Heirloom Expo dazzles with plant variety

Mary Callahan, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Reaction to the mountain of colorful, weirdly shaped squash and pumpkins he’d assembled at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds was enough for fifth-generation Illinois farmer Mac Condill to know Tuesday that he had done his job well.
As a exhibitor and presenter at the fourth annual National Heirloom Exposition in Santa Rosa, Condill’s goal, he said, was to showcase the diversity of the pumpkin family and highlight its historical role in feeding humankind.
Scores of visitors photographed his dazzling display of bright, bumpy and curly-cued squash, marveling at its variety in voices loud enough for him to hear.
“Mission accomplished,” said Condill, who grows 400 kinds of pumpkins, squash and gourds at his family farm in Arthur, Ill. “I think they’re an under-utilized, under-appreciated vegetable.”
The three-day expo is a celebration of odd and beautiful fruits of the earth that have proven themselves over generations to be worthy of preservation in a world where mass production, food science and corporate control threaten selection and genetic purity, organizers said.
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