PREECEVILLE — The largest pumpkin to win the annual Preeceville Great Pumpkin contest tipped the scales at 540 plus pounds.
The pumpkin was entered by Dennis Wales of Endeavour. Blake Beatty of Sturgis won second place for his entry that weighed 109lbs. Megan Maier won third place for her entry that weighed 45 lbs, and the Chalupiak family placed fourth for their pumpkin that weighed 37 lbs.
The contest was held at the Preeceville Main Street parking lot on September 27 and was sponsored by the Town of Preeceville Economic Development Committee and featured entries in the pumpkin, potato, cabbage, zucchini, onion, carrot, turnip, beet, and kids’ categories.
All entries had to be grown in a garden and must have been show-ready with the tops cut off. First-place entries won $50 and $25 was awarded for second place. Entries in the kids’ category received $10 and the pumpkin entries won $75 for first place and $50 for second.
Gracey Medvid had the task of weighing and measuring all vegetables.
In the carrot category, Dale Prestie won first place with his entry that weighed 1.73 lbs., second place was won by Dianne Kudeba for her entry, 1.67 lbs.
There were no children's entries
In the beet’s category, first prize was awarded to Dennis Wales for his 14 lbs, and Dale Parkin won second place for his entry, 5.8lbs.
In the zucchini category, Jon Beatty won first place for his entry that weighed 10 lbs. and second place was won by Mary Pasiechnik, no weight was recorded.
In the onion category, Dennis Wales placed first with his entry that weighed 1.12 lbs, second place was claimed by Harvey Wolowski for his entry that weighed 1.11 lbs.
There were no entries in the turnip category.
In the cabbage category, Peter Kroeker won first place with his entry that weighed 20 lbs., and second place was won by Marge Bowey for her entry that weighed 14 bs.
In the potato category, Elsie Luciw won first place for his entry that weighed 3.11 lbs, and second place was won by Jon Beatty for his entry, 3.4 lbs.
Gracey Medvid, one of the organizers, introduced Lorne Plaxin, one of the founding members. “ It is great to see the tradition of proudly showing garden vegetables continue,” said Plaxin. “It had always been a dream come true for me, and was started from a television show. After watching a show about how avid gardeners showed off their bountiful harvest crops and the large-scale vegetables, I decided that I wanted to try that same thing in Preeceville. The support through the years has been wonderful, and it is great to see so many entries and participants out to view today’s entries,” he concluded.
The EDC also hosted a barbecue lunch and there was also a small farmers' market with a few vendors in attendance.
