The Great Pumpkin Sprouts for 46th Year at Refinery

The Great Pumpkin is alive and well in Wilmington.

Continuing a 46-year tradition, workers got out their brushes this week at the Tosco refinery and painted a 3-million-gallon storage tank to look like a huge pumpkin.

It took 100 gallons of orange paint, 10 gallons of black paint and three gallons of white paint to accomplish the three-day job, Tosco spokeswoman Agnes Sibal said.

The storage tank, known as Tank 304, holds a product called C5 / C6, which is used in the refining process to make it easier to start cars in the morning and during cold weather.

The tradition began in 1952 when refinery maintenance worker Paul Doyle was driving to work one October morning and thought it would be a great idea to paint the tank, which was brand new, to look like an overgrown vegetable from a pumpkin patch.

At the time, the refinery was owned by Union Oil.

Tosco bought the refinery this year from Unocal.