SMOKEY POINT — The Marysville Rotary’s “Pumpkins for Literacy” program, which supports literacy in the Arlington, Lakewood and Marysville school districts, managed one other fundraiser in October, as they received more than 800 entries, from contestants 12-years-old and younger, for their “Guess the Weight of the Pumpkin” contest.

Dr. Tim O’Rourke grew the pumpkin in question, which tipped the scales at 194 pounds, six ounces, and three entrants came close enough to guessing its weight to win Barnes and Noble gift certificates donated by O’Rourke.

Nicholas Day came closest by guessing 195 pounds, and won a $75 gift certificate, while Rowan Nedredd and Isaac Padilla both guessed 192 pounds. Their tie was resolved by a drawing, so Nedredd walked away with a $50 gift certificate, while Padilla was handed a $25 gift certificate.

“Three years ago, I started planting pumpkin seeds and they grew like crazy,” O’Rourke said. “I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to see how big they could grow, and then let the kids guess their weight?’”

O’Rourke is continually learning new techniques in pumpkin-growing, such as how much pumpkins thrive on horse manure, and he expects to grow an even bigger pumpkin next year.

“This has been awesome,” O’Rourke said. “To see the community come together for our schools has been great, and working on that as part of Rotary is just fun.”