Husband, wife win at pit spitting in SW Michigan

[July 05, 2010]  EAU CLAIRE, Mich. (AP) -- A husband and wife took top honors for the second straight year at the annual cherry pit spitting competition in southwestern Michigan.

Rick "Pellet Gun" Krause, of Tuba City, Ariz., spit a pit 51 feet, 3 inches Saturday for his 16th win at the International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship. Organizers say Krause entered on a motorcycle, dropped to his knees in the spitter's box and ejected the winning pit.

His wife, Marlene, took first place in the women's contest, spitting a pit 34 feet, 6 inches. It was her seventh win.

The Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm, just north of the Indiana border, hosts the event. Orchard owner Herb Teichman launched the competition as a lark 37 years ago, but it now attracts competitors from the U.S. and beyond.

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Online:

Tree-Mendus Fruit Farm: http://www.treemendus-fruit.com/

[Associated Press]

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