Great Pumpkins

“The growth of these monsters is phenomenal.”

Jim Bryson, Grower of world’s largest pumpkin

Photo by David R. Tribble

Happy Halloween to all! Big pumpkins and lots o’ pumpkins are big stuff in small towns. Read on . . .

•  The largest pumpkin in the world, weighing in at 1,818.5 pounds, hails from the small town of Ormstown, Quebec, Canada (population 3,651). The pumpkin is the toast of the town in New York City this week. A master pumpkin carver (yes, there are master pumpkin carvers) has turned the behemoth gourd into a frightening zombie (see the photo at left).
For more pictures of the zombie pumpkin & a video of the pumpkin carver at work, see → Halloween: World’s largest pumpkin carving

Read the article → Quebec farm grows world’s largest pumpkin

•  The largest pumpkin in Connecticut, grown in Broad Brook (population 3,532), weighs in at 1,487.5 pounds. Maybe not a world record breaker, but huge. What makes this pumpkin extra special is that it grew in only two and a half months, and its grower captured the whole thing on film. He set up a camera to photograph the pumpkin every 15 minutes for the entire two and a half months and then combined the photos into a minute and a half time-lapse video. Check it out:

 •  Folks in Highwood, Illinois (population 4,490) figured if they couldn’t grow the world’s biggest pumpkin they’d gather together the world’s largest number of carved pumpkins in one place. Townspeople carved 30,900 pumpkins—nearly 7 pumpkins for every man, woman, and child in town—topping the old record of 30,128 pumpkins. The pumpkins were stacked on scaffolding that lined four of the town’s five downtown blocks, and when the fun is done the pumpkins will be trucked to northern Illinois and fed to the pigs. Talk about hog heaven.

Read the article → Carving out a record

•  For more pumpkin fun, check out Google’s homepage today and its 1,000-pound pumpkins.

Hell of a Parade

“Call it Hell for all I care. Everyone else does.”

George Reeves, Founder of Hell, Michigan

Photo from Car Talk with Barry

When a town goes by the name of Hell, it might be expected to have an offbeat, even morbid, personality. So it should come as no surprise that when folks in Hell, Michigan (population 266) took a run at getting into the Guinness Book of World Records, they took an offbeat, morbid route to get there. They invited hearses near and far to join in what they hoped would be a record-setting hearse parade. Actually, Guinness doesn’t have a “hearse parade” category, but officials told the good folks from Hell that if they could gather 50 hearses for their parade, they’d create one. After falling short last year, organizers took a second stab at it this year, but they received only 49 registrations. Refusing to give up, organizers sent out an 11th hour appeal on the day of the parade. As the parade began, they were thrilled to see a 50th and then 51st hearse show up to join in. So it’s official: it was a record-setting Hell of a parade.

Fun Facts:

•  According to the Hell, Michigan website, the town was founded in 1838 but didn’t get its name until years later. When the state of Michigan approached the founder and asked him what he’d like to call the town, he said, “Call it Hell for all I care. Everyone else does.” The name stuck, and town of Hell was born October 13, 1841.

•  The hearse parade was organized by a local car club, Just Hearse N’ Around, and ice cream parlor, Screams Ice Cream & Halloween in Hell.

Read the articles → Hearses gather in Hell to set world record and Hearses set Guinness World Record in Hell

Bombs Away

“Usually if you find one there’s gonna be several more behind it.”

David Sharpe, Resident of Ranlo, North Carolina

Scrap metal hunters got a bang out of what they found while picking through the woods near Ranlo, North Carolina (population 2,324) last weekend: a 500-pound bomb. No one knows how it got there—some are speculating that there was an old artillery factory back in the woods—but everyone’s glad it’s gone. Some residents are concerned, though, that where there’s one bomb there’s bound to be more. And they’re right. On Monday two more bombs were found. All three are World War II era bombs. A search of the archives reveals that an artillery company did indeed operate in the area in 1945. A former employee says he remembers the time the government placed an order for 5,000 bombs at that factory. And the search goes on.

Read the articles → 500 pound military bomb is the talk of Ranlo and Report: 2 more bombs found in Gaston Country

Harvest Time to Hard Time

“It didn’t hit home what I had gotten myself into

until I had to put on a bullet-proof vest.”

Mark Tanner, Farmer from Kankakee, Illinois

Photo by Mike Voss/Kankakee Daily Journal

Mark Tanner, a farmer living near Kankakee, Illinois (population 26,840), harvested more than corn recently while helping local police with a manhunt. It all started when the police pulled over a 19-year-old man for a traffic stop. The young man made a break for it and hid in Mr. Tanner’s cornfield. The police tried a canine unit and even an airplane to locate the suspect, but no luck. That’s when they called on Mr. Tanner and his combine to clear the field. It was a long day of combining on Mr. Tanner’s part and negotiating on the police’s part before the fugitive was caught. But after his arrest, the young man’s journey from harvest time to hard time was quick. The field he was hiding in, as it turned out, was right across the road from the jail.

Read the article → Farmer clears cornfield to help capture fugitive

Occupied

“It’s blown up much larger than anyone ever realized.”

Audie Heikkila, Owner of Scio Feed Store

Photo from Oregon Catalyst

By now we’ve all heard of Occupy Wall Street—the demonstrations organized to protest corporate greed. The Occupy movement has spread across the country and around the world: Boston, LA, Seattle, Toronto, London, Berlin, and the list goes on. A radio personality in Oregon is fed up with the all-encompassing Occupy-mania. In an on-air rant, he proclaimed: why not occupy Scio, Oregon (population 812)? Sure, why not, responded the citizens of Scio. But instead of gathering to protest, they wanted to gather to provide support for a local institution: the Big Red Pavilion, named after their beloved red rooster town mascot (see Flew the Coop). Organizers threw together a quick Occupy Scio event last week, where 500 turned out to show their support. The town raised $4,000, which will pay to have wiring and toilets installed in the Big Red Pavilion. When the toilets are in, “Occupied” will have a new meaning in Scio.

Read the article → Small town parodies ‘Occupy’ protests as fundraiser

Empty Nest

“I am so grateful for all of the raptor cams everywhere.” 

Doris Hill Johnson, Facebook friend of Decorah’s Eagles 

Photo from USTREAM.tv 

Talk about empty nest syndrome. Decorah, Iowa’s (population 7,767) most famous couple—the eagles—bid farewell in August to the three eaglets that hatched earlier this year under the watchful gaze of over 11 million USTREAM viewers. One of the young eagles—a female given the scientific-sounding name of D1—was fitted with a transmitter, and loyal followers have been tracking her travels from Iowa, through Minnesota, and into northern Wisconsin. Last week D1 was spotted and photographed near Yellow Lake, Wisconsin, and today she was reported near Tainter Lake, about 120 miles from home. Meanwhile, back at the nest, mom and dad eagle are preparing for next year’s hatchlings, and the webcam is on and ready to catch all of the action.

Here’s a video of D1’s last day in the nest, August 14, 2011. After mom eagle eats her fill, D1 has one last meal before taking flight.

To track D1’s travels, click on Raptor Resource Project. You can also check out the Raptor Resource Project Facebook page; search on “Decorah’s Eagles.”

The webcam filming the eagle nest is back up and running, and the mom and dad eagles are back. To get your fix of eagle watching, click on Decorah Eagles.

Read the article (and see a recent photo of D1) → Bald Eagle D-1 travels to Wisconsin, Minnesota

Promises, Promises

“I just don’t see any reason to go on.” 

Carmen Wilkerson, Mayor of St. George, Missouri 

Photo by KSDK.com 

In this age of supercharged politics, here’s a campaign promise I bet you haven’t heard: Elect me and I’ll shut down the town. That’s what Carmen Wilkerson pledged while running for mayor of St. George, Missouri (population 1,212), and it worked. Ms. Wilkerson was elected earlier this year, and she’s made it her mission to get the town disincorporated. She says the county can do a better, less expensive job taking care of business. Pretty much all the town has left is one snow plow and a nasty reputation as a speed trap—until two years ago and an infamous YouTube video, the police force employed 12 officers to snag speeders; today the police force is gone. Ms. Wilkerson has taken her message to the voters, and in November it will be up to them to decide whether to carry on or carry out a death penalty for their town.

Read the article → Off-with-our-heads Missouri mayor pitches mercy killing for town

Slow Down

“We don’t need to be raked over the coals for being a speed trap.” 

Jason Raucstadt, Mayor of Seligman, Missouri 

Photo by Ildar Sagdejev 

Ticket More

A detour on Interstate 29 caused by the Missouri River flooding between Nebraska and Iowa this last summer is channeling traffic from eastern Nebraska through small towns in Iowa, and along with it revenue from traffic tickets. The biggest “winner” in the traffic ticket lottery, Tabor, Iowa (population 908), isn’t even on the detour, but drivers quickly figured out a that a shortcut through the small town shaved miles off their trips. The main concern in Tabor is safety—that’s why the town added two stop signs and three part-time officers to slow down traffic—but town leaders can’t help but notice the spike in revenue from the fivefold increase in traffic citations. Police in Tabor normally write fewer than 50 tickets a year, but in July alone they wrote over 100 tickets. And at more than $100 a pop, that’s no small change for Tabor.

Read the article → Flood shifts traffic citations from weigh stations to small towns

Ticket Less

Like a lot of government offices across the country, the police department in Seligman, Missouri (population 997) is struggling with a dwindling budget, down almost $7,500 in August. But writing more traffic tickets is not the way this department is going to dig out of its debt. The mayor and Board of Alderman called the police chief in for a dressing down last month following accusations that the police department was writing too many tickets. When it was all over, the mayor fired the police chief. In protest, the town’s two remaining part-time officers quit. The town has already appointed a replacement chief, who will be working alone with little time to write tickets.

Read the article → Police chief loses job after showdown with mayor, alderman over speed trap

It Takes a Village

“It’s a giant step backward.” 

Kat McElroy, Farmer from Nenana, Alaska 

Photo by akphotograph.com 

David Poppe and Kat McElroy grow produce and raise cattle, geese, chickens, turkeys, and pigs. Sound like typical farmers, right? Not really. For one thing, Mr. Poppe and Ms. McElroy live in Alaska—a state known more for snowstorms than for summer harvests. But more remarkable is the fact that they live inside Nenana, Alaska (population 341)—not on the outskirts of town like some farmers, or out in the middle of nowhere like a lot of farmers, but smack in the middle of town. Okay, so Nenana is tiny, even by small town standards, but still, how do they do it? With a little help from their friends. Mr. Poppe and Ms. McElroy grow the vegetables on their place, farm out their livestock to seven city lots, and harvest hay from outlying properties, including the community airport. In this town, it truly does take a village to raise a farm.

Read the article → Nenana’s urban farm grows with a little hay from friends

Commercial Success

“I think they found some of the strangest people in our town . . .” 

Duane Downing 

Town Board member, Tonopah, Nevada 

Photo from LegendsofAmerica.com

When reality TV came knocking at the door of Tonopah, Nevada (population 2,130), townsfolk said, “Not interested.” But Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, the creators of Rhett & Link: Commercial Kings—a cable show about making real-life, offbeat ads for real-life, offbeat products—didn’t give up. Not even when one resident called their idea “asinine.” Rhett & Link saw promise in the eccentric desert town between Reno and Las Vegas. Besides being an old mining town in the middle of nowhere, Tonopah is home to ghost sightings, paranormal believers, and a clown hotel. In the end, townspeople opened the door to Rhett & Link, and they’re pleased with the 80-second commercial titled “Tonopah, Nevada: We’re Different.” Tonopah owns full rights to the commercial, but now it has to decide what to do with it. The little town doesn’t have the big bucks needed to buy big city air time.

If you want to see the ad, click on Tonopah, Nevada: We’re Different

Read the article → Ad puts quirky Tonopah on map

Blessing in Disguise

“I understand that the school board has to cover their butt.” 

Marie Backlund, Resident of Westmoreland, Tennessee 

Four football coaches at Westmoreland Middle School in Westmoreland, Tennessee (population 2,236) got in hot water recently for something they did with the players after the game: they bowed their heads in prayer. School officials caught wind of it and called the coaches on the carpet. The coaches weren’t formally disciplined, says the school board, but they were told that if they do it again their coaching days will be over. Board members say they were simply following the new rules, enacted in June after the American Civil Liberties Union sued a nearby school district for “promoting Christianity.” When townspeople heard about the brouhaha, they called the school to complain and packed the stands at the next game to show their support. Before the game, the crowd recited the Lord’s Prayer, and after the game everyone gathered on the field to pray. Everyone, that is, except the coaches.

Read the article → Prayer controversy unites Westmoreland

A-Maze-ing

“We design the maze so that people get lost.” 

Bob Connors 

Owner of corn maze in Danvers, Massachusetts 

Photo from SpotCoolStuff

Lost and Found

A family in Danvers, Massachusetts (population 25,479) got more than they bargained for when they visited a local cornfield maze: they got lost. What’s the big deal, you might ask, isn’t that the idea? Sure, but as evening closed in and the day grew dark, the family got disoriented and desperate. Finally, they called 911, and a local police officer and his trusty canine were dispatched to lead them to safety. I’d like to say it was a dramatic rescue, but it wasn’t. As it turns out the family was only 25 feet from the street when they sent out their distress call.

Read the articles → Family gets lost, calls police from Danvers corn maze and Family lost in Mass. corn maze calls 911 for help

Bales O’ Fun

I’ve seen cornfield mazes and hedge mazes, but I’ve never seen a straw bale maze. That must be because I’ve never been to Rupert, Idaho (population 5,225), home of the World’s Largest Straw Maze according to the Guinness Book of World of Records. The maze is 96,847 square feet and features nearly two miles of walking paths, a 30-foot pyramid, and two secret rooms. Sounds like fun to me, but I know of one family from Massachusetts that would probably find the straw bales too a-maze-ing for their tastes.

Read the article → Rupert maze sets world record

Bye-Bye Birdie?

“They are so arrogant and uppity.” 

Rick Reed, Resident of Osceola 

Photo by Kansas Jayhawk Mascot Alumni  

Little Osceola, Missouri (population 781) has a big demand for the University of Kansas: say bye-bye birdie to the Jayhawk mascot. The use of the name “Jayhawk” has ruffled the feathers of town leaders, and the reason goes back 150 years. During the Civil War, a band of marauders known as jayhawkers crossed the border from Kansas into Missouri and went on a two-day rampage, destroying the town, looting property, and executing a dozen men in the town square. Folks in Osceola can’t forget and won’t forgive the University of Kansas for making light of the Jayhawk name with its mascot. Townspeople don’t really think the university will drop the Jayhawk mascot, but it’s the principle, they say. That’s the same reason they fired off a resolution calling on Missourians to stop spelling Kansas with a capital “K,” arguing Kansas is neither a proper name nor a proper place.

Read the article → Town seeks end of ‘Jayhawk’ name

Poof!

“I thought that with the rain it got washed away.”

Gary Bruce, New Castle Development spokesman

Have you ever seen a magician make his lovely assistant disappear? Impressive, right? That’s nothing compared to what thieves did near North Beaver Township, Pennsylvania (population 4,022): they made a whole bridge disappear—all 40 tons of it—and nobody saw a thing. The 50-foot steel railroad bridge is valued at $100,000, and it was tucked away in a wooded area that locals don’t frequent. Thieves made off with the bridge some time after September 27, probably using blow torches and a big truck. Luckily, there was no chance a train could have chugged along and fallen off into nothingness. The bridge was closed recently . . . because of copper thefts in the area.


Read the article → Thieves steal an entire metal bridge in Pennsylvania

Delicious Development

“I became really struck by this wonderful, delicious irony.”

Ben Hewitt, Author of The Town That Food Saved

Photo by Sgerbic  

You know the saying: the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. A small town in Vermont has put a new twist on this old adage: the way to a town’s survival is through its green thumb. Hardwick, Vermont (population 3,182), a postindustrial hard-luck town 10 years ago, has become a flourishing organic foods hot spot today. Thirty-something “agro-preneurs” have put this village on the map, attracting fresh food fanatics far and wide with their alluring array of artisanal cheeses and fresh vegetables. The bittersweet irony is that many of the folks in Hardwick can’t afford to pay the steep prices for the organic foods grown locally, but few are complaining. The organic foods boom has produced jobs for this town, and residents are happy to partake of that harvest.

Read the article → How organic food saved a hard-luck, Vermont town

Learning Curve

“If the goal is to have people commute with a smile on their face,

we’ve failed.”

Lorrie Carey, Boscawen Selectwoman 

Photo by J. Harri

In a roundabout way, the state of New Hampshire is trying to make driving safer. It’s replacing intersections with roundabouts in some of its towns because studies show that with roundabouts there are fewer accidents overall (35 percent drop in crashes), fewer severe accidents (76 percent drop in fatal or serious crashes), and calmer drivers. Folks in Boscawen, New Hampshire (population 3,984) would beg to differ. A new roundabout went in their town recently, and it has a nasty reputation for blowing out tires. Truckers say the circle is too tight, which causes them to collide with the granite curbing and tear up tires. At $300 a pop, it's hard to be calm. Other drivers say the roundabouts are just plain “stupid” and confusing. New Hampshire officials say get over it; the roundabout is here to stay. In fact, they’re adding 17 more throughout the state. The slower speed and lower chance for head-on collision make them a no brainer, claim officials. They admit there’s a learning curve to using roundabouts, but once drivers catch on, they’ll come around and learn to love them.

Read the article → A roundly hated roundabout