photo by: Shelley Hanson

Washington Lands Elementary School students cheer after another pumpkin survives a drop on Friday during the school’s 11th annual Pumpkin Drop.

MOUNDSVILLE — Washington Lands Elementary School students had quite a few great pumpkins survive crash landings in their patch during the 11th annual Pumpkin Drop on Halloween.

The students brought supplies from home they believed would cushion their pumpkin’s fall. They used old pillows, foam pool noodles, pillow stuffing, bubble wrap, blankets and much more. The wrapped pumpkins were also placed into cardboard boxes. Some of the boxes even had padding on the outside while others were decorated for the holiday.

One pumpkin box was dressed up to look like Principal Julie Sturgill, even wearing her trademark high heels.

Sturgill used an electronic lift raised to about 25 feet to drop the pumpkins from. Before throwing the gourds over the edge onto a tarp below, she asked the students to count down each time, “3-2-1,” they yelled. The packages landed with a thud, some louder than others. Teachers waiting on the sidelines jumped into action, tearing and ripping at the packaging to reveal the pumpkins inside.

Pumpkins with no cracks received a thumbs up, drawing cheers from the audience. Cracked pumpkins got a thumbs down, resulting in some moans and sad faces.

Of the 13 pumpkins put to the test on Friday, six of them survived the fall. That means the students in those winning homerooms will each get a pizza party as a reward for their efforts. Homerooms whose pumpkins survived the pumpkin drop included preschool teacher Tracy Wright; kindergarten, Deanne Clutter; first grade, teacher Barbara Wilson; second grade, Amber Bundock; fourth grade, teacher Jessica Diefenbaugh; and fifth grade, teacher Charlotte Steed.

“The students participate as a classroom as a whole and bring in materials from home,” Sturgill said. “The teachers don’t bring anything. We just provide the pumpkins and they get a box. In years prior, we’ve only had one or two not bust and there have been years where five or six classes protected them very well.

“It’s nice. It gives the students a little taste of engineering and putting thought into the materials they are using and how it might protect the pumpkin.”