Get Those Watermelons Before the Season Ends!
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
GRAPELAND – It’s always tough for farmers and ranchers, with tiny differences in weather making all the difference between a good year and a bad one. After two years of intensely dry summers, the prayers of many in Houston County seemed to work – only too well. This summer has seen constant rain, with intense storms and cooler temperatures.
Somehow, through it all, the Pennington watermelons keep showing up, causing smiles at picnics and attracting locals and tourists for a special taste, unique to Grapeland’s native soil.
The Pennington watermelon operation is legendary, with countless kids helping to harvest, transport or sell the precious fruits each year. At the sales point in downtown Grapeland, sits Grapeland high school senior Alayaha Hopkins. You will find her arranging and selling the watermelons, helping newbies and experienced buyers alike to find the perfect piece. When no customers are around, she stays hydrated in the summer heat with a healthy stock of water, browsing online or reading her Bible to pass the time.
Aside from the all A’s she gets in her classes, Hopkins loves her sports, playing, in her words, everything.
“I do cross country, volleyball, track, basketball, softball…” Hopkins trailed off, running out of sports available to play.
Needing a summer job to put away some money for college, Hopkins followed generations of Sandies by signing up to get those tasty watermelons from field to table. She said there hasn’t been much downtime, interrupting the interview several times to take care of customers.
“We’ve been really busy. Everybody loves Grapeland watermelons,” Hopkins said. “People drive from three hours away just come get watermelons from down here!”
Family members taught her to know a good watermelon at a glance, a skill she passes on to many of those who trust her to “pick them out a good one.”
“You look at the lines, the inches between the lines or you listen to them and see how they sound hollow,” Hopkins explained. “Then you look at the belly – if it’s yellow, that means it’s really sweet. If you don’t have a big yellow spot, it’s not all the way done.”
Ross Pennington said the season is winding down, but he should have plenty of product through labor day. The wetter weather did give him some problems, but Grapeland just wouldn’t be Grapeland without things like the Peanut Festival and Pennington watermelons, and the show must go on.
Pennington said the kids step up each year and make the process work, defying the idea some have that kids these days can’t or won’t go out and do real work.
“We are just thankful for the community who buy our product and for the kids who come to work with us,” Pennington said.
Hopkins was enjoying her last days on the watermelon stand, eager to get back to her senior year of high school. She admitted it would be a tough year, but already had plans for her future.
“I will go to college and I think I will major in radiology,” Hopkins concluded.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
