Cindy Tobeck, a third grade teacher in East Olympia’s Elementary School, recently saw the fruits of her labor when her giant pumpkin weighed in at 1.484.5lbs. It was enough to win second place at the State Fair in Puyallup.
Pumpkin growing seems to be in the family, since Tobeck’s daughter Rosalyn set a record for junior growers at the fair last year with a 1,203lb entry.
Tobeck Sr. also brought her pumpkin to school before the official weigh-in and challenged her students to guess its weight. The student whose guess was closest was promised a pumpkin pie for their classroom.
First place went to Stan Pugh’s 1,609.5lb pumpkin, and the 3rd place honor went to Joel Holland’s pumpkin, which weighed in at 1,383.5lbs. Many state fairs invest in banner printing for events such as this one, as well as ribbons and professionally printed certificates to gift to the winning items.
Tobeck also maintains membership in the Pacific Northwest Giant Pumpkin Growers, an organization that uses the hobby of growing giant pumpkins to create friendship and goodwill. Tobeck says that she loves driving her pumpkin down to the weigh-off, and that people love seeing it take up the truck bed. She also told the Bellingham Herald that she finds people involved in pumpkin growing to be “crazy and fun”.
Location
1025 Black Lake Blvd. SW 1-E
Olympia, WA 98502
Get Directions →
Phone
Hours
Mon: 8:30 - 4:30
Tue: 8:30 - 4:30
Wed: 8:30 - 4:30
Thu: 8:30 - 4:30
Fri: 8:30 - 4:30
Sat: Closed
Sun: Closed