Auburn senior community goes to the gourds

Mark Osweiler has taken up pumpkin growing - at the ripe old age of 92.The Auburn man who lives at Emerald Hills Assisted Living facility with his wife, Anna Mae, have been cultivating a gourd for the Auburn Community Festival's giant pumpkin weigh-off. Emerald Hills Activities Director Gail Jacobson saw an article on pumpkin guru Randy Warren and his free pumpkin seed giveaway earlier this year in the Journal."I picked up the phone and asked him for some seeds," she said. "Several residents here have problems with their eyes, so they needed something big to grow." The pumpkin didn't disappoint. It's currently around 80 inches in circumference and about 100-pounds heavy.Much of that was due to the care of Osweiler."We encouraged all the residents to help in the garden," Jacobson said. "But it was Mark who was faithfully watering it every night."Mark also watered it every morning - and sometimes a third watering was necessary in the middle of a hot summer day.Warren germinated the seed at home and then transplanted the 7-day-old vine to a plot that was behind the Emerald Hills facility. Before long, a little orange orb started to grow."It started at this little spindle stick. It's been most amazing to watch it grow," Osweiler said. "It was the size of a tennis ball, then - boom."Osweiler said many residents have been monitoring the pumpkin's growth all summer.And with Warren's office just a short walk away, he was able to check in on the pumpkin a couple times each week on his lunch break.The Atlantic Giant seed should have grown into a larger pumpkin, based on the pumpkin's mother. But unfortunately, they won't be bringing the gourd to show at the Auburn Community Festival - a soft spot developed on the pumpkin this week."Some kind of critter probably took a bite out of it," Warren said.But the pumpkin growing team of Warren and Osweiler are already planning soil tests and a bigger patch for next year.Osweiler is modest about his crop, his first attempt at pumpkin growing, saying he was merely "the water boy.""But he kept it wet and happy, and that's what you have to do," Warren said.With exactly one month to go until the Auburn Community Festival Oct. 20, many pumpkins might face a similar fate as the Emerald Hills gourd."There is a very high percentage of pumpkin seed planted that will never have pumpkins mature at the right time or size for the community festival weigh-off," Warren said. "I thought Mark's work caring for this plant all summer long depicted the untold story of many other growers."Warren has had problems with most of his seven pumpkin plants at his home patch."It's been a rough year," he said. "We've got one fair-sized one, I hope it will make it through to next month."The Journal's Michelle Miller can be reached at , or post a comment at auburnjournal.com.Auburn Community FestivalWhat: Harvest fair with live music, giant pumpkins, scarecrow, recipe and costume contests, food and moreWhen: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20Where: Recreation Park, 123 Recreation St. in AuburnCost: Free