Whole Lotta Pickin’ Goin’ On at Elks Street Fair

The Presque Isle Elks hosted a potato-picking contest for youth during the Crown of Maine Balloonfest Street Fair.

There were two divisions in the contest, Under 16 and Under 10. Two sisters proved their potato picking prowess in the Under 16 division. They were 14-year old Mataya Pinette and 12-year old Kealy Britton. Kealy placed first and Mataya came in second. Keeping it in the family, little brother Eason Britton won the trophy for 2nd Place in the Under 10 Division.

Three of the top four pickers are shown below.  First row from left to right, Moe Collins, director of the Presque Isle Elks; Kealy Britton, winner in the under 16 division; Eason Britton, second place in the under 10 division; and Mataya Pinette, second place in the under 16 division.  In the second row, Carla Sawyer and Shane Wilkins, parents of the winners, and Kevin Sjoberg, potato-picking contest director.

Not shown was the winner in the under 10 division, Ben Chartier.  Ben’s young brothers, Sam, age 7, and Micah, age 5, combined as a two-person team for the best time in the competition.

Contestants each had a ten-foot row of potatoes totaling 100 pounds.  The time it took each contestant to pick the ten-foot row of potatoes into a basket, then poured into a barrel until all of the potatoes were in the barrel was clocked with a stopwatch, with winners being determined on best times.