One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Punkin Chunkin: Pasadena Woman's Giant Pumpkins Destroyed
(Photo by Krista Simmons/LAist)
Mae Powell has a passion for pumpkins. The 93 year-old woman is known throughout Pasadena for growing giant gourds, but last night things got messy. According to the Pasadena Star News, a handful of her prized pumpkins were destroyed in the middle of the night.
Says the Star:
One of the pumpkins destroyed was a 300 pound “giant pumpkin” Powell, 93, was planning to enter into the “Pumpkinmania” weigh-off contest in Irvine this October. But now, she said, it’s ruined. “Every year I win a prize,” she said, “but I can’t enter this one now. ... Who knows what I’ll do.”
And just in case you're curious about how people grow such giant gourds, here's a video with one of California's champion growers from Half Moon Bay:
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
