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Floydada Pumpkin - Texas Festival Series LbNA #19524 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Frye Team
Plant date:Nov 30, 2005
Location:
City:Bronx
County:New York
State:New York
Boxes:1
Found by: "Big Red"
Last found:Aug 18, 2009
Status:FFFFFFr
Last edited:Nov 30, 2005
4-2010 - found alive and well but had to be moved a little - thanks Miss Moon
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This box was planted by Miss Moon of NY and carved by the Frye Team of Texas. It is part of the Texas Festival Series.

Floydada was named for Dolphin Floyd Ward, a volunteer from Gonzales who died at the Alamo, Floyd County was created by the Texas Legislature on August 27, 1876. For a little over a hundred years, this area has relied on farming and ranching for it's sustenance and economic maintenance. For the most part Floydada farmers have relied on cotton for their primary source of income, however, many other crops have emerged, including corn, wheat, milo, onions, peppers, alfalfa and others. But the most widely publicized crop in the area has become the legendary pumpkin.

The history of the pumpkin dates back to 1841 when a Santa Fe expedition passed through and stumbled upon a group of Indians. The Indians were startled and ran away leaving behind pumpkins that were quickly eaten by members of the expedition. However, the real patriarch of pumpkins was long-time farmer, B.A. "Slim" Robertson. Robertson originally began with only ten acres of the orange crop and as demand increased, so did his acreage. He became affectionately known as "the pumpkin man" and sold his pumpkins on the roadside next to his home, and later he began shipping truckloads elsewhere. Robertson's claim to pumpkin fame was reinforced when a number of years ago, he received a letter from out of town addressed to "The Pumpkin Patch Southwest of Floydada, Texas". Today the legacy left by "Slim" Robertson has triggered a surge of community pride and enthusiasm as Floydada has eagerly risen to fame as "The Pumpkin Capital. USA".

How did Floydada earn the privilege of becoming the "Pumpkin Capital"? The facts and figures tell it all. Although only about eight hundred acres of the crop is grown annually in this county, pumpkins produce about 20,000 to 50,000 pounds per acres. That's approximately ten to fifteen million pounds of pumpkins, or in layman's terms about one million pumpkins! Pumpkins are among the crops which are harvested almost entirely by hand from the picking to the loading on and off trucks. This time consuming task is complicated by the number of the sizes and varieties of pumpkins being produced.

Floydada's varieties currently focus on the jack-o-lantern (12-25 lbs.), pie pumpkins (5-8 lbs.), Big Mac (100 lbs. and up) and the mini pumpkins (8 oz.) A few Atlantic Giants are produced weighing over 100 lbs., but they are difficult to ship. These varieties are loaded onto trucks and shipped to over seventeen states at the present. As the profitable production of pumpkins began to increase an idea began to take shape in the mind of a local producer and was passed on to the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber enlisted a few very determined citizens and the first "Punkin Day" was born in 1987.

Now that you have learned everything you could ever need to know about Floydada, here is what you have been waiting for…..

CLUES: This box is in New York City, in the upper west Bronx, near the Hudson River, in an area called Riverdale. Go to the pine-covered south west corner of West 252nd street and Henry Hudson Parkway and go behind the low, drooping limbs that conceal the corner.

.....count 6 logs from the left not counting the one that is out of line and a little below the others. Look under the rock in front of that sixth log and you will see a micro container.

These boxes are also in the area: A Splendid View (6 boxes), Shoe FLY Pie and Strike A Pose .

Please be discreet and rehide well.