Indiana pumpkin crop booms\nFORT WAYNE -- Indiana farmers are growing more pumpkins to meet a rising demand for jack-o-lanterns and other seasonal decor, rather than food production. Indiana is No. 7 in pumpkin production in the United States, with 4,242 acres of pumpkins planted in 2002, according to the Census of Agriculture, published in June.\nBut only five of the state's 495 pumpkin farmers grow their crops for processing into pie filling and other food, said Greg Preston of the Indiana Agricultural Statistics Service. Most pumpkins are destined for carving or other seasonal display. The state's pumpkin patches expanded by 45 percent between 1997 and 2002, according to the census. . \nRalph Kurtz shifted crops on his 1,300-acre farm a few miles east of Fort Wayne in the 1990s when wholesale buyers began ordering more pumpkins. Now he grows about 50,000 pumpkins each year. Kurtz said chain stores are now a major market for pumpkins. "Ten, 15 years ago, Meijer, Wal-Mart, Menards -- none of those people had pumpkins. Now they do," he said. \nRetailers are catering to increasing numbers of people who are spending money on pumpkins and other seasonal decorations. Halloween ranks second only to Christmas in decoration spending, Scott Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation, said. \n"It's really shifted from one night out of the year to more of a seasonal holiday," said Krugman. \nA survey conducted for the federation estimated consumers will spend about $780 million on Halloween decorations this year, Ellen Tolley, a spokeswoman for the group, said.
Tracking the teapot lady\nISHPEMING, Mich. -- Alice Rice is surrounded by teapots, but she boils her water in the microwave. That's because the 2,008 ceramic teapots Rice has gathered since 1986, not including the teapot decor throughout her home, are strictly collectibles, she said. \n"I have a variety of teapots that have come from a variety of places," said the 66-year-old Ishpeming woman. "Each of them tell a story." \nShe has teapots of solid colors; she has those in the shape of apples, lighthouses and Disney characters. She has teapots for every holiday -- such as the Halloween collection she recently had on her dining room table (the Thanksgiving display is next), and she has teapots from various countries, including one from Hawaii made from a coconut. Many teapots in Rice's collection have been rescued from rummage sales, while others have been gifts, she said.\nEach time she adds a new teapot to her collection, she sticks a note inside stating who bought it for her and the date she received it. She also enters the same information into a registry. With so many teapots, one might think either the majority are stored away or Rice's house is cluttered: Neither is the case. Most of her collection, except for her holiday collections, are tastefully displayed throughout her home.
