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Early snow and a bad year for pumpkins reduced attendance at Lehi's annual giant pumpkin contest on Saturday. Last year, with nearly 50 entrants, the winning pumpkin was more than 380 pounds. This year, only 17 people brought orange orbs to be judged, and the overall winner was a comparatively scant 104 pounds.
Still, people went home ecstatic, if not also a little surprised. "I told my kids that last year's winner was 300 or 400 pounds, so don't expect to win biggest," said Travis Yates. "When my daughter's was announced as largest pumpkin, she had the biggest smile I've ever seen, a Christmas kind of thing. Immediately she was just ecstatic, grinning ear to ear, and had to run tell Mom at work and Grandma." Sydney Yates, 8, took home $100 for winning the grand prize. Her brother, Jacek, 11, won third-heaviest with a 95-pounder, and little brother Stockton, 5, won first place for the prettiest. "They actually helped plant the pumpkin seeds and built the mound up, and they would water the garden," Travis Yates said. Astonishingly, none of the pumpkins were grown with any fertilizer. The family did use mulch when the seeds were planted, and did nothing else to them but water them, the elder Yates said. "They are already talking about next year," Yates said of his prize-winning children. "They think this is one of the coolest things, and they are proud of Lehi and of living here." Larry and Cheryl Woffinden's children also came out well, with 11-year-old Jeff winning first place for the ugliest pumpkin and 9-year-old Jennette winning third place for prettiest. The ugliest pumpkin was riddled with "mud stains, green spots and cuts," said Jeff proudly. Jeff won $40 in prize money, while Jennette won $25. Cheryl Woffinden said her children would pool their money toward a video game player. Not so fast, said the kids, noting they intended to wait to see what Christmas and upcoming birthdays brought before investing their hard-won windfall. The Woffinden pumpkins were actually grown in Pleasant Grove in a cousin's garden because the Woffinden's were short of space in Lehi, the family said. The win was also fortuitous because the family did not even know about the contest until just before it started. Jeff happened to be at the grocery store near the family's home when he saw a notice of the contest and called his parents to run the pumpkins over. The Woffinden's said they will admire their winning squashes for now, and then carve them up for jack-o-lanterns in the week before Halloween. |
