Staff writer
Some were big, some were tall, some evenly colored orange all the way around, others had green shading through the ridges, and many of the pumpkins in front of Dale’s Supermarket in Hillsboro on Thursday had thick and healthy looking green stems.
Lisa Schafer of Durham said she was looking for a pumpkin that was just perfect, big, but not so tall that it would fall over. There were all different sizes and shapes to choose from at Dale’s grocery store.
“We always have to have a pumpkin or two for Halloween,” Schafer said. “I don’t get into all the decorating with ghosts and witches, but I do get a pumpkin each year.”
Dale Franz at Dale’s Supermarket said he gets two or three large pallets of pumpkins every year, and this year they are looking very nice.
“They come from Jirak Brothers over by Lincolnville,” Franz said. “I would guess they weigh an average of 15 to 20 pounds each, and there are more than 40 in each pallet.”
Franz said Thursday that he put the pumpkins out in front of his store two weeks ago and they definitely put people in the mood for fall.
“It’s not fall until you put out the pumpkins,” he said.
Caleb Schafer, teenage son of Lisa Schafer, said he was not as particular what kind of pumpkin he wanted.
“I just want an extra one that I can blow up with my shotgun,” he said.
Franz said there were plenty to go around. It did not look like the drought had affected pumpkin growth too much in the area.