Meet the Pump-King
This 2,560-pound pumpkin broke the record for America’s Biggest pumpkin at the Half Moon Bay Competition in California.
November 7, 2022
On October 10, 2022, the crowd roars as a pumpkin is weighed to see a new American record broken. This 2,560-pound pumpkin broke the record for America’s heaviest pumpkin at the Half Moon Bay Competition in California. Travis Gienger, the winner of the competition, was a horticultural teacher who had decided to plant a pumpkin seed. He carefully nurtured and cared for it for six months like a father. His reward for his hard work was $23,040.
The fun tradition of carving pumpkins began in Ireland and is a tradition for many people. Jack-o-lanterns have now become a symbol of Halloween. The Irish initially used turnips and beets as Jack-o-lanterns. Later, when immigrants came to the U.S., they found pumpkins to be bigger and softer. Since then, carving pumpkins has been a Halloween custom.
It was an 8th-grade custom at J.C. Booth to carve and blow up pumpkins. This was an engaging science lesson. 8th-grade teacher Dr. Lanman said, “It’s for kids to learn about reactions, one of which is combustion, things go boom, that’s why we do it. Plus it is a ton of fun.” This school year, carving and blowing up pumpkins will not take place. “A student got hurt last year, and I didn’t like the liability,” said Mrs. Troutman, the principal.
Since pumpkins are synonymous with Halloween, the staff at J.C. Booth had a pumpkin carving contest. Eleven pumpkins were displayed in the cafeteria, and students voted for the best-decorated one. Mrs. Angela Rush won with her beautifully detailed pumpkin with a witch’s hat, legs, and warts. She didn’t carve her pumpkin, but some students carved pumpkins at their homes and sent in pictures. “I knew it would win the family competition, we do it every year. My most favorite was the one I made this year,” 7th-grader Andrew Hammock said.
Isaac Dutcher • Nov 9, 2022 at 4:36 pm
Meet the Pump-King was a very interesting article. The authors, Saket Sonone and Zayn Wadsariya did a great job outlining this crazy record. I thought it was really interesting that someone took so much time out of their day for six months to make sure that their humongous pumpkin would stay healthy! I certainly don’t have that kind of patience. I wonder how long it took Travis to get the perfect pumpkin.
Vanessa • Nov 9, 2022 at 8:37 am
wow that’s an incredible pumpkin and an amazing sign that waiting instead of rushing can bring big success.
Keyaan Budhwani • Nov 8, 2022 at 10:04 pm
The article, Meet the Pump-King, by Saket Sonone and Zayn Wadsariya on the Boothwarriortimes.com was an eye-opener.
I’ve been thinking that planting this massive pumpkin was just a big waste of space and could have been used for planting and growing other crops. When I read the article, it made me stop to think about how difficult this challenge could have been.
I prejudged and didn’t realize that this was a very difficult challenge and had taken a very long time. In my opinion, Travis Gienger was very successful and in fact, even won the competition. I will say If I was him I would have just gaven up since I am very impatient. I am very curious, and would like to know where and what season did Travis Gienger plant this seed?
Saylor Ziegler • Nov 8, 2022 at 4:31 pm
I do not agree with students not being able to take part in the traditional 8th grade J.C. Booth custom to blow up and carve pumpkins. Just because a few students were acting up or messing around and got hurt should not affect the good students who did everything they were supposed to do. The faculty should’ve been paying closer attention because most 8th graders are mature and responsible enough to do this cool and fun experiment. Even though there could’ve been more students in the future that may have acted up, there should be a limit to where students could go. For example, if they have too many infractions or missing assignments, then they could not go. I think that we should still do it because there were actually people who were following instructions and having fun.
Molly Bennett • Nov 8, 2022 at 3:59 pm
Meet the Pump-King was an interesting article in the Warrior News recently.Like the authors, Saket and Zayn, I also love to carve pumpkins. It is such a fun tradition that this year I carved two. I was a little disappointed when I heard that we would not be exploding the pumpkins for science class this year. I feel as though we missed out on so many of our elementary school’s traditions due to the schools closing during our 5th grade year. Things were just feeling closer to normal with face to face traditions coming back. After reading this article and Mrs. Troutman’s quote about safety and liability, I now have a better understanding of the reasons we did not blow up the pumpkins this year. The pumpkin decorating display was a creative replacement instead.