The heaviest pumpkin isn’t always the biggest pumpkin

985.5 pounder looks smaller than competitors

Posted By Glen Hallick

Updated 4 months ago

(Photo by Glen Hallick) 2009 pumpkin champion Laurita Werven and Bill VanWyck share a laugh as he presents her with the Roland Pumpkin Fair trophy. Her pumpkin beat out the other 25 competitors, including her husband's, at 985.5 pounds.

The winning pumpkin of this year’s Roland Pumpkin Fair wasn’t necessarily the biggest in terms of appearance.

But Laurita Werven’s whitish weighty gourd scaled-in at a hefty 985.5 pounds, good for the first place prize of $1,000.

Her pumpkin looked flatter when compared to the other monsters that were weighed at the Oct. 3 fair. During the weighing-in of the 26 entries fair organizer Bob Horsman said the physical size and shape of a pumpkin can be very deceiving as to it’s weight.

Horsman, along with Tara Funke of CFAM, served as co-master ceremonies for the weigh-in of the pumpkins, tomatoes, watermelon and cantaloupes.

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This summer’s weather didn’t help either as there were 20 fewer pumpkin entries compared to last year. But that didn’t dampen the spirits of organizers, entrants and the audience.

“I’m impressed with the pumpkins we have give the cold summer weather,” Horsman said.

There were four pumpkins over 900 pounds and the top three hailed North Dakota. Second place went to Werven’s husband Ralph for his 957 pound pumpkin, and they are from Cavalier.

Butch Bourbanis of Walhalla placed third with his 933.5 pounder. About week earlier he entered the same pumpkin in the Walhalla Pumpkin Fair and at the time it weighed 952.5 pounds. Being off of the vine for a week resulted in it losing 19 pounds.

Laurita Werven said she didn’t have much trouble growing her winner despite a frost scare followed by the poor summer weather.

“We got out there with blankets to cover everything up,” she said.

In fact she planted her pumpkin 15 days after Ralph planted his.

“We gave them lost of water and fertilizer,” Laurita said.

And they loaded their pumpkins the day before heading to the Roland Arena.

She accepted the trophy from Bill Van Wyck, the son of Edgar Van Wyck who was the inspiration behind the founding of the Roland Pumpkin Festival in 1991.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Henry Banman (Schanzenfeld) 917 pounds; Erica Lawonn (Cavalier) 894; Ted Story (Miami) 844.5; Ray Winkler (Carman) 820, Art Cameron (Roland) 733; Marge Banman (Schanzenfeld) 688 and Juane Johnson (Clearbrook, Minnesota) 654).

In the tomato weigh-off, Jim Roberts of Chater scored the win with his two-pound, 11.9 ounce entry. Jayden Banman of Roland won the cantaloupe category with his five-pound, 3.4 ounce cantaloupe. Lorne Warkentine of Winkler won the watermelon contest with his weighing-in at 21.5 pounds.

The Roland Pumpkin Fair is a member of the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth and is the official weigh-in site for the Great Prairie Region.

The world record pumpkin tipped the scales at 1,689 pounds at the Topsfield, Maine in Sept. 2007.

(With files frm Gene Still)