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Click Here 33 °F Forecast | Road Cams Saturday, January 31, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend September 30, 2002 Robert McWilliams uses his homemade ACME Hurler, Mark I, trebuchet to dispose of a poor pumpkin crop at his Ffoshelyg Parc Farm at Ross and Hanley Roads on Saturday. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Take that, you knaves! With some tongue and cheek, a local man finds a way to get rid of rotten pumpkins and raise money for Dogs for the Deaf By MARK FREEMAN Mail Tribune Robert McWilliams looked at the bug-riddled pumpkins at his rural Central Point farm and thought the orange orbs were more fit for hurling than carving. So the former Welsh farmer went medieval on them, and in the process is setting new highs for the fine art of smashing pumpkins. McWilliams has created a vegetable version of a medieval counter-weighted catapult, or trebuchet, designed to chuck huge stones at besieged forts or castles. But McWilliams instead is launching pumpkins for fun, and he’s getting a kick out of every squash that gets squished at his Ffoshelyg Parc Farm. "It’s just fun to see a pumpkin or watermelon or some other type of vegetable fly a couple hundred feet in the air before smashing on the ground, don’t you think?" McWilliams said. Those who want to answer for themselves can visit Ffoshelyg Parc Farm, at the intersection of Ross Lane and Hanley Road, each Saturday and Sunday before Halloween and hurl a few pumpkins themselves. Ammunition costs $4 apiece. The launching is free. Hit the target a few hundred feet away and win a free pumpkin. Miss and enjoy the sensations of smashing pumpkins. Just don’t make Mari McWilliams, Robert’s wife, responsible for the frivolity. "When he told me he was going to do this, I thought it was just a wild scheme," Mari McWilliams said. "But he’s an incredibly talented man, and he always seems to follow through on what he says." McWilliams hatched his pumpkin-hurling scheme two years ago while watching an episode of "Junkyard Wars," a cable TV show in which teams of handymen create boats or missiles or airplanes from items found in a junkyard. In that particular episode, the handymen built a trebuchet to launch squash at a target. So McWilliams and Bill Clarkson, the farm’s 77-year-old handyman, scrounged up several pieces of metal and other materials to weld their own trebuchet. They designed the device by looking at a picture of one. The result was the ACME Hurler, Mark I, made solely of junk, save one piece of $4 rope and a few cans of orange spray paint. There is some economics involved in the frivolity. McWilliams doesn’t have enough decent pumpkins for Harry and David, which normally buys them wholesale. So he’s trying to lure customers to hurl the pumpkins, and half the proceeds will be donated to Dogs for the Deaf, which trains shelter dogs to assist hearing-impaired or deaf recipients who get the dogs for free. "If it’s a success, we’ll build the Mark II next year," he said. Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times