It’s a Crime to Be Unhealthy!
By Susan Holloway, M.S. Home Economics Child Development-Family Relations
Retired Teacher of JMCSS and Madison County Extension
Retirement is not boring when one finds various experiences as I do. This month, I am the Educator at
Donnell Century Farms fall tour days. Hundreds of students from schools over all West Tennessee visit the
farm at various seasons of the year. This is the Pumpkin Farm season. It is a requirement that each school
fieldtrip group have an educational lesson. Today, I want to share the wisdom I have recently gained and
teach even though I have been with farming my entire life. Some of the information below may be simple
because Pre-K and Kindergarten students often attend. Visualize hundreds of young children standing on a
pyramid of huge rectangular hay bales while they interact with me.
“Welcome to the F-A-R-M. What does that spell? Farm. What is a farm? A farm is where lots of work goes on
to feed the world. Sometimes we feed the feed. We grow hay, corn, or soybeans to feed the animals.
Sometimes farmers grow special produce like pumpkins. What foods are made from pumpkins? Pies, muffins,
breads, etc. Pumpkins are healthy foods and very pretty colors. Have you ever carved a pumpkin and found
white things in the gooey center? These are _________? Yes, seeds. Different seeds grow different kinds of
pumpkins – (show about 5 different shapes and sizes). Have you met the story hero ‘Spookley’ (Show stuffed
character and books available in Gift Shop). When you ride in the pumpkin carts to the corn maze, you will see
a Spookley story posted for teachers to put you in small groups and read. What is different about Spookley?
He is square. He is even a different shape. It is possible to see pumpkins in all colors – even blue and pink!
Just like people, pumpkins have their own personalities. Behind you is a pumpkin patch. You say pumpkins
come from seeds, well what do I do with this seed if I want to grow pumpkins? I push it into the ground, it rains,
sun shines, it sprouts a stem which pushes up through the dirt and makes many vines with flowers on them. I
just picked this bloom from the ones behind you. I was told by Andrew Donnell this is a boy bloom because it
was on the tops of the vines. The girl blooms are on the ground. The bee is the secret to visiting bloom to
bloom and sharing pollen so that pumpkins are grown. The bee spends the night in the bloom because the
bloom closes. When I just picked this bloom, it had a bee asleep inside even thought the bloom knew it was
morning and was opening. I was reminded on a TV show last week that much corn is grown for good food. Do
you know the ears of corn would not have any kernels on them if the pollen did not fall from the top tassel to
the formation of the ear. The wind is responsible for making good corn pollination. Teachers, it is time for all of
you to visit the inground trampoline, zip line, slide, corn maze, feed baby animals and eat good hamburgers
raised here. Have a GREAT time today on the Pumpkin Farm.”
We are being told that pumpkins, apples, and other produce are increasing as much as 30% in price due to
lack of labor which are heavy jobs. Maybe look for these healthy foods for our diets in forms other than fresh
and make sure we are not wasteful in consumption.