Ron Henigsmith, Special Events Coordinator, stated “With the fall activities gone, there will be more time to prepare for Christmas Fest.” During the 5 years of Fall Fest activities, Christmas Fest continued to grow, increasing by 26 percent.

Scaling back on fall activities will allow HNI to concentrate on the heart of its business. Fall work load remains full at the nursery. Fall is an ideal time to plant deciduous seed and some pine seeds; necessary preparations for continued nursery product. The wholesale Christmas tree fields need final preparation for the November harvest. And, bringing a fresh presentation to Northern Indiana s Christmas Fest remains a priority.

The staff at Hensler Nursery thanks all who came for the pumpkin rides and all the Fall Fest activities! We look forward to seeing you again this Christmas.

If you’d like to take a look at all the fun we had over the years during Fall Fest, check out our archives.

The winner of the 2012 Giant Pumpkin Contest is John Barenie, Griffith, IN with his contest winning 1233 pound pumpkin. John had a clean pumpkin sweep this summer winning his local Lake County Fair, the Indiana State Fair, and the Indiana Pumpkin Growers Association contest hosted at Hensler Nursery. Barenie still holds the record for largest pumpkin grown in Indiana with his 1308 pound pumpkin which won the recognition at the Grower Association contest hosted at Hensler Nursery in 2011. In 2011 Barenie began his string of victories, winning first at the Indiana State Fair, and then at the Hensler contest.

Full Results

The 2012 winners at Hensler Nursery on Saturday, October 6, 2012 are:

1st: John Barenie, Griffith, IN, 1,233 lbs.
2nd: Chuck Ellsworth, Jefferson, OH, 1,204 lbs.
3rd: Donald Williamson, Cedar Lake, IN, 1,079 lbs.
4th: David Beachy, Woodburn, IN, 713 lbs.
5th: Tom Beachy, Fort Wayne, IN, 693 lbs.
6th: Max Miller, Dunkirk, IN, 663 lbs.
7th: Kaleb Miller, Hartford City, IN, 441 lbs.
8th: Judy Barenie, Griffith, IN, 385 lbs.
9th: Mark Goodman, Marion, IN, 252 lbs.
10th: Jim Bok, Cecil, OH, 241 lbs.
11th: Tom Gary, Indianapolis, IN, 237 lbs.
12th: Kelly Klinker, Woodburn, IN, 147 lbs.
13th: Jeff Young, Noblesville, IN, 92 lbs.

In Other competition, Gary May brought a long gourd he grew measuring 100 5/8” long for a new state record. Coming in second place was Jeff Young, Noblesville, IN with his 79 3/8” long gourd.

Tom Gary from Indianapolis placed first with his 148 pound watermelon. Jeff Young, Noblesville, IN had a first place with his 22.37 pound cantaloupe. Largest hard stem pumpkin was grown by Tom Beachy from Fort Wayne. Beachy also exhibited the largest tomato at the contest, weighing 2.45 pounds.

A big thank you to everyone who came out to Hensler’s Fall Fest and Wheel Horse Weekend! We had an impressive set of garden tractors on display, and we really appreciate all of the participation.

Of course, we had to take some of those tractors out for a spin on our Wheel Horse Trail Ride. Check out the photos below!

BEST OF SHOW
Bill Wallace, Knox
car # 64
1961 Corvair Rampside truck

BEST ENGINE
Larry Evans, Michigan City
car # 23
1948 Willys Overland Jeepster

BEST INTERIOR
Jeff Wilson, Chesterton
car # 26
1940 Ford Deluxe Coupe

SPECIAL INTEREST
Paul Tobalh, Michigan City
car # 2
1964 Buick Riveria

BEST PAINT
Harlan Fifield, Hanna
car # 27
1968 Dodge Charger
(not pictured)

More photos from the event:

[See image gallery at www.henslernurseryindiana.com]
[See image gallery at www.henslernurseryindiana.com]

And thank you to all who attended Fall Fest this weekend. We have more events scheduled, including the Giant Pumpkin Drop. Check out our events schedule!

Take a look at the photos of this vintage beauty:

We’ll be posting more photos from the car show shortly.

On September 25th, we hosted the Indiana Pumpkin Growers Association’s annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off. The buzz circulating before the contest predicted that our scales were going to weigh a pumpkin that would beat the state record.

And that’s exactly what happened.

John Barenie of Griffith, IN claimed victory with his 1,308 pound pumpkin. Because this was an official contest, John’s entry goes into the record book as the largest pumpkin ever entered in an Indiana competition. Roger Howard from Grovertown, IN was the previous record holder since 2005 with a 1,273 pound pumpkin. Hard work, skill and good luck are all factors in raising these giant pumpkins, so John has definitely earned his $1,000 cash prize.

While John has rock star status in the pumpkin growers community, we must also mention the strong entries from his competitors:

2nd Place – Don Young, Des Moines, IA: 1,159.5 pound pumpkin
3rd Place – Julie Young, Des Moines, IA: 924.5 pound pumpkin
4th Place – Phyllis Howard, Grovertown, IN: 702.5 pound pumpkin

The judges must have seen something they liked, because we rolled away with two first place trophies from both parades!