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Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

With much discussion and meetings; it has been decided to cancel the Five State Cimarron Weighoff for 2010. It first and foremost is for our local growers, locally the season has gone to no fruit to show. Other indications have been very weak about anyone else attending.

We thank everyone in the Pumpkin Growing Community for supporting us, and hopefully this bump in the road will be minor. We invite everyone to attend the Shattuck OK Pumpkins On Parade weighoff the following weekend, October 23rd.

The P&T Grower Club will continue to work to support and encourage competition growing in the Panhandle; and look forward to a bigger and better weighoff in 2011.

Good luck, God Bless and may the rest of the season be nothing but PB's.

Deb Rebel
P&T Grower Club

9/28/2010 1:19:10 PM

Ohio

Who has no fruits to show Okie?,,, you mean you already know whos coming?,, like a pre registration form?
How many entries did you have last year, very many?

Thats a shame okie, all that hard work you put into that auction to raise money for the weigh off and its now cancelled.

9/28/2010 5:28:03 PM

Ohio

Oh and sorry for leaving the growers who donated seeds also for the auction to help support the weigh off, thats a shame, maybe something will happen between then and now who knows, its still almost a month away, maybe the 5 star Cimarron Weigh off can work it out somehow?.

9/28/2010 5:34:40 PM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

Brooks, I didn't hear you planning to come here and show one.

The decision to cancel it didn't come lightly.

We had two out of towners last year and they informed me they weren't coming. Everyone here is out of pumpkins.

Last year we had five adult and three junior entries, two adult were out of area. Denver had snow rearrange one of their weighoffs which we thought was reason we had so few entries.

Nobody else has shown much interest in wanting to come. Or enough. Or any.

There were a lot of generous donors for seeds, some of what they shared last year were saved for this winter; whatever else we get will go to 2011's weighoff. The club can't thank them enough; that's for sure.

Last winter's fundraising wasn't in vain, and neither will this winter's be.

It's better to be honest up front, so I am answering here. There's no good way out, so the honest way is the choice.

9/28/2010 7:04:29 PM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

That is a shame, a club with a weighoff with no pumpkins or participants.

I'm still left confused and wondering.

9/28/2010 10:14:58 PM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

Life hands out lemons, we're making lemonade.

There's always 2011.

9/29/2010 12:59:18 AM

Ohio

''You didnt hear if I was coming to show one?'',,,, if I was coming to it you wouldn't have known untill I got there anyway,(like alot of growers do) because if I was planning on bringing a smaller pumpkin in hopes to win that $1000 I wouldn't want anyone to know I was coming and what I had to show because they might bring a even bigger one for them to take the money and win.Why would I do that for?,,lol right? Okie,

what if someone out of state or someone further away in state was planning to come(which happens alot now a days espically to GPC weigh offs) and they happen to save their pumpkin and passed up a couple GPC weigh offs already that they could have won or even placed for some prize money at the GPC 5 state weigh off, or better yet they knew they would have had a better chance with a smaller pumpkin to win the 5 state weigh off .
If you was going to cancel it , it should have been done before all the GPC weigh offs was started is my thinking here ,right?,,or no?.

I can see cancelling a weigh off if you had ''pre registration form'' and no one sent in any entries , but that isn't the case is it?. Just because the people that you know personally in a 5 mile area isn't bring a pumpkin to that GPC 5 star weigh off event doesnt mean the people you dont know or the growers out of state isn't bringing one.

Growers will travel a long distance if they know they have a chance of placing or even winning 1000 bucks. That sure isn't nothing to sneeze at for most growers to have a chance to win.

9/29/2010 5:24:12 AM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

No matter what one does or is done there will be one to take up the matter.

Yes I said that, Brooks. About not hearing that you were bringing one. To make a point.

Most everyone that isn't local would be driving five hours or more one way to get here; and there isn't much crash space available. Plans have to be made and made in advance to attend here. Gas, Denver (for example) with a truck that makes 20mpg loaded, is close to $100.

If you want to make a weighoff in this area, go for Shattuck the next weekend, they have a higher payoff schedule, first time out, and you are more likely to make your gas back. If you held your fruit after the 25th, 2nd, and 10th; you can hold it to the 23rd. They also have more people to run their weighoff, more places to stay, and if you want to support the sport, support the first timer.

9/29/2010 8:50:59 AM

Mill Bay, British Columbia

Amazing what a spin you can put on things when you need to Okie.

What about the guy from New Mexico that wanted to bring a possible State record to be weighed at your weighoff? What about the current undisputed Oklahoma State record holder Pat Benner, I bet he needs to weigh a pumpkin and would have loved that $1000 prize?

And you want to raise more funds over the winter from "generous donors" ...sorry Okie that is a crock. You expect the good people on this site to donate seeds to you for an online auction for you to raise even more funds for cash prizes for a cancelled weighoff...something smells funny there.

How about sending all those funds raised for your weighoffs to another weighoff, or better yet send the funds you raised to be used by the GPC.

I'm sure you will be able to put another spin on what I've said, you seem to quite an eloquent writer but there are alot of folks over the years that have been able to read between the lines of what you write.

9/29/2010 9:09:13 AM

Woodburn, Indiana

I'm not trying to pile on here...but here goes.

We held our 3rd weigh off on the north western side of Indiana over the weekend (Hensler's Nursery, IPGA).

To no surprise we had growers show up from different states, that I didn't know were going to attend! In fact the winner drove approx 8 hrs to attend.

Many growers get their information via us mail and plan to attend months to weeks in advance. You could expect someone to show up and be upset that there is no contest, just something to consider.

It is my hope, for the future, that you reconsider "sacking" your contests.

Thanks
Kelly Klinker
President/Site Coordinator
Indiana Pumpkin Growers Association

9/29/2010 9:46:12 AM

Boise City, Oklahoma, USA

Being bald faced then.

Right now I have two people that are almost healthy enough to run this weighoff, myself included. There are no fruit within five hours of here. I can pull a major favor for a forklift operator and a forklift, so that makes...three.

Last year we had five adult entries and three junior, and two of the adult were from out of state. Those two informed me they weren't going to come this year.

I am still hacking my lungs out. As much as I'd like to proceed this year with the Five State Cimarron; logistically it's more than too thin from more than one angle.

A large chunk of those last winter funds were used to purchase the scale; to prevent a 1000 mile round trip to rent one.

We are supporting the Shattuck weighoff the next week.

The weighoff is ON if I can guarantee another four people to work it. Where it sits right now, the weighoff is off.

This weighoff wasn't cancelled lightly or for a whim.

I heard about the NM fellow after the cancellation was announced. I'd love to meet Pat in person, too.

9/29/2010 10:44:55 AM

SE Minnesota

I know of two guys who loaded up their trailer and drove 13.5 hrs to attend a weigh off...with no guarantees of any payoff...what did I walk away with...some great memories and some new friends...sometimes it can't be about the money...

9/29/2010 11:39:07 AM

Ohio

all I can say is wOw,, and to tell you the truth, I and many others expected this very thing to happen anyway, so its not a real surprise it happened but curious of when and how it was going to happen.

9/29/2010 2:51:30 PM

I don’t know Deb personally, only through the message boards and BP chat. Hard way to get to know someone, given that up to 93% of communication is nonverbal, and the only thing we have to go by here is written. We don’t even have the benefit of voice inflection to analyze.

Perhaps some people here know some things I don’t, or perhaps some things have been written in the past that have been taken wrong. Nothing I have seen from Deb is indicative of someone who is trying to play the system (and I have already admitted that I am not privy to every piece of information that passes on BP).

It’s easy to believe the best about someone when they’re enjoying success, and equally easy to believe the worst of someone when they’re not.

Correlation does not mean causation.

-Neal Leland

9/30/2010 11:28:50 AM

Liberal Kansas, USA

I have a friend in Liberal KS,that I work with that finally got a pumpkin to not blow up this year, Its around 350# still on the vine , We were going to more than likely bring it to Boise City. But if it was only going to be 1 or 2 pumpkins ?? Ee will probably go to Shattuck Ok, its actually a little closer, but I don't have any idea if they might have any big pumpkins either. hope so though its still 2 hr drive. Hope you have better luck next year, but it is tough to get a pumpkin thru july and august with the 100+ temps, wind, and no rain at all. Doug H.

9/30/2010 12:25:06 PM

Long Island,New York

I also believe Okie is getting the short end of the stick here...put yourself in the same position...tough one. Gotta look at who jumps on the bandwagon and judge from that sometimes too.

9/30/2010 12:31:18 PM

Ohio

If you guys only knew is all I can say,,you definalty would be changing the way you look at this situation.

10/1/2010 6:48:16 AM

Ohio

Lisa, I wouldnt want to give Okie more of the short end of the stick, figure it out yourself.

10/1/2010 7:46:16 PM

Rapid City, SD

bummer deb........totally understand the decission to cancel, and for that matter, if anyone is growing for the sheer amount of money they can acquire from winning a weigh-off.........they just don't get it and never will.

good luck next season deb

10/1/2010 8:28:25 PM

Sort of Sunny Sometimes, WA

I agree with Neal, Glenn, Lisa and Matt. Deb, you have never given me reason to question your integrity. I hope everything works out and you don't have anybody show up unaware of the cancellation.

10/1/2010 9:58:51 PM

Annapolis Valley Nova Scotia

I do not understand the issue here, perhaps some one can explain? Weigh off cancelled with good notice? what is the problem?

10/1/2010 10:51:58 PM