WESTMINSTER : Child’s Pumpkin Weighs In a Winner

“Sixty-five pounds,” yelled the man at the scales, and Karen Merrill smiled broadly and excitedly clapped her hands.

“I won, I won,” the 4-year-old cried, hugging her father, Dan, as the two admired the plump, orange pumpkin on the scales.

After spending summer afternoons pulling weeds and watering the pumpkin patch in her grandfather’s back yard, Karen Merrill finally got her reward Sunday: first prize in the annual Giant Pumpkin Festival at Blakey Historical Park.

Karen’s pumpkin bested four other entries in the annual contest sponsored by the Westminster Historical Society. The event is intended to create awareness among residents, particularly younger ones, about the city’s agricultural past.

“I’ll put the money in the bank,” said Karen, who won $50 and hopes to participate again next year. She placed second last year.

The pumpkin contest was the highlight of a one-day festival that included performances by a local Mexican Folk dance group and Irish and Scottish music by the Nicholson Pipe and Drum Band.

Despite the cool afternoon, the crowd was smaller than in previous years, and disappointed organizers said that political tension in the city may be one of the reasons.

“It’s a shame the community is so divided at this time, “ said Councilman Frank Fry Jr., who helped serve food to festival-goers. He said an effort to recall four members of the five-member City Council by supporters of the Westminster Firefighters Assn. has divided the city.

Mayor Charles V. Smith and council members Craig Schweisinger, Charmayne S. Bohman and Tony Lam were served recall notices last week. The recall was prompted by a reorganization of the Fire Department that has resulted in the layoffs of five firefighters. Fry was not included in the recall drive.

Joy Neugenbauer, president of the Westminster Historical Society, said pumpkin seeds are distributed to residents in May to be planted in local back yards for the October competition.

Ed Merrill, 65, who has weighed and measured the pumpkins every year since the competition began in 1980, said the pumpkins were smaller than in the past because “we did not have much sun.”

“Pumpkins need a lot of heat,” said Merrill, Karen Merrill’s grandfather. He said he has been growing pumpkins since 1960, when his family moved to California from Ontario, Canada. In the past, he said, he has grown pumpkins as heavy as 150 pounds.

At his home, Ed Merrill, who owns a machine shop in Huntington Beach, also grows tomatoes, corn and other vegetables. “It’s something a grandfather and a granddaughter can do together,” he said of helping Karen grow the pumpkin.

The second-prize winner was Katie Christiansen, whose entry weighed 34 pounds. She won $35. Kassandra Huffer won $15 for third place with her 23-pound entry.

“This helps children learn how things grow,” Dan Merrill said. “It’s exciting for them to see a seed grow to a giant pumpkin.”