WHEATON (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- For the fourth year in a row, a Wheaton man has taken home the top prize for growing the biggest pumpkin in Illinois, but out-of-state pumpkins were the regional heavyweights.
"The biggest one we grew this year was 1,258 pounds," says pumpkin grower Joe Adkins.
"We also grew another one -- 1,227 pounds. One that was 1,174. But I'll tell you, I'd trade all of those for one 2,000-pounder."
That is Adkins' holy grail of pumpkins. He's gotten close, with a 1,861-pound pumpkin, back in 2016.
"That was the magical Cinderella Year."
Adkins has been growing pumpkins competitively for 10 years.
"I'm driving there thinking, 'Oh, I've got this made,'" Adkins said. "Then all of a sudden, a couple of unfamiliar trucks pull up with out-of-state plates.
"And they're heavy. The tires are low. They're dragging on the ground, and they pull those things out. You can tell as soon as they pull it off the truck. Oh, well, I've probably got third place now. Oh, well."
Adkins sees pumpkin-growing as a metaphor for sports: "As people in Chicago say, there's always next year."
