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Thursday, October 5, 2006
2006 PumpkinFest weigh-off
By CASEY CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
The only thing broken at the 2006 PumpkinFest weigh-off this weekend seemed to be people's hearts.
Murmurs of anticipation swept through the crowd as the final giant pumpkin _ Craig Lembke's monster from Forestville, N.Y. _took to the scales. Expectations were high among growers and festival attendees that this was the pumpkin that would shatter the world record of 1,469 pounds.
When the pumpkin's weight came in at an astonishingly low weight of 1,091.7 _ 400 pounds less than estimated based on standard measurement charts _ the crowd and growers fell silent.
"I think that was kind of an appropriate moment of silence," said New York State Giant Pumpkin Growers Association president Randy Sundstrom "Just utter silence, the shock of not knowing what to do. It was actually taping off the charts and should have been about 1,500 pounds."
After a few moments of confusion, organizers restarted the scale, reset the pumpkin and weighed it again, only to have a second weighing show 1,090.8 pounds, good enough only for third place.
While he did set a personal best with the pumpkin, Lembke _ a giant pumpkin grower with 25 years of experience _ said his pumpkin's low weight came as quite the shock.
"My heart was right down in my foot," Lembke said. "It was a big disappointment."
With Lembke's pumpkin out of the running, the $2,000 1st place prize went to Joe Pukos of Leicester, N.Y. and his 1225.3 pound pumpkin.
"I was pretty happy. I think everybody had kind of given it to Craig," he said. He said "everything just lined up for me," as Lembke's pumpkin came up short and a pumpkin weighing 1,237.9 pounds had been disqualified because of soft spots.
Pukos came in second place last year with a pumpkin weighing 1,231 pounds and third place the year before. He said he's looking forward to next year and hopes he'll outdo his personal best of 1,231.
"It's a goofy hobby," he said. There are no guarantees that Mother Nature won't destroy the pumpkin at the last minute, but "the rewards outweigh the bad things almost every time."
Although the weigh-off didn't result in any broken state or world records, organizers were enthusiastic this week about the festival's continued success in Cooperstown.
Citing the entry of several out-of-state growers and the fact that this year's festival was filmed by a PBS crew and will be featured in a one-hour special next year, Sundstrom said next year's weigh-off will be even bigger.
"I have a feeling within five years, it's going to be one of the places to be if you're a pumpkin grower," Sundstrom said. "Cooperstown is going to be knee-deep in pumpkins next year."
Sundstrom said a representative from the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth was also on hand and was drafting a letter of praise commending Cooperstown for the professionalism of the event.
Polly Renckens, executive director of the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, said estimates put festival attendance between 2,500 and 3,000. Fifty pumpkins were weighed.
"I think that we were extra successful in creating a great community event," Renckens said.
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