MONROE - The sweetest competition at the Green County Fair on Thursday was in the open class in Natural Sciences: bees, honey and maple syrup.
"We had more interest than any other year," Judge Russell Nelson said.
Twenty-one entries in five categories vied for Best of Show, won by Tracy Hammel's Southern Honey Cake. Lynn Lokken's Maple Poppy Seed Cake, made with maple syrup, was reserve champion.
One reason for so many entries this year was the baking competition between Ruda Chevrolet employees, some of whom showed up at judging. Hammel is a Ruda employee, but could not attend. When contacted by co-workers by phone about her winning cake, they said she screamed.
Hammel's grand prize trophy will be returning to Ruda, who sponsored the trophies for Natural Sciences and other departments.
Justin Kosek will have to see that trophy at the office every day. His original honey recipe, Snicker Doodle Cookies, was only good enough for fourth place.
"He was proud of his cookies," his co-workers said.
Kosek's cookies did look perfectly browned, round and uniform in size.
But when baking with honey and syrup it's the inside that matters too, even more so than the taste.
Nelson spent an extraordinary amount of time breaking cookies and examining the insides, particularly among the six honey cookie entries, but he did not taste them.
"It was a close class," Nelson said after the judging. "The uniformity and the texture are all good. It's a very good class."
Cookies that did not pick up ribbons, he noted, were too full of chips or over-baked. Honey-made products can burn easily.
Viola White took the blue ribbon for her Whole Wheat Honey Cookies, and Tamara Schutte picked up a blue ribbon for Maple Oatmeal Drops cookies.
Only two bottled maple syrups were entered. Jerry Lokken's syrup beat out that of his wife, Lynn.
At 81, Nelson is an experienced fair judge, who enjoys the "youngsters" in 4-H; he finds working with them to be "very interesting."
"It's different with youngsters when they're face-to-face (with the judge)," he said.
Some study and understand their projects quite well; others not quite yet."
Nelson did know how long he has been judging.
"But my wife said this morning that I might want to do the Fair-well Tour this year," he said.
• • •
A Best of Show in the junior class for woodworking went to Jace M. Dunlavey, 19, Monroe, for his corner gun cabinet.
Dunlavey's cabinet includes a revolving gun rack, and a lower section holds ammunition and cleaning supplies.
According to grandmother Betty Dunlavey, Jace spent 80 hours on the cherry wood cabinet. The wood once belonged to his grandfather, Jim Williams, who cut and milled wood.
Dunlavey intends to fill the cabinet with the antique guns passed down from Williams.
Best of Show in the Open Class went to Kevin Winkler, for his wrought iron and wood cafe table and chairs.
• • •
Other Best of Show winners Thursday afternoon included:
Bernard Albright, open class Field Crops, for his shelled corn: plump kernels, uniform in size and color.
Junior class champion Marsha Hermanson, from Pecatonica FFA, with her cross-breed 269-pound "Spider Pig."
Grand Champion Gary Grossen, cheesemaker at UW Babcock Hall Dairy, Madison, in the open class category for Colby, Edam, Gouda and Monterey Jack.
"We had more interest than any other year," Judge Russell Nelson said.
Twenty-one entries in five categories vied for Best of Show, won by Tracy Hammel's Southern Honey Cake. Lynn Lokken's Maple Poppy Seed Cake, made with maple syrup, was reserve champion.
One reason for so many entries this year was the baking competition between Ruda Chevrolet employees, some of whom showed up at judging. Hammel is a Ruda employee, but could not attend. When contacted by co-workers by phone about her winning cake, they said she screamed.
Hammel's grand prize trophy will be returning to Ruda, who sponsored the trophies for Natural Sciences and other departments.
Justin Kosek will have to see that trophy at the office every day. His original honey recipe, Snicker Doodle Cookies, was only good enough for fourth place.
"He was proud of his cookies," his co-workers said.
Kosek's cookies did look perfectly browned, round and uniform in size.
But when baking with honey and syrup it's the inside that matters too, even more so than the taste.
Nelson spent an extraordinary amount of time breaking cookies and examining the insides, particularly among the six honey cookie entries, but he did not taste them.
"It was a close class," Nelson said after the judging. "The uniformity and the texture are all good. It's a very good class."
Cookies that did not pick up ribbons, he noted, were too full of chips or over-baked. Honey-made products can burn easily.
Viola White took the blue ribbon for her Whole Wheat Honey Cookies, and Tamara Schutte picked up a blue ribbon for Maple Oatmeal Drops cookies.
Only two bottled maple syrups were entered. Jerry Lokken's syrup beat out that of his wife, Lynn.
At 81, Nelson is an experienced fair judge, who enjoys the "youngsters" in 4-H; he finds working with them to be "very interesting."
"It's different with youngsters when they're face-to-face (with the judge)," he said.
Some study and understand their projects quite well; others not quite yet."
Nelson did know how long he has been judging.
"But my wife said this morning that I might want to do the Fair-well Tour this year," he said.
• • •
A Best of Show in the junior class for woodworking went to Jace M. Dunlavey, 19, Monroe, for his corner gun cabinet.
Dunlavey's cabinet includes a revolving gun rack, and a lower section holds ammunition and cleaning supplies.
According to grandmother Betty Dunlavey, Jace spent 80 hours on the cherry wood cabinet. The wood once belonged to his grandfather, Jim Williams, who cut and milled wood.
Dunlavey intends to fill the cabinet with the antique guns passed down from Williams.
Best of Show in the Open Class went to Kevin Winkler, for his wrought iron and wood cafe table and chairs.
• • •
Other Best of Show winners Thursday afternoon included:
Bernard Albright, open class Field Crops, for his shelled corn: plump kernels, uniform in size and color.
Junior class champion Marsha Hermanson, from Pecatonica FFA, with her cross-breed 269-pound "Spider Pig."
Grand Champion Gary Grossen, cheesemaker at UW Babcock Hall Dairy, Madison, in the open class category for Colby, Edam, Gouda and Monterey Jack.