SHAMOKIN DAM -- Earlier this month a math teacher from Ohio took home first prize and set a world record at the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers with her 1,725-pound pumpkin. While Christy Harp is likely grinning from ear to ear at the possibility of seeing her name in the Guiness Book of World Records, she’s got nothing on Dru and Hannah Kline when it comes to pride.

The Klines — 8-year-old Hannah and 10-year-old Dru, of Selinsgrove — may not have broken any world records with their 55-pounder, but they’re just as happy with the pumpkin that won them fourth place in the Beaver County Fair last month.

Dru brought the pumpkin plant home at the end of the school year and with the help of his mom, Kathy, planted it in the home garden. The plants were given out by the Selinsgrove Future Farmers of America club. Students were told to plant the seedlings to see who could grow the largest pumpkin by this fall.

“We planted it around the second week of June,” said Kathy.

Feed it milk

Dru and Hannah admit while they pulled some weeds over the summer months, they did little else to aid in the growth of their prize pumpkin.

“We just let nature do it,” said Dru. “And it worked out very well.” Hannah said the two did give the pumpkin a little milk from time to time.

“My grandfather used to tell us to feed the pumpkins milk,” said Kathy.

Whether or not it helped, she doesn’t know.

“We didn’t do anything else unusual to get it to grow bigger,” said Kathy.

In fact, nature even took care of making sure the pumpkin had a nice shape and color. Kathy said some people will roll their pumpkins during the growing season to avoid having a flat spot. The Klines didn’t roll theirs, yet the flat spot is barely noticeable.

The pumpkin is for sale at Gilbert’s Garden Center in Shamokin Dam.

Jay Burkholder, owner of Burkholder’s Farm Market in Washingtonville, has been growing giant pumpkins for years and said people are becoming more and more interested in decorating their homes and businesses with the spectacular squash.

Heavy lifting

“What you see on our lot now is pretty much what’s left,” he said recently of the dozen or so pumpkins lined up in the parking lot of the market. “We all but sold out.” Overall, he said he’s sold about 130 giant pumpkins, most of which range in size around 200 pounds.