Did the Term “Frost on the Pumpkin” Originate in Washington State?

It's that time of the year and I remember as a kid hearing the term "frost on the pumpkin" growing up in Washington State.

My wonderful foster parents used the term a lot because I grew up on the Grande Ronde River where frost and colder temperatures were common but I've always wondered where the term originated from so I did a little digging.

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Evidence suggests that one of the earliest references to this phrase can be attributed to American poet James Whitcomb Riley.

In his 1880s poem "When the Frost is on the Punkin," Riley cites the phrase, familiar to those living in rural America during the era.

Here's the start of the poem:

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock,
And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin’ turkey-cock,
And the clackin’ of the guineys, and the cluckin’ of the hens,
And the rooster’s hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;
O, it’s then’s the times a feller is a-feelin’ at his best,
With the risin’ sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,
As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,
When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.

So it seems that me growing up on a farm hearing that term makes a lot of sense because farmers and ranchers have to deal with those early frosty mornings here in Washington State.

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People believe that the term originated from Riley's poem, and as my foster parents grew up during the Great Depression, no doubt that they heard that phrase in school.

So Washington State sadly doesn't get credit for the phrase as Riley was from Indiana but it's funny how we still use the phrase after all these years.

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