From the archives: Pineapple’s theft outrages fruit’s hopeful ‘parents’
Monday, Aug. 24, 1987
EDITOR’S NOTE: Last year, The Sunflower started a segment to highlight interesting or topical stories from across 123 years of archived papers. We’ll be continuing the segment this year with at least one archived story per month. Some stories will be selected because they mirror current events. Others, like the selection below, are just plain entertaining.
Willie Glenn is upset.
Glenn, laborer supervisor at Wichita State University’s Physical Plant warehouse, along with other warehouse employees, had been growing a pineapple for nearly three months until it was discovered missing Aug. 14.
“We had it for three months,” Glenn said. “It was like family.”
Glenn said the pineapple, which grew to nearly eight inches tall, was planted in late May after he and a co-worker found it in the garbage at Ahlberg Hall. They cut two to three inches from the top of the fruit and planted it in a pot located outside the southeast corner of the Physical Plant warehouse.
Glenn said he thought about offering a reward for the pineapple’s return, but decided against it.
“We put a lot of time and effort to grow it and some idiot stole it,” he said. “It hurt me to my heart. It hurts that someone would rip it off.”