The Watermelon War

The Chrane and Lundeen farm families had been friendly Minnesota neighbors for two generations until the Fergus Fall's fair board of directors decided to include watermelon judging in the 1926 Ottertail County Fair. Both Gus and Max raised watermelons as a summer cash crop and entered a watermelon. After the first blue ribbon, a buyer paid two-cents more per watermelon for the entire crop. During the depression years, more money was important to a family and made the competition to win blue ribbons more serious. Over the next thirteen years, each farmer won five blue ribbons. 1940 was a crucial break-the-tie year. Both Max and Gus were retiring and turning their farms over to the third generation and wanted to win one last blue ribbon to retire as Watermelon Growing Champion.