1997: Beating the old record by a scant 388 gourds
The event includes a wedding

By GARY DENNIS, Sentinel staff

The only thing that came close to the orange glow emanating from the downtown streets of Keene Saturday afternoon was the red glow from the cold, runny noses of the thousands attending.

But the chilly, wet day didn't stop the crowds from flooding the streets to see if Keene could once again smash the pumpkin record already held by the Elm City since 1994.

It wasn't exactly a smash; it was more of a light squish. The record of 13,044 set last year was beaten this year by only 388 pumpkins.

But as Pandora VanBerkel, the festival's producer from Center Stage Cheshire County, read the final tally of 13,432 over the public address system, the thousands who had come to a standstill at 8 p.m. to hear the announcement erupted in applause, whistles and screams.

And when VanBerkel came down from an elevated platform after reading the tally, she seemed relieved, excited and exhausted all at the same time.

"It was a little close," she said after hugging several colleagues and friends. "But, honestly, I would have been happy with 13,045."

The official count was the climax of a New England-style community event that brought visitors in from all over the region, Massachusetts and Vermont. Anyone driving within a mile of the downtown area knew something was brewing in Keene on Saturday.

The afternoon weather was described by some early birds as "miserable" but still the streets were never empty. And by evening, the stars were out and rain seemed almost an impossibility.

All day, along the racks of pumpkins lining the streets, parents and children squinted and scanned the rows looking for the ones they'd carved themselves. The discovery of one of their own brought smiles, cheers and scores of picture-taking opportunities.

But, hands down, the biggest crowds gathered around the two tall scaffolding racks -- one on Central Square and one on Railroad Street -- that held impressive towers of the large orange fruit.

Some were the standard jack-o'-lanterns, some had family names and other designs carved into them, and local companies and organizations also got into the act.

The rack of pumpkins on Railroad Street had almost an entire row taken up by pumpkins that spelled out the words "Best Western." And a man and woman from Antioch New England Graduate School spelled out the name of that institution in a line of pumpkins that started on Main Street and wrapped right around into Railroad Street.

Carrie Noyes, owner of the Funny Business costume and gag shop on Main Street, said sales were very obviously fantastic during the festival. During most of the day, customers could barely turn around in her store, it was so packed.

"We've got a lot of browsers," Noyes said, dressed herself in an Elvira-style wig and black outfit. "But it's mainly the adults now -- kids are pretty much done shopping (for Halloween)."

The kids were having a blast. Most were swinging their heads around in amazement at all the pumpkins, and wearing in their new costumes before the big trick-or-treat run on Friday.

Six-year-old Molly Newcombe of Keene was dressed in a brightly-colored butterfly outfit, pulling a wagon with two pumpkins. The first one had "Jeff" carved out of it. That's her brother, she said, who helped her with both pumpkins.

The second one was a mean-looking jack-o'-lantern. Her grandfather, Ernest Newcombe, also of Keene, had a hand in that one. He kept Molly in check Saturday afternoon to make sure her wagon didn't spill over before they got to the pumpkin racks.

And George Steven Molner, age 4, was toted over in a bright red M&M costume all the way from Wilmington, Vt., by his parents. He was a little shy, but shook his head "no" when asked if he'd ever thought there could be so many pumpkins.

But there were two adults on hand who were just a tad more excited than any of the children running along the streets. Michelle Greenwood and Lorne Wilder of Keene recited their marriage vowss on a raised platform in front of the tall rack of pumpkins on Central Square.

As Maureen Robinson, a justice of the peace from Keene, read the vows to the young couple, tears streamed from their eyes. And when Robinson declared the couple husband and wife, the crowd roared as the pair cried in each other's arms. By the time Michelle threw her autumn-colored bouquet into the crowd, the newlyweds were all smiles and hugs.

The newly-married couple was also given the honor of lighting the first pumpkin. That was at about 4:30 p.m.

The next few hours were a mad race to get all the jack-o'-lanterns lit. And to get them accurately counted.

As if by divine providence, the skies cleared and temperatures seemed to warm up a bit as darkness descended over the region.

Word had gotten around town recently that a town in central New Jersey was trying to put itself on the pumpkin map this year.

Jayne L. Carr, a worker at the Freehold, N.J., Center Partnership, confirmed that her town -- which is half the size of Keene population-wise -- had been putting together an effort to topple Keene's ranking in the Guinness Book of World records.

Unfortunately for Carr and Freehold residents -- but fortunately for Keene -- that town is in the infancy of its pumpkin-gathering capabilities. At last count Saturday night, the town had gathered only 120 pumpkins.

"This is the first year we've done this full force," Carr said. At their first festival in 1996, when there was no real advertising campaign mounted, only seven pumpkins showed up at the town's center.

But even before this year's count, Carr said she figured Keene's lofty berth was safe for at least another year.

But watch out in the upcoming years. "We expect to beat you by the year 2000," she said.

Center Stage officials, the organizers of the city's seventh annual pumpkin festival, said they expected about 30,000 people to pack the downtown area. But attendance counts weren't available Saturday night.

This dispatch was published Sunday, Oct. 26, 1997 in The Keene Sentinel