TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Find A Great Pumpkin

Tampa Tribune staff photo/Greg Fight.

Lissee Griffin, 3, of Plant City, makes a careful inspection of the pumpkins on display at the First United Methodist Church of Plant City in their annual Pumpkin Patch, a fund raiser for the church's youth group. .

ADVERTISEMENT

By RAY REYES, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 20, 2007

PLANT CITY - There is a good reason why 15-year-old James Winter and his friends enjoy being the caretakers of 1,388 pumpkins of varying sizes. With a smile, Winter will tell you why he braves the lingering summer heat to watch over a batch of squash fruits normally associated with autumn.

'This,' Winter said, looking out at the sea of orange that has swamped the front lawn of First United Methodist Church, 'is one of the funnest projects we do.'

The pumpkin patch is back, and the volunteers of the church at 303 N. Evers St. invite families to select a plump pumpkin or two and take photographs of their children running through the bright orange maze.

The patch is the biggest project of the year for the church's youth and young adult ministry, volunteer JoAnn Franz said. More than 40 adult and youth volunteers work in three-hour shifts to tend the patch and sell pumpkins, Franz said.

The children and the teens are the ones who made the project their own, said Gary Salzman, the church's youth ministry director.

'They go all out,' Salzman said.

The sale runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily until Oct. 31. Prices for the smallest pumpkins start at 25 cents and the biggest ones are about $12 to $15. Indian and strawberry corn sells for 50 cents to $1.50.

More than $2,700 was raised last year for youth programs and mission trips, Franz said. The pumpkin patch has adorned First United Methodist's lawn for at least five years, Franz said.

The plethora of pumpkins arrived Oct. 10, trucked in from a Navajo reservation in New Mexico, Franz said. Fifty people formed two lines from the trucks to the lawn unloading the pumpkins in 'bucket brigade' fashion, Salzman said.

'It was fun,' Winter said of unloading the pumpkins.

'It was hard,' said 16-year-old volunteer Chelsea Steele.

Afterward, volunteers were treated to a dinner of sandwiches. Fresh fruit and cookies were for dessert, but not pumpkin pie.

'Oh, no,' Franz said. 'I'm sure we'll have a lot of that later.'

Volunteer Hal Brewer said finding fresh pumpkins to turn into pie is a major reason why people stroll through the patch. Carving jack-o-lanterns is another big draw, Brewer said, but some people will simply leave their pumpkins unadorned to serve as festive household decorations.

Some people have raised an eyebrow at the prices, Brewer said, but mostly, 'people have been very kind supporting the kids' by purchasing pumpkins at the church's patch.

Winter called every aspect of the pumpkin patch project the 'most interactive' activity the youth ministry does. Salzman agreed.

'It's a really great community-builder,' said Salzman, who took over the youth ministry program this month.

It is also situated in one of the most visible locations downtown, across from city hall along Wheeler Street.

'It's nice for people to see the pumpkins as they pass by,' said Marco Duran, 16, who, like Winter and Steele, volunteers at the patch after his classes end at Plant City High School.

The three volunteers do more than sit under the nearby gazebo surveying the patch and collect pumpkin money. Each pumpkin has to be rotated every day to prevent the sides from becoming soft or spoiled. They offer lollipops to children and place stickers of funny faces on the smallest pumpkins. They also have an entire shift to do a bit of people-watching.

Winter said it amuses him when small children attempt to lift the biggest and heaviest pumpkins. Steele said toddlers running through the patch make her laugh.

'I like seeing the little kids when they come up,' she said. 'They're so cute.'

Franz said she hopes people will think of First United Methodist Church's patch before they go to chain grocery stores or roadside produce stands in search of pumpkins.

'Come out and walk through our pumpkins,' Franz said. 'It's a great project. It allows the youth to take responsibility of their own fundraiser.'

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: First United Methodist Church's annual pumpkin patch

WHERE: The church is at 303 N. Evers St., but the patch is located on the lawn that fronts Wheeler Street, across from city hall

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily until Oct. 31

COST: Pumpkin prices vary from 25 cents for the smallest to $15 for the largest

CALL: Call First United Methodist Church at (813) 754-3519

Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 865-4433 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT