A Plethora of Pumpkins

Jeff Theil, of Dillonvale, Ohio took the top spot in the 57th Barnesville Pumpkin Festival’s King Pumpkin weigh-off Wednesday night, when his gargantuan gourd tipped the scales at 2,195 pounds, more than 100 pounds heavier than the second-place finisher. Theil’s pumpkin took the state record from Todd and Donna Skinner, whose giant pumpkin weighed in at 2,150 pounds at the 2017 festival. Theil said he owes his prize pumpkin to a deceased friend. “I got the seed from a guy who ended up passing away from cancer. I emailed his wife when [the pumpkin] was 50 days old and I let her know how things were going and I told her I can’t help think that he’s up there pushing things along.” The largest US pumpkin in 2019 was 2,517 pounds, grown by Karl and Beverly Haist in Clarence Center, NY. Every fall, thousands of backyard gardeners haul an enormous harvest to county and state fairs around the country. Blue ribbon winners weigh as much as a compact car. World champion growers have turned what was once an innocuous 4-H hobby into a professional pursuit, with big cash prizes instead of just blue ribbons, the seeds of world champion specimens fetching upwards of $1,000 each. But that shouldn’t deter you from seeing how big of a pumpkin you can grow just for the fun of it, not to mention the bragging rights you’ll accrue. Plain ol’ pumpkin pie filling still reigns as the top selling pumpkin product, with $135 million in sales. Here are some samples of pumpkin products you never thought of:

 

Pumpkin is no laughing matter

Why do we carve pumpkins for Halloween?
Because they’re less bloody.

What does a one eyed pumpkin wear?
A pumpkin patch.

A pumpkin says to a jack-o’-lantern “All we ever do is sit around on the stoop. Don’t you want to mix it up, try something different?”
The jack-o’-lantern says, “I don’t have the guts.”

How do you cure someone with a pumpkin spice addiction?
Apply the pumpkin patch.

 

September 27th Birthdays

1971 – Tamara Taylor, 1973 – Gwyneth Paltro, 1983 – Anna Camp, 1990 – Kylee Lin

1960 – Steve Kerr, 1976 – Steve Kerr, 1993 – Sam Lerner, 1992 – Thomas Mann

 

Morning Motivator:

Only those who can see the invisible can do the impossible.

 

Mine is bigger than yours