Colorado
Aurora firefighter reclaims Colorado pumpkin record with one-ton gourd
An Aurora firefighter’s prodigious pumpkin was recognized as the heaviest ever grown in the state of Colorado on Saturday, topping the list at more than a ton.
The lord among gourds — named Winifred Sanderson after the character of the same name from the 1993 film “Hocus Pocus” — weighed in at 2,083 pounds when it hit the scale at the Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off held Saturday at Nick’s Garden Center in Aurora.
Fire medic Brad Bledsoe said 2024 marks his family’s third year growing competition-sized pumpkins on their property in Fort Collins.
The former plant nursery employee described carefully managing the growing process, from measuring the nutrients present in the soil, to researching the genetics of the Atlantic giant pumpkin seed used, to watering his plant every day.
“It’s a whole can of worms,” Bledsoe said.
He said his friend brought a skid steer to help load the pumpkin onto a trailer that Bledsoe used to haul Winifred Sanderson from Fort Collins to Aurora.
“It was my favorite thing to do, was driving with the pumpkin and seeing people’s faces light up,” he said. “You can see the curiosity, like people asking if it’s even real and asking if they can take pictures with it.”
Aurora Fire Rescue announced in a news release and Nick’s Garden Center confirmed that the pumpkin took first prize at the weigh-in organized by The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.
Bledsoe claimed Colorado’s pumpkin record earlier this year with the first of three competition-sized pumpkins, named Mary Sanderson after another of the Sanderson sisters from “Hocus Pocus,” which weighed in at 1,955 pounds.
The record was briefly taken by another grower last month before Bledsoe took it back with the first Colorado pumpkin to weigh more than a ton Saturday. A third competition-sized pumpkin grown by Bledsoe, Sarah Sanderson, is slated to be weighed in Fort Collins on Oct. 12.
As for the heaviest recorded jack-o’-lantern, Bledsoe said Travis Gienger’s world-record-breaking pumpkin was carved into one in 2023.
“But, there’s always next year,” Bledsoe said.
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Originally Published:
Police in Northern Colorado are investigating after a crash involving multiple vehicles claimed the life of a pedestrian.
The Greeley Police Department received reports of a crash at the 5500 block of Highway 34 around 5:50 p.m. on Monday. When officers arrived, they discovered that two vehicles were involved in a crash with a 19-year-old woman who attempted to walk across the highway.
Police said there was no crosswalk in the area, and she was struck by the driver’s side of a Chevrolet Blazer. The impact knocked the woman into the inside lane, where she was struck by a Chevrolet Traverse. A witness told officers they saw the woman crossing the roadway ‘as traffic arrived at her location.’
First responders attempted life-saving measures on the woman at the scene before she was taken to North Colorado Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. GPD said the Weld County Coroner’s Office will release her identity at a later time.
Neither driver involved was injured in the crash. Police said they don’t expect charges to be filed against those drivers at the moment, but the case remains under investigation. The police department asked anyone with information on the crash to contact Officer Ed Kubala at Edward.Kubala@greeleypd.com.
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