By TIM ALEXANDER

Illinois Correspondent

EUREKA, Ill. — The Morton (Ill.) Chamber of Commerce website recognizes the origin of the Morton Pumpkin Festival, which attracts upwards of 70,000 visitors per year, as 1967.

The unusual celebration, which serves as an annual fundraiser celebration of the beginning of the pumpkin harvest and canning session at the town’s Libby’s-Nestle pumpkin processing plant, runs from Sept. 11-14. The harvest celebration has been sponsored by the Morton Libby’s plant since 2012.

In 1978, the governor proclaimed Morton the “Pumpkin Capital of the World” since more than 80 percent of the world’s canned pumpkin was processed at the plant. However, prior to this claim, nearby Eureka – with a current population of fewer than 6,000 – served as the home of Libby’s predecessor, Dickinson and Co. vegetable canning factory, as early as 1902.

After the cannery changed hands and became Libby, McNeill, and Libby, from 1939-61 the Woodford County seat held its own popular Pumpkin Festival, attracting 100,000 celebrants during its heyday in the 1940s.

Its impact has not been forgotten by a dedicated group of local historians with the Woodford County Historical Society and local library district, which recently established an online history of the early festival with photos and firsthand accounts, as well as a temporary photo exhibit on display at the Historical Society headquarters on quaint Eureka Square.

“This exhibit started through a library grant, which led to an association during which our secretary, Beth Miller, suggested, ‘Let’s do an (historical) article on the Pumpkin Festival,’” said Society President Karen Fyke. “I mentioned that everyone around here knows that history, but it turned out that most people didn’t.”

The Eureka Pumpkin Festival was annual at first, but became a biennial event from 1947-61, featuring queen coronations, massed band concerts, large parades, the distribution of 10,000 free personal-size pumpkin pies, football games, food stands, carnival rides, dancing, and variety acts.

In 1947, Eureka College alum and movie star Ronald Reagan served as a horse-riding grand marshal of the Eureka Pumpkin Festival, with an estimated 100,000 in attendance over its weekend.

“It started in 1939, when the Eureka businessmen decided we needed to establish something special to distinguish Eureka. The biggest crop here was pumpkins, and it was being canned by Libby’s by then, so they decided on a pumpkin festival and declared Eureka the pumpkin center of the world,” according to Fyke.

The rest is history – which is now digitally preserved through the efforts of the Eureka Library and Historical Society. Along with Miller, Cindy O’Neill of the library was instrumental in accumulating and organizing photos and artifacts for the dual exhibits, known as the “Pumpkins, Parades, and Pies” project.

This year’s Morton Pumpkin Festival continues a rich tradition for the Tazewell County community of more than 16,000, whose 2019 festival is themed “Luck O’ The Pumpkins.” The 30-plus events and venues associated with it are organized by Morton Chamber members and community volunteers.

The festival is known for its giant pumpkin competition, pumpkin chuckin’, pumpkin recipe competitions, and a parade. For more information on the 2019 Morton Pumpkin Festival, visit www.mortonpumpkinfestival.org

The historical images gathered by the Eureka group are now an online collection available on the Illinois Digital Archives (IDA) website; the collection can be accessed by visiting www.eurekapl.org and clicking on the “Eureka Pumpkin Festival” tab and the link to the IDA collection.