Radene and Carlton Eakin of Climax left Climax on Sept. 3, traveling to Brooten, Minn., to visit their granddaughter, Christinia VanderBeek, and her new husband, Nathan.

The young couple have been married one year and invited the Eakin grandparents for a visit. Before marrying and moving to Minnesota, Christinia was a director of a children group at a church in Indiana.

The proud grandparents said the youngsters owned their own farm and were growing around 175 acres of soybeans, among other crops. But, what got the attention of Carlton and Radene was their granddaughter’s first garden. “It was amazing what she had grown!” Carlton said.

Huge pumpkins he said were growing everywhere — some even climbed up a pine tree and took a seat on one of the limbs.

“Carlton couldn’t decide which one to pick — there were so many,” Radene said.

Christinia also had watermelons growing, Carlton said. Those melons were not just on the ground. Some of them decided to climb the fence and hang dangling from the fence.

After careful consideration, grandpa Carlton decided on the perfect pumpkin. After weighing it when they returned home on Sept. 19, they found that they had brought back a 77-pound pumpkin and a tiny little watermelon.

Grandparents Carlton and Radene spent the remainder of the visit touring sites in and around Brooten, Minn., and watching these young grandchildren carry on the farming tradition left by Nathan’s parents and grandparents. From their travels, Radene also had an unusual hat that was shaped like a flower vase, but it took the shape of a hat once placed upon the head.

The Eakins said they had a wonderful time visiting and watching the garden grow, but then again they were glad to be back home in Climax, too. Welcome home to the Eakins.