By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — After carving the two largest pumpkins in the country in time for Halloween West, Clarksville artist Eric Jones set to work earlier this week on a 1,900-pounder outside Worth W. Smith’s on West State Street.
Words spread fast on social media Tuesday that Jones was carving another giant pumpkin in the parking lot of the West State Street hardware store. Owner Nate Smith had commissioned Jones to do a patriotic piece.
It was not the first pumpkin Jones has carved in the Worth W. Smith parking lot. He has also done a Josh Allen snow sculpture. Smith considers it good advertising because it’s widely publicized.
He’s also an unabashed patriot who wanted a patriotic display outside his store in time for Veteran’s Day.
The carving depicts an eagle with its wings stretched around baby eagles in their nest. The pumpkin was grown locally by Andy Wolf and weighed in at 1,961 pounds just shy of a ton.
As he worked on the pumpkin on Tuesday, Jones said his was the third year he’d carved the largest pumpkin in the country. He also carved the second largest this year.
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers sponsored Jones’ work on the pumpkins that were located in Times Square in New York City and on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
The New York City pumpkin was the largest at 2,741 pounds. It was also the New York State record and was grown by Andrews Family Farms in Clarence. Three Food Network carvers assisted Jones. The second largest pumpkin in LA weighed 2,518 pounds. Jones was assisted by two carvers.
“This one (at Worth W. Smith) will be the last one I carve for public display,” Jones said.
There was a 300-pound pumpkin in the back of his nearby pickup, so perhaps he could be encouraged to carve one last mid-size pumpkin.
Next week he’ll be carving a sand sculpture for the Cleveland Cavaliers. “Then we wait for snow.”
