First off, the winners in the adult category for pounds of watermelon:
1st place – Nick McCaslin of Hawesville, Kentucky with 291.8 pounds. He won $600.
2nd place – Joseph Miller of Tompkinsville, Kentucky with 236.6 pounds. He won $400.
3rd place – Garrin Bratcher of Rush Springs, Oklahoma with 228.4 pounds. He won $300.
By 1.4 pounds, McCaslin’s giant melon broke the record for the heaviest melon in the 15 years of weigh-offs held in Washington. The previous record of 290.14 pounds was set by Jeremy Lindley from Wynne, Arkansas in 2017.
The youth winners also brought some big specimens.
1st place – Crew Montgomery of Hornersville, Missouri with 137.9 pounds. He won $100.
2nd place – Hudson Hardesty of Harned, Kentucky with 116.6 pounds. He won $75.
Before the measurings and the weighings, which occurred under the rules of the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, Lloyd Bright, grower with his sons Jason and Richard and his sister Barbara Bright Jones of so many record-breaking and record-challenging watermelons, was inducted as the first member of the Giant Watermelon Growers Hall of Fame. The Brights have grown their melons on land just southeast of Hope, these days driving in several times a week from Arkadelphia in Lloyd’s case and Bossier City in Barbara’s case.
Lloyd was introduced by Nick McCaslin, a Great Pumpkin Commonwealth representative who would go on to see the melon he brought from Hawesville, Kentucky claim first place. “Lloyd Wright has been selfless for a lot of years, and he is, he has shared seeds, and he is an encyclopedia when it comes to growing giant watermelons. He's written books. They've been advertised in Time magazine, maybe been on the news a few times,” he said. “We all put our heads together this this winter, and we want to help all growers, and we also want to recognize the growers that have went above and beyond. And so with that being said, Lloyd is going to be our honorary first ever member to be brought into the G[iant] W[atermelon] G[rowers] Hall of Fame
Bill Meeh, representing the Giant Watermelon Growers, spoke next. “He and his family--they're the Founding Fathers pretty much of giant watermelon growers. They were the first ones to grow a watermelon past 200 pounds. [They] broke a 44-year-old world record in 1979. His son grew one in 1985. It was in Life magazine. It was 260 pounds. And then in 2005 he grew one as big as 268 pound. His cantaloupe seeds are famous. They grew two or three world records. Then his Black Diamond [seeds] grew a world record [melon] a couple years ago. So he's got the best genetics. People, if you ask me, he's contributed more to this sport, I think, as far as the giant watermelon growers, than anybody.”
Accepting a plague designating his membership, Bright said, “I do appreciate the Giant Watermelon Growers for this. We're in a historic area. Here, this area is known for giant watermelons, and in the last few years, that's kind of disappeared, but I'm still enthusiastic about giant watermelons. And in this crowd is filled with people that love giant watermelons. I appreciate all of you.”
After the induction, Bright posed with several of his family members, including sons Jason and Richard as well as his sister Barbara Bright Jones, her daughters Nola and Nancy and Lloyd’s grandchildren Jane and Buck. Lloyd and Barbara brought one melon each. There were ten entries in all.
Richard Bright is now a lawyer in Little Rock with Taylor King Law. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas Fayetteville. He said when he sees the old pictures of himself with his family members posing around the big watermelons, “it brings back good memories.” He now has two daughters. Young Jane, who attended today, said she doesn’t have plans to grow watermelons herself.
Jason Bright, the grower of the 1985 record-breaking 260-pound watermelon, became an eye doctor who practices in Bryant. He said when he sees photos of himself with family members around watermelons, “It's a unique novelty of south Arkansas. It's kind of well-known in my circle. Jason is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University who then went to optometry school at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis. His children are teenagers, a son named Buck and a daughter about to graduate from high school.
The weigh-off was hosted by Historic Washington State Park Curator Joshua Williams and was sponsored by Hampton Inn & Holiday Inn Express of Hope, Historic Washington State Park, Lagrone Williams Hardware; Washington Grace Cottage and the City of Washington Tourism.
Those interested in growing the big melons can acquire seeds from the larger melon strains from Giant Watermelon Growers by contacting them at their website. Kids wanting to try growing them can get the seeds for free. Nevada County Extension Agent Sheila Ballard said her office also has free seeds for children to try growing the big ones just like the Bright family did.
Above photo: Members of the Bright family pose with Lloyd Bright after he was inducted into the Giant Watermelon Growers Hall of Fame Saturday morning at Historic Washington State Park.
Above photo: The first through fourth-place winners at Saturday morning's Watermelon Weigh-off. From left to right are Lloyd Bright, fourth place; Garrin Bratcher, third place; Nick McCaslin, first place and Joseph Miller, second place.
