From

Location

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Date Posted

Cornelius, Oregon

Hello again. The time for the PGVG seed auction is for March 22nd, starting at 6 PM West Coast time. The seed list will change somewhat as we have some new additions. Everyone is welcome, and it should be a lot of fun. Remember this may be the last time to acquire some of these top seeds for this year and for a few, it may be the last time ever. Hold off on that daily Big Mac, and get yourself that 846 Calai.
Thanks for your Time,
Brett Hester

3/14/2002 11:17:27 PM

Cornelius, Oregon

Alomst forgot, the auction will be held here on Bigpumpkins.com
Brett

3/14/2002 11:18:11 PM

Deer Park WA

Ken&John,,, Have you asked the Dill's to see if they have approved of this PGVG auction? I am curious as the newly formed PGVG (which I belong) seems to have totally BURNED their bridges with the World Renound PNWGPG club (which I belong) which includes growers like(Mombert, Holland, Emmons, Handy, hundreds of others). The issue at hand seems to go like this. Myself, and all my family members, (wink, wink) grew all these 1000+ pounders. We Win,,, Give me the thousands of dollars in prize money.... all you little growers don't bother showing up....Canby......

3/15/2002 1:02:46 AM

ontario

Can you explain your comments abit better.......confused.....wayne

3/15/2002 9:54:59 AM

canal winchester ohio

Wayne, you are not alone, it confuses me also.
Paul

3/15/2002 10:15:56 AM

Utah

it just goes along with the PNWGPG and PGVG split -
why and how it happened....
I think our friend GADS was just lamenting the fact
of how it all played out and where things are now
between some people in the groups.
-that it wasn't (and isn't) a very friendly split -

why- see (wink wink) above- ie- how many entries can
1 family bring and who really grew what.

how -see burned bridges -probably could have been done better...
but so could a lot of things in life.

3/15/2002 3:47:56 PM

Deer Park WA

I belong to both clubs, the problem I have with the PGVG rule is a single grower can haul ten (or more) pumpkins to the weigh off and say his family members each grew one and take all the prize money. Take my friend Jack LaRue for instance. Him, his wife, and several of their family members all grow pumpkins, and are very, very, good at it. now contrast that with myself two plants in a very small area, no other growers in my family. Why would I travel 750 miles round trip to Canby when you know every big time grower is going to show up with his/hers pumpkin as well as "their kids" even if the kid is only 2years old. Another issue is this base rib color decision to decide if its a pumpkin or squash. Last but not least is the crumby way the split came about.I thought all growers just liked to grow pumpkins?

3/15/2002 9:22:44 PM

Cornelius, Oregon

Gads, actually that isn't quite right. A family is only allowed to enter 2 pumpkins in the competition or otherwise known as the money class. The diffrence is from the old rule, it doesn't matter which family member grew it. If you want to enter as Hester family 1 and Hester family 2, you can. We are not going to allow any one family to hog the wealth, actually doing just the opposite as prizemoney has been reduced from the top three to trickle the prizemoney down through 30th place. We have gotten more sponsers to assist the Hoffmans in the financial burden and are ready for a weighoff where everyone walks home with something.
As far as the unlimited entries goes, we do have that as well in what is called a recreational class. There is NO prizemoney in this class, but it provides an opportunity for more fruit to hit a scale, catch a photo, and get an official weight.
If there is a problem in the way something is written that makes this confusing in our rules and regulations, please point it out, for we do not want people thinking that one family can bring ten fruit and take home 10 places of prize money, as this is not the case.

3/15/2002 9:57:29 PM

Cornelius, Oregon

The Color rule we are going with also was in question. We are going with the rib base color, which essentially is a rule where if the fruit is all green it is a squash, and if not it is a pumpkin. Now then, some will say that now everyone will go with squmpkins, but to promote the growing of orange pumpkins we are puting in a class for the biggest orange pumpkin. Not to mention that although squmpkins may weigh heavy, orange holds the world record thanks to Geneva, and the fruit with the most volume was orange as well, thanks you Steve.

3/15/2002 10:05:20 PM

Cornelius, Oregon

The NW split. I agree, it is crumby. I don't like having my seeds returned to me from people that I like, and respect. It hurts like hell. But I still feel it is worth it. For me, I wanted an end to the subjectivity of just a couple rules, for others it was the ambiguous decisions, and Others it was the difficulty in getting a voice. What is so wrong with a second club in the NW. One based in Oregon, One based in Washington. All in all we, the founders of the PGVG (Daletas, Handy, Hester, LaRue, and Sherwood families)want growing giant pumpkins to be fun again and it is nice to see that we are not alone.

3/15/2002 10:16:36 PM

Sequim, WA

The big problem with two clubs in the Northwest is that there aren't enough growers to make them both viable. This situation could have been avoided if the people responsible for it (read PGVG) had been willing to rationally present and discuss their issues rather than to try to hijack the weigh-off site and then the controlling majority of the PNWGPG leadership. The actions of your group have been reprehensable. Rather than try to work with us you worked against us and that was your intention from the outset, although it was never presented that way. You have hurt the PNWGPG, yourselves, and pumpkin growers across the country who have long been members of the PNWGPG and don't understand that you were a disgruntled minority of our membership who has chosen to rewrite the rules to your own advantage. Your actions don't promote and support giant pumpkin growing, rather they promote your own self interest. If you had been able to affiliate with the GPC you would have found yourselves out of compliance with GPC rules with your re-written wieghoff rules. Your rules for membership seem to be designed for exclusion rather than inclusion which makes your mission statement a lie. Pumpkin growing is fun. Pumpkin politics stink and take the fun out of the hobby for many of us whether we are directly invloved or not. I could not support the PGVG if it was the only club in this region. Thank goodness it is not.

3/16/2002 6:50:08 PM

Midway City, California

I am not a member of any Pumpkin club or Group. I have enjoyed Bigpumpkin.com for more than two years and do not think that this is the place for either group to be posting there squabbles and TORO POO. Lets keep it BIGPUMPKIN and not pnwgps or pgvg. ==== WATER

3/16/2002 8:29:17 PM

Puyallup, WA

Frankly, I think that this forum is a proper place for each group to present their "case". Most growers have no idea what has transpired here in the Pacific Northwest. Everybody says that they distain "pumpkin politics", and some go so far as to even play the "ostrich" game. It's time to unmask what has occured, and perhaps prevent what happen to the PNWGPG from happening elsewhere.

3/16/2002 9:14:35 PM

Amherst, WI

I agree with you WATER, BP.COM isn't the place for that. At least I hope it isn't. Remember folks, if you aren't having fun, you are doing it wrong.

3/16/2002 9:32:06 PM

Deer Park WA

I like Stans stance, I have tried to ratonalize this with members from both sides. I wish there was a way to do it like we used to, AS A FAMILY" of growers. I may just send my pookie little pumpkins to the fair this season and boycott the whole ugly thing.

3/16/2002 11:10:22 PM

Webster, NY

I have no problem reading about the views from each side. Lets just keep it civil, stick to the facts and no name calling.

3/17/2002 12:50:58 AM

Choctaw, OK

personally, i would like to know what is going on, we all share seeds, ideas, techniques, and help.... so we should all share conflict as well, we learn from others and ourseleves, best to let it all out, the truth may hurt but that is the way she goes. There are plenty places on this site that is the opposite of this post, just go to that and ignore this one if you dont see it is fit.....this situation to me seems like it evolved around money and some other issues, dont get me wrong, most of us dream of first place and money but we should also have fun and friendly competition between each other.....i see some starting to look at this hobby as a business.....but all have thier own ideas and actions, they can do what they please i guess, that includes self interest. Things change over time, including people themselves......conflict is inevitable (sp?).

3/17/2002 1:36:53 AM

Ga.

Different generations of people....But I do agree,,why cant we all just get along and have FUN!!!

3/17/2002 7:58:40 AM

canal winchester ohio

Stan, I agree with you. There are a lot of us who belong to the PNWGPG, not for the weighoff but for newsletters,& contacts with other growers. And I also belong to the new PGVG because I liked the way they broach other subjects as well as pumpkins & squash. And I have been wondering for a while now why the hard feelings are there & a open forum is the only way a lot of us are going to find out what really happened.
When we go to school as youngsters we study history in hopes of not repeating some of it, Well this can be useful in the same way............Paul

3/17/2002 8:12:04 AM

Grants Pass, Oregon

This split is making it hard to decide which way to go.
Should I go to the PNWGPG, or the PGVG. I liked the weigh-off like it was last year. I belonged to the PNWGPG and enjoyed it very much. For me I am the only member of my family bringing a pumpkin or squash. Help make me understand all this better please.... carrie

3/17/2002 2:06:14 PM

Midway City, California

OK an OPEN FORUM.=====Let's have it in a Chat Room with two members of each goup debating. Maybe they can Kiss and make up when it is over or atleast Shake Hands

3/17/2002 5:25:54 PM

Cornelius, Oregon

In response to previous postings, on behalf of the PGVG, we would like to clairify our position. The Bigpumpkins.com website is not the place for a mudslinging match nor is it the desire of the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers to provolk and escalate the animosity between the two groups. Our goal is to be an organization of growers based on the principle of family and grower friendly competition. If it is unclear in our by-laws that this is not the case and we are in it for personal gain, then we welcome criticism as this is not the mission of our club. A living, changing and improving organization is what we are striving for and input from our entire membership is welcome and encouraged. I want to take this opportunity to thank the 60 plus members that have joined our club to date and hope to see all of you in Canby in October.

Thank You

3/17/2002 6:57:23 PM

Puyallup, WA

Brett,
Since when is the clarification of the issues as to why the "unhappy five" left the PNWGPG considered "mudslinging"? Did not the Steering Committee address every one of the five original complaints? I could list issue after issue that could be laid before the "pumpkin world" to demonstrate that the PNWGPG "bent over backwards" to accommodate these five members. Had these five left the PNWGPG and simply started their own organization and found their own weigh-off site, I could have "lived with that". It is the "behind the scenes" discussion with our GPC weigh-off site sponsor in an attempt to wrest away our weigh-off site and GPC sponsorship
that our members find reprehensible!
Is it not wonder that these five do not want the issues presented to the "pumpkin world"?

Stan Pugh
Puyallup, WA

3/17/2002 8:08:51 PM

Southeast

Until I fully understand all the issues, I cant make any kind of rational decision which club I would choose to be a memeber. Id like to see, both groups bylaws, and the minutes of the meetings leading up to this mess, displayed in a public forum for everyone to review. This way I can make an unbiased decision to join one, both, or neither. Until this day comes I will simply let my current membership with the one club I joined, expire. David Garell

3/21/2002 8:29:42 AM