The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1910-11-17


day and the lid well clamped
where the moon is said to shine In
the darkness occasionally. Neverthe-
less the passengers got something
worth while stopping for. What they
got was a picture. 1t was a simple
composition with a background OF
crimson autumnal foliage, a weather
stained log house in the middle dis
lance, we'll screened in woodbine and
trumpet creeper, the f~rost-nipped re-
mains of an old-fashioned garden and
right in the middle foreground. not q
stones throw from the track-the soil
tary figure. He stood beside the squat
gatepost, just as If he had been paint
ed there a good half century age. a
cob pipe in his mouth and a somewhat
tattered straw hat pushed well back
from his forid brow and straight gray
hair. His lean arms embraced. as far
% human arms could reach. a mann
moth pumpkin that reposed on the
~gatepost, and into the side Of the vel.
low rind he had cut, "Prize-winner. ZIG
pd."
Il thought he'd be there" one of the
passengers laughed. He hasn't done
4 thing but faunt that pumpkin at the
passengers the past four days since he
got it back from the county fair. You
know it isn't easy to raise big fellows
like that in these Ozark hills 1t takes
rich bottom soil to make 'em grow to
any considerable size, and the Ozark
farmer needs his little bottom patches
for something besides show fruit That
old chap got some of the best pumpkin
seed that yer was brought into mar
ket and he's been at 'em yer since.
That 216-pounder did actually cap
ture the prize in a certain Missouri
county, but there was a pumpkin
shown at the Merchants Exchange in
st. Louis that would have broken the
old Ozark farmers heart 1t was the
great achievement of Tom Powell, who
has been raising big pumpkins a good
many years and who supplied the seed
from which that one great hill pump
kin was developed. 1t took a three
horse team to haul thirty pumpkins
to st. Louis for the display. The COM
bined weight of the load, exclusive of
the wagon and driver. al something
over 5000 pounds. and the largest of
the pumpkins tipped the beam at 237,
the heaviest pumpkin ever brought to
ST. Louis. 1t was converted into $50
sucoulent pies.
The demand for pumpkin has not In
creased in proportion to the popula-
tons increase. In the days of our
grandmothers canned things were al
most unknown. And there was the
tradition that in the fall, from the mid
die Of October to Christmas. there
must be a long row of pumpkin pies
On the pantry shelf every Saturday
night For a moderate-sized family
ten pies would suffice. but there was
many a housewife who made her tired
boast. I've baked two dozen this
morning, and l do hope there will be
enough left for Monday dinner"
In the old days, the pumpkin was
put to another use. 1t was the basis
for a very delicious soup-strange as
this may seem. Even row In the mar.
kets of Paris there is the custom of
browning King Pumpkin the last SAT-
drday in September. The largest and
s~hapeliest is elected king, and there is
a regular ceremonial, an hour of the
afternoon being given up to the parade
through stalls and adjoining streets
Of the market, the trades people in cos.
tune and the pumpkin adorned with
a gorgeous crown of tinsel and imita-
ton jewels. When the parade is over
the fruit is uncrowned. cut Into Sec
tons and these auctioned of to the
highest bidder, to be taken home and
made up into soup.
Long before the Thanksgiving sea
son of pie baking. many pumpkins
have been diverted from their normal
purpose of food and have served the
merrymakers at Halloween, made
over into jack-o,lanterns, with grin.
ming or sorrowful co~untenances.
Centuries ago in Europe there was
smother kind of jack-o'-lantern. the
marsh fire or will-o.-the-wisp, elf Are
or whatever you wish to call 1t, that
was frequently seen In low, marshy
places at night, fitting about like tiny
lanterns in the gloom. When these
phosphorescent lights appeared at the
time of All Saints day they were said
to be the souls Of sinners that had