Pumpkins. In Morton, they are venerated, celebrated, decorated and, ultimately, obliterated. On Oct. 15-16, Morton held it’s 20^th Annual Punkin Chuckin’ event, an affair that punctuates the village’s renowned Pumpkin Festival.

Hundreds of spectators converged in a rural Tazewell County cornfield where Medieval machines, such as trebuchets and catapults, launched pumpkins in hopes of either making the greatest distance or striking the scrapped van at the center of the cornfield.

Tommy Rush, a radiology resident at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria, added a twist to his toss at the 20th annual Morton Punkin Chuckin’ event Saturday, Oct. 15. Rush, who attributes his agility to soccer playing, landed a handspring before launching his pumpkin nearly 70 feet. He won a box of pumpkin doughnuts and $10 for the highest distance. (Photo by Holly Eitenmiller / for Chroncile Media)

Except for Treisten Fagan’s catapult, “It.” A junior at Riverton High School in Springfield, Illinois, Fagan entered the competition in hopes of breaking her record of 3 1/2 feet. Her second launch measured 24 feet, for which she garnered much applause.

Meanwhile, the formidable Acme Catapult, a tandem axle machine, landed pumpkins more than 2,000 feet. The catapult can launch refrigerators and tractors, and has been featured on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Acme Catapult is owned by Doug Diefenbach of Morton and Bob Kruse of Allentown.

Another group represented Illinois State University with Reggie’s Chuckin’ Wagon, Tremont High School manned “The Guillotine,” the Chuck N Duck team was there from Indiana, as well as Team Fahrfunflinger.

The machine competition featured seven divisions, including Youth, Adult and Open Class. All pumpkins are vetted beforehand, and must weigh between 8-10 pounds.

The Open Class Cannon pumpkins weigh differently, but that was of no matter this year. The event’s stalwart cannons were missing, cutting the number of competitors by more than half.

“The State of Illinois changed the law and now pumpkins must be shot from a certified fuel tank,” said Susan Pyles, Morton’s director of tourism. “Our guys are excellent at constructing fuel tanks, however, those tanks can only be fired at private events.”

Because of this, Pyles said Morton could not feature its Q9 and Q36 cannons. The show must go on, however, with or without the resounding blasts of cannon fire, and it did, successfully.

The Oscar Mayer Weinermobile hemmed in the northeast perimeter of the cornfield, along with a giant fun slide, a bouncy house, a face painting booth and vendors featuring pumpkin doughnuts, gourmet popcorn and other such festival fare.

Morton resident, Ryan Black, chucks a pumpkin 33 1/2 feet in the 20th Annual Morton Punkin Chuckin’ pumpkin toss Saturday, Oct. 15. (Photo by Holly Eitenmiller / for Chroncile Media)

Between machine launches, competitors lined up Saturday in the annual Hand Tossed Competition, where contestants selected a pumpkin from a loaded cart, spray painted them in unique colors and threw them as far as possible.

Prizes range between $5-$10 per division, which include Young Adult, Teens and Adult. Tosses ranged in distances from 2-63 feet, with some being flung in very creative displays.

Tommy Rush of Peoria flipped into a handspring on his pumpkin before landing a 64-foot toss. When asked where he learned such acrobatics, he said, “Soccer.”

Rush won $10 and a box of pumpkin donuts.

Another adult contestant suffered an early launch during a discus-type spin, but no injuries were reported, except for the pumpkin’s.

The event was hosted by the Morton Tourism Association and was sponsored by a number of local businesses, including Morton Community Bank, Mike Murphy Ford and Ameren Illinois. Byers Automotive donated the scrapped vehicle. The pumpkins were likely grown by Morton farmers and

Rock Valley College student, Abigail Roderick, 19, tosses a pumpkin at Morton’s 20th Annual Punkin’ Chunkin event Saturday, Oct. 15. Punkin Chuckin’ punctuates Morton’s annual Pumpkin Festival. Roderick participated in the adult category of the Punkin Toss, and chucked her pumpkin 31.8 feet. (Photo by Holly Eitenmiller / for Chroncile Media)

lay in scattered in shards, a testament to another year of pumpkin pageantry.

— Contestants let it fly at annual Morton Punkin Chuckin event —