Pumpkin Chuckin' Good Time!

Wade Weatherbee has issued a challenge: “Be prepared Eddy’s, next year we will be back with a vengeance and we will be victorious!” While it sounds serious, Mr. Weatherbee’s challenge was issued in jest and he is prepared to graciously “eat crow” a year from now if his prediction of victory squashes like a frost-bitten jack o’lantern. Mr. Weatherbee is the father of Dr. Arthur Hines student Jonathan Weatherbee and this past month the two participated in Harmony Park’s annual Pumpkin Chuckin’ event where Dr. Arthur Hines School students load up home-built catapults and launch left over Halloween pumpkins into the soccer field at Harmony Park.

The Weatherbees were one of two families who spent many days designing, building and testing very different catapults in preparation for launch day. The Eddy family’s catapult, built by Ernest and his son Tyler, was constructed of wood and took 6-7 full working days to complete. “Tyler participated in all aspects of the design, construction, testing, re-designing and re-testing”. The Weatherbee catapult was constructed out of steel and took approximately 30 hours to finish with “Jonathan actually trying his hand at planning, measuring, welding and testing.”

When asked what they enjoyed most about participating in the Pumpkin Chuckin’ event both Mr. Eddy and Mr. Weatherbee were very enthusiastic. Mr. Eddy’s favorite part was “working with my son Tyler during the design and construction of the catapult as well as the enthusiasm of the children anticipating the launch”. Mr. Weatherbee felt that “Beyond winning or losing the challenge, one of the best parts about the whole thing was the learning our children received while taking part in the building; everything from levers and angles to weights and safety.”

Grade 3/4 student Micheal Crossley watched the Pumpkin Chuckin’ event at school and was inspired to build a catapult of his own at home. His table-top catapult is made from wood and features wheels and a bottle cap to hold objects in place before launch.

Tyler Eddy, Jonathan Weatherbee and Micheal Crossley all received coupons for a week worth of DAHES Healthy Lunch Program’s snacks and lunches from the Friends of Harmony Park Society.

Although neither the Weatherbee or Eddy families would say just exactly how far they were able to launch a pumpkin, Ernest Eddy did offer this bit of wisdom “standing in front of the catapult during launch could be considered hazardous to your health!