When Dave Chan set out to cross the U.S. border on Sept. 26 with two giant pumpkins strapped to a flatbed truck, he was understandably a little nervous. Article content

What about tariffs and the border crackdown? Would the pumpkins be allowed across the border or be detained like some unwelcome interlopers? Article content

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“I was worried,” said Chan, who was headed to the Carpinito Brothers Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Kent, Wash., with the behemoths he had grown in his backyard.

Chan, the current Canadian record-holder for heaviest giant pumpkin, didn’t need to worry .

“I had the most pleasant border guard,” said Chan. “He asked a few questions, then he just smiled and waved me through.”

Chan credits what the ineffable magic giant pumpkins seem

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