How a new Canadian discovered decorative gourds for Thanksgiving
'Mutant squash' had an enthusiastic fan in Midday's produce expert Pete Luckett in 1992
After 14 years in Canada, English greengrocer Pete Luckett had finally embraced the charms of our annual harvest feast.
"I was absolutely amazed at this Thanksgiving thing that you have in the fall," the Halifax merchant began telling Midday viewers on the October holiday in 1992. "And then to top it all you have all these ornaments hanging round the house."
An assortment of small decorative squash varieties in green, yellow, orange and white was arrayed on a barrel-turned-table in front of him.
- CBC ARCHIVES | Pete Luckett, your produce expert
"You have these gourds!" Luckett said. "I've never seen gourds before I came to Canada."
'They're a mutant squash'
"They're all shapes and sizes," he went on. "Some look like sea urchins, some are like little maracas, you should shake them."
But gourds were truly for looks only.
"You can't eat 'em. They're a mutant squash," explained Luckett.
It had taken time, but Luckett had become a convert to the idea of using gourds as decoration.
"I did find it very amazing to start with," he admitted. "But right now, I've got right in the groove and I too, I have gourds on the mantelpiece, in my home, and I'm really getting in the spirit with these gourds."
Luckett had a pro tip, too: poke a pinhole in the bottom of a gourd to dry it out and make it last longer.
"These have been shellacked," he added. "They're much shinier than your regular natural gourd."
As such, they were perfect for seasonal decorating at Thanksgiving.
"Pop 'em all round your house," he suggested. "They're beautiful, they're natural art."
