John Haluch of Martin won bragging rights and set a new Allegan County Fair record by bringing in a 918-pound pumpkin for competition this year.
The father of two said this behemoth of a gourd was actually only his first successful attempt.
“I’ve been doing this for more than 10 years, just in my backyard,” said the self-employed residential builder of his hobby. “I’ve just kept at it and it worked out this year.”
Karen Colborn manages the agriculture barn at the fair and said the next biggest pumpkin—since the fair began keeping track in 1987—tipped the scales at 853 pounds in 2011. In fact, Haluch’s pumpkin weighs nearly as much as the winners in the past two years (658 and 350 pounds).
“In fact, it’s probably a record that we have three pumpkins of this size at the same time,” Colborn said, pointing to the second- and third-place finishers, a pumpkin from South Haven weighing 696 pounds and another from Hopkins at 655 pounds.
Contact Ryan Lewis at rmlewis@allegannews.com or (269) 673-5534.
To find out how he grew his pumpkin, pick up a copy of the Sept. 21 issue of The Allegan County News or subscribe to the e-edition.