Dan Carlson and Marc Petersen of Clinton knew they had a huge pumpkin when they arrived at the Pumpkinfest Weigh-off on October 7. What the men didn’t know was that their pumpkin, weighing in at 1,275.5 pounds, would be a Pumpkinfest record as well as a state record.

“We’ve had a little bit of luck and great seed from Ralph’s pumpkin last year,” Dan said, referring to the state record winner grown by Ralph Trumm of Onslow last year.

“Honestly, it’s a lot of luck. One year you may have nothing and the next year you have this,” added Marc, pointing to the gigantic veggie.

Both men have been growing pumpkins for several years, but began growing together only two or three years ago.

“We’ve gotten third a couple of times, but never won,” said Dan.

He said he began growing when some co-workers got together to see who could grow the biggest pumpkin.

“We didn’t know about this then (Pumpkinfest Weigh-off). We saw it later in the Cedar Rapids Gazette or the Des Moines Register,” he included.

“I started in my back yard, just for the sake of doing something different,” explained Marc.

The second place pumpkin was grown by Ralph’s brother Josh Trumm, and father, John Trumm, also with seed from one of Ralph’s pumpkins, that tipped the scale at 690 pounds. Their pumpkin weighed 1,178 pounds.

Josh and John have been growing pumpkins together for three years.

“The first year we grew a 770 pound pumpkin and last year’s was 900 pounds. We’ve been trying to improve every year,” said Josh, who said the pair was happy to get a spot on the float for the parade this year.

“My biggest disappointment is that we didn’t beat Ralph’s pumpkin from last year,” John said with a chuckle.

“The seeds are a big part of the process, if you want to grow a big pumpkin you have to have good genetics,” Josh added.

Weigh-off coordinator Greg Norlin said the pumpkins have been increasing in size by nearly 100 pounds each year.

“Imagine if corn genetics were like these pumpkins,” Norlin said.

Ralph didn’t have an entry in the pumpkin category this year.

“I had multiply problems. I knew by August that I wouldn’t have one,” he said.

Ralph said he shooting for an entry next year, and that he was happy to have provided the seed for the top two pumpkins.

“I want to say congratulations to dan and Marc, and also my brother and my dad,” Ralph concluded.

For complete coverage of the weigh-off winners and other Pumpkinfest activities, see section B of the this paper.

JONES COUNTY—Tim Boyle, former Cedar Rapids radio personality and current chief executive officer of the Cedar Rapids Convention and Visitors Bureau will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Jones County Tourism Association (JCTA) annual meeting. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m., Thursday, November 9, at the Veterans Hall in Monticello’s new Renaissance Center.

Activities that evening will include exhibits from member organizations, dinner at 6:30, introductions and comments from state, regional, and local dignitaries, Boyle’s address, and a brief annual meeting and election of officers.

JCTA members, the governor, state legislators, the board of supervisors, Jones County mayors and city council members, and representatives of the state and Eastern Iowa tourism offices are invited.

“Tim Boyle is well known and respected in our area. He believes in promoting tourism, and we are excited he has agreed to address our members at our annual meeting,” said Joan Marlin, JCTA director.

Marlin continued, “The annual meeting and dinner will be an opportunity for members to display their properties and network with other members and government leaders. We hope all of our members, prospective members, and the public will take advantage of this chance to see what Jones County and JCTA have to offer.”

More information about the annual meeting is available by calling the JCTA office at 319-462-4101 or 800-3863-0831 or e-mail at jciatour@jonescountytourism.com.