LAKEVILLE ? It was an epic battle of the orange titans as 2,569 pounds of pumpkin tipped the scales to see who’s the biggest, baddest gourd in the patch.
For the fifth straight year, Louie’s Food & Spirits hosted a weigh-in contest to see whose green thumb can grow the largest pumpkin and secure a year’s worth of bragging rights.
Seven gardeners with seven planet-sized pumpkins traded barbs, placed bets and watched the scale closely as the literal fruits of their labor were weighed.
In the end, Steve Fogler, of Oakland Township, won the contest for the second consecutive year with a 512-pound pumpkin ? the biggest in the competition’s short history.
‘It feels great,? said Fogler of his successful title defense. ‘I could tell just by looking at it (that it was bigger than last year’s pumpkin).?
In 2004, Fogler was a newcomer to the contest and pulled a stunning upset with his 410-pound pumpkin hauled in by a crane.
Fogler’s victory did not sit well with the second place finisher, his girlfriend Angie Crabtree, of Auburn Hills, who grew a 493-pound pumpkin, which outweighed her entry from last year by 277 pounds.
Crabtree said she was hoping to win this year’s contest and retire on top. Now, she must return to the patch and bide her time until next October.
In hindsight, Crabtree regrets not getting rid of her other monster pumpkin. Although it was not officially entered in the contest, she brought along a 401-pound pumpkin that grew on the same vine as her entry.
If she hadn’t divided her water and fertilizer between the two and instead concentrated on cultivating just one pumpkin, Crabtree believes she could have claimed the mantle of victory.
Finishing third was first-time contestant John Spezia, a well-known Leonard pig farmer who grew a 366-pound pumpkin.Wonder if that fresh manure supply helped?
Placing fourth and fifth were contest founders and original competitors, Zivko ‘Zeke? Vasovski and Steve Ardelean. Vasovski, co-owner of Louie’s Food & Spirits, grew a 287-pounder, while Ardelean cultivated a 196-pound pumpkin.
The pair started the contest in 2001 as a bet between friends. Ardelean won the first competition with a 335-pounder and Vasovski the next two years with pumpkins weighing 353 and 329? pounds respectively.
Despite the recent success of upstart newcomers, don’t count Vasovski and Ardelean out for next year.
Finishing sixth and seventh were first-time contestants Don Kogelman (183 pounds) and Larry Kinman (131 pounds). Hard to believe those were considered the ‘little ones? of the bunch.