Yarmouth resident Mary Post and her family have been creating displays of skeletons in different scenarios in their yard during the pandemic. Mary, her fiance Scott Couture and son Will Post, 11, pose with “Bone-ita” while “Skully” hangs from a tree. Also pictured is their 2-year-old English Mastiff, Tahlulah. Staff photo by Derek Davis/Staff Photographer Buy this Photo
YARMOUTH — For the past two Octobers, Yarmouth residents have watched Mary Post’s front yard on East Main Street come alive with scenes of a pair of skeletons dressed in various costumes. This year, the decor came early; the skeletons have been on full display since the coronavirus pandemic began in the spring.
When Post saw people putting up their Christmas lights this spring to try to spread joy in the midst of the pandemic, she decided it was time for the skeletons to make an appearance.
Post moved to Yarmouth two years ago from Long Island, New York, and lives with her son, Will, and fiancé, Scott Couture. In October, the family sets up the skeletons, whom they’ve named Skully and Boneita Bones, doing different activities, from swinging in a tree to taking a bath on the front porch, changing the scene every three or four days.
So far this spring, the skeletons have been camping, watched the fireworks for the Fourth of July and gone bird watching. They hold their version of events happening in town, including prom, graduation and a birthday celebration.
Mary Post arranged for Skully and Boneita Bones to enjoy fireworks and celebrate the Fourth of July from her house in Yarmouth. Photo Courtesy Mary Post
Post changes the scene weekly, and though it’s becoming increasingly difficult to come up with creative ideas for the skeletons, she plans to keep it going. “We were going to stop a couple times, but people said, ‘No!’ (Some people) drive by once a week to see them,'” Post said.
East Main Street is centrally located in Yarmouth, and Post says many residents frequently drive past her house. Now, some drive by just to see the skeletons.
“A lot of people stop and take photographs and send them to their families, or they take photos with the skeletons,” Post said. “People love it, they seem to think it’s really fun.”
Janet Hansen, who lives just up the road in Yarmouth, says Post is doing a great job keeping “spirits” up in town.
“I believe she is doing the displays to keep everyone’s spirits up, and I would say that is working,” Hansen wrote. “The displays are quite amusing as well as creative.”
Post also shares photos of the displays on the Yarmouth Community Network Facebook page and has received positive feedback. One recent post, a photo of the skeletons bird-watching, complete with binoculars, a bird-watching book and a fake bird’s nest, has almost 80 reactions and 24 comments. “Thank you for giving us a smile every time we drive by!” one comment reads. “We enjoy these characters very much! No matter what they are doing. … It’s fantastic!” touts another.
Post plans to continue the skeleton displays through October before putting the Boneses away for the winter. “We’ll see how things are going in the spring,” Post said.
For Post, it’s all about bringing joy to a tough situation.
“I’m just always happy when people stop us and say, ‘It makes our week,’ ” she said. “It brings smiles to our faces because that’s really our goal with the pandemic.”
The skeletons practice social distancing in a canoe scene in front of Post’s house earlier this spring. Photo Courtesy Mary Post
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