Passionate about pumpkins on Pike Street
Chelsea Tomlinson, left, 12, of Plum, decorates a pumpkin Saturday during the annual Pumpkin Festival in Houston.
Teo Zatta and Teresa Bukmanic, both of Washington, dance to the music of “Five Guys Named Moe” Saturday during Houston Pumpkin Festival.
Brent Johnson of Washington and his 12-year-old daughter, Sazasia, competed in the pumpkin pie-eating contest. Brent Johnson took second place with a time of 2 minutes, 12 seconds during Houston Pumpkin Festival Saturday.
Barbara S. Miller/Observer-Reporter Savannah Foster of Morgantown, W.Va., left, samples a pumpkin dulce de leche dessert from Patti's Pastries at Houston Pumpkin Festival Saturday. About to choose a treat at the booth is Annaleise Robinson of Wheeling, W.Va.
HOUSTON – It may come as a surprise to Americans that the pumpkin or pumpkin-spice craze hasn’t yet made inroads across the pond.
Lee Martin, Washington County’s British-born pension investment consultant, said recently when he was first served pumpkin pie in the United States, “I didn’t know what it was.”
In Great Britain, they carve jack-o’-lanterns, according to a well-placed Scottish source, but, “Ye throw the guts away!” It seems unlikely a Brit would cook an orange orb to whip up a pot of savory pumpkin soup or bake a cinnamon-scented pumpkin loaf. Pumpkins originated in the New World, and the pumpkin as a culinary ingredient has apparently yet to catch on in the mother country.
If the American pumpkin industry wanted to mine a new market, it could do some recruiting at Houston’s 33rd Annual Pumpkin Festival this weekend.
Lenora Bular of Bentleyville always used fresh pumpkin for her superb pies, and it inspired her daughters, Cheryl Gordon and Lynn Bular, who transformed pecan tassies into tiny pumpkin pastries. For the bigger bite, there’s the pumpkin gob, two cake-like cookies held together by a creamy white icing, and the pumpkin roll, which slices into a spiral holding a cream cheese filling.
“I like anything pumpkin,” Gordon said.
Linda Baker and Janice Blosel, both of Washington, were on the front lines of the local United Presbyterian Church’s Pumpkin Patch food booth. Last year, in the congregation’s debut at its Pumpkin Patch, they concentrated on pumpkin cookies, bars, cakes, pie, tarts and mousse. Baker called it “a learning year” and said there’s now an assortment of treats to entice those who might not prefer pumpkin with their apple cider or hot coffee. Perish the thought!
At Patti’s Pastries, Savannah Foster of Morgantown, W.Va., said of the pumpkin dulce de leche dessert, topped with a candy pumpkin, “It’s amazing!”
Lois Benoit of Connoquenessing, Butler County, who was assisting her son at the Cool Treats trailer, featuring scoops of pumpkin pie ice cream, said of the squash’s appeal, “It seems to be more and more. Last year, we sold out completely on the second day. I love pumpkin.”
Richard Massafra of Monongahela combines pumpkin and peanut butter, not for humans, but for dogs, donating 8 percent of his proceeds to local K-9s. Taste-tester of his bone-shaped, gluten-free golden cut-outs was his golden retriever-Lab mix, Didgi, who might have been less than discriminating.
“He eats everything,” Massafra said.
At the helm of this pumpkin-palooza is Houston Volunteer Fire Department, which took over the community festival after its first decade. Fire company President Chad Roberts said the 35-member department uses the proceeds from the festival to fund both training at Allegheny and Beaver County community colleges and firefighters’ equipment.
Buzz Meddings and Jon Taylor, who are co-chairmen of the festival, said it takes the efforts of about 120 people to stage the event, planning for which begins in March.
Pumpkins are for sale, and children have a chance to decorate a gourd of their own. Meddings said the pumpkin provider is Shilling Hill Farm on Route 519, which sends a whopping eight to 10 tons of pumpkins to the festival.
The autumn attraction began on the sidewalks, but it’s now held at Houston American Legion Post 902 picnic grounds, the former site of a swimming pool called Willow Beach.
“The weather makes it or breaks it,” Taylor said. “If the weather is good, we have a crowd.”
Judging from the masses who converged on the festival Saturday despite overnight rain, somewhere a Great Pumpkin must have been smiling on this little patch of Pennsylvania where orange is the new black.
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The final day of the Houston Pumpkin Festival, 124 West Pike St., opens with a church service at 9:45 a.m. Sunday and the event continues through 5 p.m.