Beautiful Gypsy! If we had a Halloween contest this year you would give everyone a run for their money! Very nice images.

I'm glad to see you learned how to post pictures too, thats great I'm proud of you!

thanks Tyler, this is fun,, I am learning >>LOL

Yes it is a lot of fun!

Pumpkin History
References to pumpkins date back many centuries. The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for "large melon" which is "pepon." "Pepon" was nasalized by the French into "pompon." The English changed "pompon" to "Pumpion." Shakespeare referred to the "pumpion" in his Merry Wives of Windsor. American colonists changed "pumpion" into "pumpkin." The "pumpkin" is referred to in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater and Cinderella.

Native Americans dried strips of pumpkin and wove them into mats. They also roasted long strips of pumpkin on the open fire and ate them. The origin of pumpkin pie occurred when the colonists sliced off the pumpkin top, removed the seeds, and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. The pumpkin was then baked in hot ashes.

History of the Jack-o-Lantern
People have been making jack-o-lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o’lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o’lanterns.

Source: The History Channel
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/pumpkin.html

Pumpkin Facts
Total U.S. pumpkin production in 2006 was valued at $101.3 million.

496 million pounds of pumpkins were produced in Illinois in 2005.

The top pumpkin production states are Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania and California.

The top ten pumpkin producing counties in Illinois are Tazewell, Kankakee, Mason, Logan, Will, Marshall, Kane, Pike, Carroll and Woodford.

According to the University of Illinois, 90 percent of the pumpkins grown in the United States are raised within a 90-mile radius of Peoria, Illinois.

Pumpkins are grown primarily for processing with a small percentage grown for ornamental sales through you-pick farms, farmers’ market and retail sales.

Around 90 to 95% of the processed pumpkins in the United States are grown in Illinois.

Pumpkin seeds can be roasted as a snack.

Pumpkins contain potassium and Vitamin A.

Pumpkins are used for feed for animals.

Pumpkin flowers are edible.

Pumpkins are used to make soups, pies and breads.

The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake.

Pumpkins are members of the vine crops family called cucurbits.

Pumpkins originated in Central America.

In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.

Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.

Pumpkins range in size from less than a pound to over 1,000 pounds.

The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds.

The name pumpkin orginated from "pepon" – the Greek word for "large melon."

The Connecticut field variety is the traditional American pumpkin.

Pumpkins are 90 percent water.

Pumpkins are fruit.

Eighty percent of the pumpkin supply in the United States is available in October.

In colonial times, Native Americans roasted long strips of pumpkin in an open fire.

Colonists sliced off pumpkin tops; removed seeds and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of pumpkin pie.

Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkins, dried them and made mats.

Native Americans called pumpkins "isqoutm squash."

Native Americans used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine.

LOL good stuff!!

i wonder if plastic pumpkins are taking over the way, india has aol,lol,,,,, loved the jackolantern story,seems i would have heard that story, it was good, and the joke
say hello to leroy

Candy Corn


For those of us over the age of 25, when you think of Halloween candy you think of candy corn, those sugary little spikes of Halloween cheer. They've been around for as long as I remember and even as long as my grandparents remember but did you know that they were invented in the 1880's? Who the first person to make these tasty treats was is unknown but the Wunderle Candy Company of Philadelphia was the first to go into commercial production. However, the company most closely associated with this wonderful confection is the Goelitz Confectionery Company. Founder Gustav Goelitz, a German immigrant, began commercial production of the treat in 1898 in Cincinnati and is today the oldest manufacturer of the Halloween icon.

Making candy at the turn of the last century wasn't the highly mechanized, year-round activity it is today. Candy was manufactured seasonally from March through November. Large kettles were used to cook the basic ingredients of candy corn, sugar, water, and corn syrup into a slurry. Fondant for smooth texture and marshmallow for a soft bite would be whipped in. When the right consistency was reached the hot candy would be poured into hand-held buckets called runners. Each runner holding 45 pounds of the hot mixture.

Next, men called stringers would walk backward pouring the steaming candy into trays of cornstarch imprinted with kernel-shaped molds. Three passes were made, one for each white, orange, and yellow color. A strenuous job at best before the days of air-conditioning and electric fans.

All this strenuous labor wasn't lost on the tiny candy. It's tricolor design was considered revolutionary for its time and people flocked to buy them. Their shape was also a big selling point for the mostly agrarian population of the early 1900's. So popular was candy corn that companies tried other vegetable shapes including turnips. The Goelitz Candy Company even had to turn orders down for lack of production capacity.

Candy corn was originally sold in bulk containers like most foods products of the time. They were packed in wooden buckets, tubs, and cartons to be delivered by wagon and train over relatively short distances. Perishability prevented widespread distribution.

During WWI, Herman Goelitz, son of Gustav, moved to Fairfield, California to start his own company, the Herman Goelitz Candy Company. Their product? Candy Corn! The fortune of the Halloween treat would rise and fall many times as recession and boom, war and peace, affected the humble confection. Throughout the hard times it was the sale of candy corn that kept the companies afloat. In the sugar crisis of the mid 1970's when the price of raw sugar skyrocketed the company had to borrow heavily to buy sugar to keep production up. After the crisis the market plummeted. Many companies went out of business. It was demand for the candy corn that kept Goelitz from bankruptcy.

Today you won't have to look very hard to find candy corn. Computer and machine aided production have made them a plentiful staple no matter what time of year. So plentiful in fact that according to the National Confectioners Association, in 2001 candy manufacturers sold more than 20 million pounds of candy corn. Roughly 8.3 billion kernels! Very impressive for a product that has remained virtually unchanged for well over 100 years.

Perhaps best of all, everyone can feel comfortable about enjoying tasty kernel or two. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, candy is no different than a slice of bread, bowl of cereal or a cracker when it comes to causing tooth decay. Any food that contains sugar or starch can cause tooth decay – especially if one doesn’t brush and floss daily. So grab a bag of candy corn and enjoy. Just remember to brush your teeth after.

Candy Corn Quick Facts
Candy corn has 3.57 calories per kernel
Halloween accounts for 75% of the annual candy corn production
Candy corn isn't just for Halloween there is also:
Reindeer corn for Christmas (red, green, and white)
Indian corn (it's chocolate and vanilla flavored)
Cupid corn for Valentine's Day (red, pink, and white)
Bunny corn for Easter (pastel-colored)





For More Information
Herman Goelitz Inc.
2400 North Watney Way
Fairfield, CA 94533