Putnam County Bank sponsored the Pumpkin contest.

Putnam County gardeners were well represented at the West Virginia Pumpkin Festival. A total of five pumpkins grown by county residents were entered into the annual pumpkin contest at the festival. The winners included Logan Allen of Culloden in Sixth Place with a 372-lb. pumpkin; Victor Lawerence of Winfield with 356-lbs.; Chuck Johnson of Winfield with 332-lbs.; Derek O’Dell of Scott Depot with 308-lbs.; and Jacki Joyce of Scott Depot with 230-lbs.

Despite concerns that the drought would greatly reduce the number of entries, a total of twenty-eight pumpkins were entered in the contest – the most the festival has ever had. “We were worried that we wouldn’t get any, but then they started rolling in,” said Danny Vickers, who is a member of the Pumpkin Contest Committee.

While this year’s pumpkins were quite plentiful, they were smaller than those entered in previous years. The first place winner weighed 762 pounds and was grown by Chris Rodebaugh of Lewisburg. The state record is a 2194.40-lb. pumpkin which was grown by Robert Cyrus of Fort Gay.