Kilgore, TX — The ongoing drought has created a sport that one East Texas resident calls “pumpkin passing” — a sellers’ scramble for suppliers of the seasonal produce.

Another type of gourd grabbing occurred Wednesday when the much-anticipated truckload of pumpkins arrived at a local church for its yearly fundraiser.

Members of Kilgore’s St. Luke’s Methodist Church — from children to adults — formed a line from the truck to the church grounds and passed pumpkins down the line.

“As soon as they’re on the church grass, we’re open for business,” said Cecilia Mitchell, coordinator of the 13th Annual Pumpkin Patch. “We have about 20 members of a committee, but it takes our whole congregation to sell pumpkins. It’s definitely a church-wide activity.”

By working together to pull off the patch, she said, “It has brought people closer together, formed friendships. We’ve brought people into our church just from their coming to the Pumpkin Patch. That atmosphere of love, that’s why we do it: for our community and our church.”

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