Keep On Keeping On
by Pete Fierle
by Pete Fierle
Dave Moomaw spends far more time thinking about Halloween throughout the year than the average person. Thanks to his retirement aligning with a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, the restless mechanical engineer and toy designer transformed his historic home in East Aurora, New York into a magnificent Halloween display in 2020. The village owns the moniker “Toy Town, USA,” because it is home to Fisher-Price Toys. It soon may become better known for its annual celebration of the fall holiday.
Moomaw transferred his boredom during the quarantine into thinking it was time for a giant spider, more than 10 feet in diameter, to emerge from his basement. The model had been stored there since a company turned down his concept. The motor-operated creature, with moving legs and head, became the anchor of his entertaining Halloween setup, as it was hoisted and supported 35 feet in the air by a crane.
“I am basically not surprised at all. It’s like very on brand. He’s ‘go big or go home,’” his daughter Xan Moomaw shared.
His work quickly garnered the attention of others living in this town located outside Buffalo. His creation gained further notoriety when a TikTok video went viral and attracted more than 10 million views.
That was only the start. Soon it was clear that the spider needed a web.
“So, two weeks later, there was no quarter-inch hemp rope left in East Aurora because I built the web out of it,” Dave explained. “Then people asked what I was going to do next year, and I bragged, I was going to make the spider walk down the web.”
That he did. Dave upgraded the display by having the spider crawl across a web the size of his house. He added baby spiders and bats too!
Moomaw transferred his boredom during the quarantine into thinking it was time for a giant spider, more than 10 feet in diameter, to emerge from his basement. The model had been stored there since a company turned down his concept. The motor-operated creature, with moving legs and head, became the anchor of his entertaining Halloween setup, as it was hoisted and supported 35 feet in the air by a crane.
“I am basically not surprised at all. It’s like very on brand. He’s ‘go big or go home,’” his daughter Xan Moomaw shared.
His work quickly garnered the attention of others living in this town located outside Buffalo. His creation gained further notoriety when a TikTok video went viral and attracted more than 10 million views.
That was only the start. Soon it was clear that the spider needed a web.
“So, two weeks later, there was no quarter-inch hemp rope left in East Aurora because I built the web out of it,” Dave explained. “Then people asked what I was going to do next year, and I bragged, I was going to make the spider walk down the web.”
That he did. Dave upgraded the display by having the spider crawl across a web the size of his house. He added baby spiders and bats too!
Their historic home was once the residence of Elbert Hubbard, his second wife Alice and their daughter Miriam. Hubbard founded Roycroft, an arts and crafts community, in the late 1800s that attracted people to East Aurora from around the world. Dave’s wife of 49 years, Ellen Moomaw, has long cared for the home and its extensive gardens and hosts tours.
That distinction becomes an afterthought each October as hundreds of cars line the street to see the house in all its Halloween wonder. This latest invention doesn’t come as a shock to Ellen since she has spent much of her life watching her husband create.
The couple went to nearby colleges in the Boston, Massachusetts area and met when their glee clubs took a trip to California. Their mutual attraction to one another led to them to being one of few couples on that trip that later married. It was early in their dating life when Ellen observed how Dave harnessed his curiosity. While in college, he built a vehicle from junk in the world — odd bolts and screws and other parts found on the road. Upon completion, she joined him for a test drive that nearly landed them in a lake.
“That’s one crazy thing,” Ellen stated as she pondered the many pet projects and experiences over the years. “He likes adrenaline.”
After graduation, he landed a job as an engineer at Fisher-Price Toys. A few years into his career, at the age of 25, life changed forever. Dave and Ellen were set to ride motorcycles to a campground at Disney World. The night before their planned departure, Dave rode his bike to a shop to get some tools to change tires if needed on their trek.
On his return, he rode past a restaurant as an older couple was backing out into the road. A sign obstructed the view for both the driver and Dave. The car struck him crushing his leg and ejecting him from the bike with such force that he flew 150 feet down the street into oncoming traffic. The accident occurred in front of the house of an emergency squad member who quickly provided attention to the badly injured motorcyclist.
Dave, after failing to get up, instantly knew the severity of the injury before shock set in. Despite operations performed to try to save the limb, circulation was not working in the lower portion of his leg.
“I could feel it dying,” he recalled. Within days, his right leg was amputated below the knee.
“I don’t really know even what I was feeling? I was pretty numb,” Ellen recounted of the horrific moment in time. “Very fundamentally, it changed our lives.”
Dave was hospitalized for a month. He was weaned off the painkilling drugs after about a week. That is when his mechanical mind helped distract him from the life-changing accident.
“It wasn’t like just the physical discomfort; it was just boring as hell.”
Unlike most people in that situation, Dave turned his focus to research and design of a hang glider toy he was working on. In fact, he ordered his first hang glider from his hospital bed. He also drew up several other designs for things that we would do once he received a prosthetic.
At Dave’s urging, the young couple embarked on a year-long trip across the country in a motorhome that took them to 42 states. While Ellen had a fleeting thought she could maintain that lifestyle, Dave was ready to get back to work.
He returned to Fisher-Price at which time he made a great career move for him as he shifted from engineering to toy design. Among his many successes, he was a key member of a team that designed the company’s famous bubble mower.
In 1990, after 17 years with the company, he acted on his dream of owning his own business. Despite receiving an offer that doubled his salary and carried no management requirement which he desired, Dave resigned. Overnight he became an independent toy designer working out of his shop in the carriage house at his home, a job he continued until his recent retirement.
That distinction becomes an afterthought each October as hundreds of cars line the street to see the house in all its Halloween wonder. This latest invention doesn’t come as a shock to Ellen since she has spent much of her life watching her husband create.
The couple went to nearby colleges in the Boston, Massachusetts area and met when their glee clubs took a trip to California. Their mutual attraction to one another led to them to being one of few couples on that trip that later married. It was early in their dating life when Ellen observed how Dave harnessed his curiosity. While in college, he built a vehicle from junk in the world — odd bolts and screws and other parts found on the road. Upon completion, she joined him for a test drive that nearly landed them in a lake.
“That’s one crazy thing,” Ellen stated as she pondered the many pet projects and experiences over the years. “He likes adrenaline.”
After graduation, he landed a job as an engineer at Fisher-Price Toys. A few years into his career, at the age of 25, life changed forever. Dave and Ellen were set to ride motorcycles to a campground at Disney World. The night before their planned departure, Dave rode his bike to a shop to get some tools to change tires if needed on their trek.
On his return, he rode past a restaurant as an older couple was backing out into the road. A sign obstructed the view for both the driver and Dave. The car struck him crushing his leg and ejecting him from the bike with such force that he flew 150 feet down the street into oncoming traffic. The accident occurred in front of the house of an emergency squad member who quickly provided attention to the badly injured motorcyclist.
Dave, after failing to get up, instantly knew the severity of the injury before shock set in. Despite operations performed to try to save the limb, circulation was not working in the lower portion of his leg.
“I could feel it dying,” he recalled. Within days, his right leg was amputated below the knee.
“I don’t really know even what I was feeling? I was pretty numb,” Ellen recounted of the horrific moment in time. “Very fundamentally, it changed our lives.”
Dave was hospitalized for a month. He was weaned off the painkilling drugs after about a week. That is when his mechanical mind helped distract him from the life-changing accident.
“It wasn’t like just the physical discomfort; it was just boring as hell.”
Unlike most people in that situation, Dave turned his focus to research and design of a hang glider toy he was working on. In fact, he ordered his first hang glider from his hospital bed. He also drew up several other designs for things that we would do once he received a prosthetic.
At Dave’s urging, the young couple embarked on a year-long trip across the country in a motorhome that took them to 42 states. While Ellen had a fleeting thought she could maintain that lifestyle, Dave was ready to get back to work.
He returned to Fisher-Price at which time he made a great career move for him as he shifted from engineering to toy design. Among his many successes, he was a key member of a team that designed the company’s famous bubble mower.
In 1990, after 17 years with the company, he acted on his dream of owning his own business. Despite receiving an offer that doubled his salary and carried no management requirement which he desired, Dave resigned. Overnight he became an independent toy designer working out of his shop in the carriage house at his home, a job he continued until his recent retirement.
Ellen recalls the uncertainty caused by the transition and the fact that in Dave’s first month out on his own, they had to put their mortgage payment on a credit card. But, she described, “It was just full steam ahead and he was much happier.”
Dave capitalized on becoming untethered from the restrictions and rules that came with working for one of the world’s biggest toy companies. Running his own business opened countless opportunities from other toy companies seeking his cleverness and expertise. He left Fisher-Price on a Friday and had his first commission the following morning. The work never stopped.
His newfound freedom and flexibility also allowed for an alcohol use disorder to worsen. Struggling to fully cope with the accident, a drinking habit that began in college grew over the next twenty years. In his own words, he tried to drink himself better. Living as a functioning alcoholic, he started drinking each day after lunch and didn’t stop until dinner rolled around.
His “all or nothing” personality combined with an ultimatum from Ellen led to the end of his addiction.
“I’m sitting here smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, doing basically a liter a day,” he recounted. “I’m getting palpitations. I got one cigarette in the ashtray and one cigarette I’m working on. And I had like this, I think of it as an epiphany and I was like, ‘You know? OK, you finally reached your goal. You’re finally where you want to be, and now you’re going to f — — — g die.”
He signed up for a rehab program and gradually stopped drinking and has remained sober for almost four decades. It took a couple more years before he put his chain smoking in the rearview mirror.
As he entered his 40s, his clean living included converting to vegetarianism and embracing plenty of physical activities. He started skiing again and tried roller blading, hang gliding and skateboarding.
Dave then found his passion while on a snorkeling trip to Bonaire, a Dutch island off the coast of Venezuela. He was drawn to the many windsurfers in the water and decided to take a lesson. He was instantly hooked. Dave began visiting the island in the southern Caribbean to windsurf for the better part of six weeks each winter. It is a tradition that continues today, even at the age of 72.
Dave capitalized on becoming untethered from the restrictions and rules that came with working for one of the world’s biggest toy companies. Running his own business opened countless opportunities from other toy companies seeking his cleverness and expertise. He left Fisher-Price on a Friday and had his first commission the following morning. The work never stopped.
His newfound freedom and flexibility also allowed for an alcohol use disorder to worsen. Struggling to fully cope with the accident, a drinking habit that began in college grew over the next twenty years. In his own words, he tried to drink himself better. Living as a functioning alcoholic, he started drinking each day after lunch and didn’t stop until dinner rolled around.
His “all or nothing” personality combined with an ultimatum from Ellen led to the end of his addiction.
“I’m sitting here smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, doing basically a liter a day,” he recounted. “I’m getting palpitations. I got one cigarette in the ashtray and one cigarette I’m working on. And I had like this, I think of it as an epiphany and I was like, ‘You know? OK, you finally reached your goal. You’re finally where you want to be, and now you’re going to f — — — g die.”
He signed up for a rehab program and gradually stopped drinking and has remained sober for almost four decades. It took a couple more years before he put his chain smoking in the rearview mirror.
As he entered his 40s, his clean living included converting to vegetarianism and embracing plenty of physical activities. He started skiing again and tried roller blading, hang gliding and skateboarding.
Dave then found his passion while on a snorkeling trip to Bonaire, a Dutch island off the coast of Venezuela. He was drawn to the many windsurfers in the water and decided to take a lesson. He was instantly hooked. Dave began visiting the island in the southern Caribbean to windsurf for the better part of six weeks each winter. It is a tradition that continues today, even at the age of 72.
The sport also connected him to his “sailing buddy” and “life coach,” Denny Scherer who specializes in curved copper bay window roofs and creates acid treated copper artwork. The two met when Denny came to Dave’s home to help with a leak in the roof about 25 years ago.
Denny’s windsurfing equipment in the back of his truck and Dave wearing shorts that exposed his prosthetic led to a conversation. Denny had heard of a one-legged surfer from his instructor who also happened to give lessons to Dave. Not long after, the two found themselves on the water together.
They became best friends as the relationship grew stronger through their shared likes and dislikes, senses of humor, interests in windsurfing, skiing, and talking politics. And, like Dave, Denny overcame a drinking problem and has enjoyed more than 40 years of sobriety. The two have gone on several vacations to ski slopes and ocean waves.
The road to today has been anything but easy for Dave and is a lesson in perseverance, perspective, and attitude. As Ellen points out, “We’re both really stubborn, and so that’s helped us. We just keep on keeping on.”
For seven years following his motorcycle accident, Dave struggled with bleeding and pain as he continually tried to find a comfortable prosthetic. Fortunately, his relentless search led him to Jan Stokosa of the Stokosa Prosthetic Clinic outside Lansing, Michigan. Dave engaged in the process and together they worked to design a prosthetic limb that worked well for everyday life. They also designed specialized prosthetics that accommodated Dave’s varied physical activities.
“I didn’t design the prosthetic as much as I designed the attachments,” Dave explained. “The key to a prosthetic is the fit; is the part that touches your skin. The rest of the stuff is machinery.”
Dave started to push the limits through his windsurfing and eventually went from needing crutches at the end of each day to being able to windsurf daily for 10 weeks and walk without a limp.
The process of utilizing the latest technology to develop techniques for getting the proper fit is never ending. Currently, they are on the 15th version of the prosthetic designed for windsurfing.
Denny’s windsurfing equipment in the back of his truck and Dave wearing shorts that exposed his prosthetic led to a conversation. Denny had heard of a one-legged surfer from his instructor who also happened to give lessons to Dave. Not long after, the two found themselves on the water together.
They became best friends as the relationship grew stronger through their shared likes and dislikes, senses of humor, interests in windsurfing, skiing, and talking politics. And, like Dave, Denny overcame a drinking problem and has enjoyed more than 40 years of sobriety. The two have gone on several vacations to ski slopes and ocean waves.
The road to today has been anything but easy for Dave and is a lesson in perseverance, perspective, and attitude. As Ellen points out, “We’re both really stubborn, and so that’s helped us. We just keep on keeping on.”
For seven years following his motorcycle accident, Dave struggled with bleeding and pain as he continually tried to find a comfortable prosthetic. Fortunately, his relentless search led him to Jan Stokosa of the Stokosa Prosthetic Clinic outside Lansing, Michigan. Dave engaged in the process and together they worked to design a prosthetic limb that worked well for everyday life. They also designed specialized prosthetics that accommodated Dave’s varied physical activities.
“I didn’t design the prosthetic as much as I designed the attachments,” Dave explained. “The key to a prosthetic is the fit; is the part that touches your skin. The rest of the stuff is machinery.”
Dave started to push the limits through his windsurfing and eventually went from needing crutches at the end of each day to being able to windsurf daily for 10 weeks and walk without a limp.
The process of utilizing the latest technology to develop techniques for getting the proper fit is never ending. Currently, they are on the 15th version of the prosthetic designed for windsurfing.
Dave has been asked many times to talk to other amputees. He humbly states, “I don’t believe I’ve ever actually motivated anybody. If they’ve made an internal decision, you know you either died or you didn’t … All you can do is encourage them.”
His ability to inspire others now relates to his passion for design. After spending a career in an industry that limited him from talking about specifics of his work due to the proprietary nature of the design world, he relishes the opportunity to share his knowledge.
He found himself engaging in conversation with people as they lined up to see his grand Halloween display. This past year, it led him to establishing a Facebook group that attracted more than 150 individuals infatuated by what he does.
“There’s just so many kids as I started this that just say, ‘how do you do this stuff?’ I think most of them just need a nudge.”
The group — consisting of middle school and high school students as well as many curious adults — quickly grew to more than a half dozen families who now meet in person. Dave starts his planning for the upcoming year shortly after taking down his display in November. He shares his models and process through the Halloween design workshops. There is a lot of back and forth as the members openly share ideas, thoughts and skills.
“He loves being creative and thinking out-of-the-box and kind of sparking that in others,” his son Trevor Moomaw observes.
Ellen believes the byproduct of the design group will lead to an explosion of over-the-top Halloween displays around town. She thinks that a tour map will be created to spread the holiday joy across East Aurora. She also points out that maybe it will mean that they won’t need to pass out more than 1,600 pieces of candy like last year!
Xan described her father’s personality like this. “He just goes, goes, goes and does it does it, does it."
She continued, “He doesn’t do anything part way. It’s all or nothing. It’s a good trait to have in a lot of ways because it means that he does really awesome stuff. But, it’s also a hard trait to watch somebody have because it’s a struggle … because he often doesn’t know where his limits are.”
She has noticed as her dad ages, he is learning his boundaries and willing to acknowledge when to say he’s had enough.
That, however, may not apply to his annual Halloween display anytime soon.
His ability to inspire others now relates to his passion for design. After spending a career in an industry that limited him from talking about specifics of his work due to the proprietary nature of the design world, he relishes the opportunity to share his knowledge.
He found himself engaging in conversation with people as they lined up to see his grand Halloween display. This past year, it led him to establishing a Facebook group that attracted more than 150 individuals infatuated by what he does.
“There’s just so many kids as I started this that just say, ‘how do you do this stuff?’ I think most of them just need a nudge.”
The group — consisting of middle school and high school students as well as many curious adults — quickly grew to more than a half dozen families who now meet in person. Dave starts his planning for the upcoming year shortly after taking down his display in November. He shares his models and process through the Halloween design workshops. There is a lot of back and forth as the members openly share ideas, thoughts and skills.
“He loves being creative and thinking out-of-the-box and kind of sparking that in others,” his son Trevor Moomaw observes.
Ellen believes the byproduct of the design group will lead to an explosion of over-the-top Halloween displays around town. She thinks that a tour map will be created to spread the holiday joy across East Aurora. She also points out that maybe it will mean that they won’t need to pass out more than 1,600 pieces of candy like last year!
Xan described her father’s personality like this. “He just goes, goes, goes and does it does it, does it."
She continued, “He doesn’t do anything part way. It’s all or nothing. It’s a good trait to have in a lot of ways because it means that he does really awesome stuff. But, it’s also a hard trait to watch somebody have because it’s a struggle … because he often doesn’t know where his limits are.”
She has noticed as her dad ages, he is learning his boundaries and willing to acknowledge when to say he’s had enough.
That, however, may not apply to his annual Halloween display anytime soon.
All photos courtesy of Dave Moomaw. This feature article was first published on Medium in March 2023.