Now these ARE Giant Pumpkins!!
| Member | Message |
|---|---|
 |
Posted: Nov/19/2006 11:11 PM PST
This series of pics were taken at the Circleville Pumpkin Festival in Circleville Ohio. This year was the 100th anniversary of this festival. Finding a parking spot was a drive in itself. This is the first thing I came across before entering the town. The masons played a very important role in the development of the United States. The Brothers of Liberty were mostly made up of Masons, including Paul Revere who was eventually raised to Grand master. There are more chapters of Masons in Ohio than anywhere else in the world. Since the Free and Accepted Masons obviously participated in the early conception of the town of Circleville, it makes me wonder if there were any Mason's which belonged to the order of "FreeGardener"? The order of FreeGardener was once as large as the order of Freemasons up until, I believe the late 1700's when they all but completely dissapeared. But dissappearing doesn't mean they don't exist. Attachments:  |
|
|
Posted: Nov/19/2006 11:13 PM PST
Let's get right down to the nitty gritty and what I went there for. Now THESE are [B]Giant[/B] Pumpkins!!! Attachments:  |
|
|
Posted: Nov/19/2006 11:15 PM PST
Have the people living in Circleville been living two years behind the rest of us for the past hundred years or so?? I found this sign on the ground just beneath the winners list. Knowing this couldn't be right, I did some investigating and found out that the Pumpkin Festival was not held for two years during the war, so those two years are not counted in it's history. Glad we got that squared away. Check out that prize!! You could walk away wearing a brand new FIVE DOLLAR pair of jeans for an 88 pound pumpkin!! WOW!!! I wonder if they were LEVI jeans? LOL Actually, if you think about it, five bucks could probably get you a pretty nice pair of jeans a hundred years ago. You could still pay five dollars for a decent pair of jeans at a thrift store, even now. A cheap pair of Wranglers can be picked up NEW for about $15 TODAY!! I'd say the jean manufacturers have done a pretty good job of keeping the price of jeans low. {end jean ramble} Attachments:  |
|
|
Posted: Nov/19/2006 11:16 PM PST
Now this is a cool Punkin carving!! This carving is a duplicate of a mural which is being painted on the side of a building in the square of town. I didn't get any pictures of the mural. The area around the mural was just too crowded with people to get a good picture. I'm not sure if it is the same artist which has done the murals in Massillon but, the work looks nearly identical, same style and design. This artist knows how to bring the side of a building to life !! Attachments:  |
|
|
Posted: Nov/19/2006 11:17 PM PST
Taken from the official Circleville Pumpkin Show website http://www.pumpkinshow.com/index.htm : In commemoration of the 100th Celebration of the Circleville Pumpkin Show, nationally renowned muralist and Circleville native, Eric Henn, has begun to transform the Johnson Building at 116 E. Main Street into a 56’x36’ work of art. I love this guys work!! I swear it looks like you could walk right into the painting. There are several of them in the downtown area of Masssillon Ohio and have been there for quite a few years. Every town should have them . Attachments:  |
|
|
Posted: Nov/19/2006 11:20 PM PST
Circleville has a lot of old town charm. I could picture the town without all of the fuss of the Pumpkin Festival and it was like taking a step back in time. I don't know how many people usually attend this event but they REALLY know how to pack em in there. The festival was spread out throughout the entire downtown area. I'd venture to say that every available parking space was taken within a mile circle of the event. Just about everyone who had space in their yard or driveway was accepting parking for a $5 fee. I saw one kid holding a sign which said, "parking $10". OUCH!! Attachments:   |
|
|
Posted: Nov/19/2006 11:21 PM PST
This year they featured the "Worlds largest Pumpkin Pie". 14 feet in diameter 360 pounds of sugar 795 pounds of pumpkin 60 lbs. of powered milk 60 dozen eggs 75 gallons of water 400 lbs. of flour 15 people to mix 10 hours to bake Attachments:    |
|
|
Posted: Nov/19/2006 11:23 PM PST
The Winners List. 1st Place - 1,324.0 Pounds Karen Wiget & Buddy Conley 2nd Place - 1,167.0 Pounds Karen Wiget 3rd Place - 1,118.0 Pounds Larry Schaffer Attachments:  |
|
|
Posted: Nov/19/2006 11:23 PM PST
Taken from the "Official Circleville Pumpkin Show web site". By HERALD STAFF WRITER Ella, named after Buddy Conley's two-year-old granddaughter Ella Clancy, captured the Giant Pumpkin Contest at the Circleville Pumpkin Show. The giant pumpkin, grown by Conley and Karen Wiget of Laurelville, weighed 1,324 pounds and was the largest in the 41 entries Wednesday and one of four giants that bested the 1,000 pound mark. Eleven days earlier, the pumpkin won the weigh-off in Chillicothe. It weighed 1,333.5 pounds at that time. The champion giant was pulled up Main Street on a trailer with its sibling, Sara, which weighed 1,167 pounds and finished in second place. Sara was named in memory of the late Sara Bloom of Laurelville. Conley and Wiget name their pumpkins, grown from different genetic stock, each year so they can be tended independently. To commemorate the 100th Pumpkin Show, the couple also wanted to have the wagon drawn by a team of horses. However, Pumpkin Show Inc. did not want to handle the clean up. They borrowed a 1952 Farmall tractor owned and restored by Marilyn Evans, South Bloomfield, and operated by fellow grower Joe Gerchy. The tractor was purchased new by her grandfather, the late Harry A. Keller. The tractor and trailer is expected to pull the winning giant through Saturday night's final parade, Conley said. If their two giants are not purchased when Pumpkin Show ends, they plan to return them to their Laurelville home for display. The couple plans to haul them to downtown Laurelville for the begger's night celebration before harvesting seeds. Third place was earned by Larry Schaffer of Chillicothe with a 1,118 pound giant. Schaffer started growing giants in the 1970s, primarily as competition to the small group of local growers who dominated the competition. It began a 10-year run of seven Pumpkin Show winners. After a 41-year careen with Chillicothe Paper Company (Mead), he retired. And, because of increasing damage to the giants from marauding deer and ground hogs, he retired from competition as well. Two years ago, however, he regained the competitive spirit thanks in part to an eight-foot tall fence he installed around his garden. Fourth place grower was Tracey Miller, the daughter of last year's champion Ken Speakman and a first-timer. Her giant, once the smallest in Speakman's patch which he shared with his neighbor Sherman Dixon and grandson Caleb Miller, weighed 1,099.5 pounds. The first grade teacher at Washington Elementary School plans to try again next year to capture the big prize. Fifth place winner was seven-year-old Gunner Hall, who grew a 1,061.5 pounder in the garden of his grandfather Mark Lutz. The record giant pumpkin was 1,353 pounds grown by Dr. Robert Liggett for the 2004 Pumpkin Show. It was the first giant to crest the 1,000 pound mark. Liggett won the event 1994-1996 and again in 2002 with a 935 pound giant. Last year's winner was Ken Speakman with a giant weighing 951.5 pounds. Conley won the top prize in 1999 with a pumpkin weighing 617 pounds and repeated in 2001 with an 897 pound pumpkin. Wiget won in 1997 with a 516.5 pound giant. For the record, Joel Holland won the recent giant pumpkin competition in Half Moon Bay, Calif., with a 1, 223 pound entry. The largest pumpkin grown in the U.S. this year was a 1,502 giant by Ken Wallace of Rhode Island. 2006 Pumpkin Weigh In |
|
|
Posted: Nov/19/2006 11:25 PM PST
The FIRST PRIZE PUNKIN!!! Grower = Karen L Wiget & Buddy Conley For their 1324 pound entry!! Attachments:   |
