GLOSTER &045;&045; Perhaps no fruit is more widely enjoyed than watermelon on the Fourth of July. Just ask 10 year-old Tyler Towles. Sales were steady at his roadside stand in Gloster on Thursday.

His parents, Jackie and John Towles of Gloster, buy Jubilee melons each year from growers near Lucedale. &uot;This is our third load this year. We get 50 melons to a crate now. We used to get ’em out of the field and get about 200 at a time,&uot; Tyler said.

Tyler thumped one of the 30-pound melons to check for ripeness. &uot;You want to hear a solid sound. That means they’re full,&uot; he said. The fifth grader said he uses some profits to buy more melons and saves the rest for spending money. &uot;This has been his summer job since he’s been in the world, literally,&uot; Jackie said. &uot;We started out when I was pregnant with him. And he loves it. He runs me to death with it, now.&uot;

The Towles have also sold watermelons, tomatoes and bell peppers to area restaurants and grocers for years. &uot;It’s kind of a family deal. Momma and Daddy did it, and now we’re just carrying it on,&uot; John said.

Woodville grocer Wettlin Treppendahl said melons are sweeter in July and August. &uot;They get ripe first in south Florida, and then in the (Rio Grande) valley in Texas. But now the melons from Washington Parish, (La.) and Lucedale have been coming in,&uot; he said. At Vine Brothers in Centreville, manager Jeanette Ivey buys watermelons from Clinton, La. &uot;We usually get 65 to 70 in a load, and we’ll move that many in a week. This last batch was a lot sweeter than the others,&uot; she said.