By MIKE PRATT
The Herald
Claude Shepherd's pumpkin was in a truck near the end of the line that
led to the scales that would tell who wins the 2000 crown. Shepherd had
gone to park his car. When he returned, people greeted him along the
way. He was wearing a proud smile, as if he knew he had the prize all
sewed up.
As it turns out, he won. His pumpkin weighed 528.2 pounds. His first
prize earned him one dollar per pound. Although he had the largest
entry, it was by the narrowest of margins. The second place pumpkin,
brought in by John Pontius of Circleville, was .four-tenths of a pound
behind him.
Shepherd, of Clarksburg, said he has just been seeing what he could do
for the last 20 years, never serious about competition - until this
year.
Buddy Conley, last year's winner with a 617 pounder, gave Shepherd a
seed from his champion.
"It took off and I started taking care of it." Shepherd said.
He didn't realize raising a prize pumpkin would be so much work.
"He would have given up if I hadn't urged him on," said Shepherd's
wife, Sharon. "It was a lot of work."
Shepherd said he had the perfect location for his pumpkin to grow. It
was near a pond, which gave him all the water he needed throughout the
growing season.
"I'm a landscaper," Shepherd said. "I usually take care of the yard.
This time I took more time out for the squash."
When the champion pumpkin was young and vulnerable it was threatened by
an early frost. The Shepherds took special care to protect it from the
freeze.
About two weeks ago Shepherd lost another pumpkin that was even bigger
than the champion. Sharon said it must have been near 800 pounds. Claude
said it was at least 700 pounds.
While other entrants said they had to fight insects all summer,
Shepherd thanked purple martins (swallows) for taking care of the bugs.
He gives Conley credit as well.
"Buddy Conley came out a couple of times and gave me a lot of
encouragement."
Pontius lives in Circleville, but grew his pumpkin in Kingston. It
weighed 527.8 pounds. Certainly it was enough to take the $300 second
prize.
Pontius had gone through the line ahead of Shepherd and believed he
might possibly have the winner. After Shepherd won, Pontius shook his
head and said, "Four tenths." That's all he could say.
His entry came from a seed he bought from the Eastern Ohio Pumpkin
Growers Association. It came from Joel Holland of the state of
Washington, who produced a world record a few years ago.
"I just gave it a lot of care and killed bugs," Pontius said. "It would
have been bigger if it hadn't been for the bugs."
Pontius said the key to raising such a large pumpkin is water.
"It needs lots of water," he said.
Dean Park had two entries that were heavy enough to win third and
fourth places. Third place and winner of $150 weighed in at 476 pounds.
His fourth place pumpkin weighed 435 pounds.
Like so many other growers, Park lost pumpkins this season. Two of them
were bigger than the ones he entered in the Pumpkin Show.
Park, who has been growing pumpkins 21 years, used Columbus Comtill
fertilizer and compost. Other than that, he said he had no real secrets,
except that he uses soapy water and tobacco juice to keep the bugs away.
Park is a member of the Pumpkin Show Growers Association. There are
about 25 people in the group.
He said pumpkin growers have good camaraderie and commonly share
secrets with each other.
A father and son team had the fifth place pumpkin. Keith Young and his
son Scott, of Chillicothe, entered a squash at 396 pounds. This is their
third year of seriously growing pumpkins. Last year they got a seed from
Conley and took fourth place. They then took seed from that pumpkin to
produce the one they have this year.
"Cucumber beetles were our main enemy this year," Keith said. "It
carries some kind of bacteria."
