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.

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

“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 to exert on those lucky enough to feel their power and magnitude up clo

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