Ledger Looking Back 25 Years: 10/21/1998

ONE BIG PUMPKIN: Lawrence Fischer (left), who lives on Kountz Road a couple miles South of Whitehall, has been growing pumpkins for over 20 years, and he grew his biggest one ever this year (right). Fischer brought the pumpkin in to show Rich Chadwick, the new owner of the Jefferson IGA store in Whitehall, and Chadwick decided to sponsor a "Guess the Weight of Lawrence Fischer's Pumpkin" contest. The contest starts on Wednesday, October 21, and closes on October 28. The winner wins the pumpkin and a carving kit from IGA. Fischer won't say how much the pumpkin weighs, but he will say it's the biggest pumpkin he's ever grown. "I've been growing pumpkins pretty much every year, but haven't grown anything like this before," said Fischer. "This must have been the year, they just grew like crazy. It was so big, I thought it should be shown off a little bit."