Woman's prize-winning pumpkins destroyed

PASADENA, Calif., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A 93-year-old woman says vandals destroyed giant pumpkins she was growing in her yard in Pasadena, Calif.

Mae Powell found her pumpkins, including a 300-pound "giant pumpkin" she planned on entering in a weigh-off in Irvine this October, smashed to pieces along the street in front of her house Friday morning, the Pasadena (Calif.) Star News reported.

"Every year I win a prize," Powell said, "but I can't enter this one now. ... Who knows what I'll do."

Four other pumpkins that were destroyed were going to be donated to the Huntington Library's Children's Garden, Powell said.

Powell reported the vandalism to the Temple City Sheriff's Station, but Lt. Ignacio Somoano said there was no "workable information" at this point. She also offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who had information about the vandalism.

B.J. Ledyard, a friend of Powell's, said the pumpkins were a source of pride in the neighborhood.

"It brings people together because everyone says 'Oh, I know that house it's the one with the pumpkins,'" Ledyard said. "It's something people love to come by and see."