darkness. They've turned loss into love and are keeping the ghost of Michael's spirit always around.
“You can take this time and it can be very sad, and you can grieve, and it can be hurtful, and you're depressed, and you become lonely or alone, or you can make it to what we have done to where I think that's what he would have wanted,” said Melinda. “It's hard to explain, but we get it, and if it's comfort for us, then so be it."
