One of the sweetest family feuds in recent memory came to a thrilling conclusion Thursday evening at the Allen County Fair.
The occasion was the baked pie contest, where competitors were tasked with concocting their best blackberry pie.
Judges Brenda Armstrong, Edna Donovan and Denise Mentzer meticulously rated 13 entries on such things as appearance, crust flakiness, and most importantly, taste.
Six of the thirteen entries came from a single family.
Joyce Lee of LaHarpe, was joined by her daughter Amber Barney and grandchildren Tai Lee, Sage Barney, India Barney and Gianna Barney. Daughter-in-law Tracy Lee also had baked up a pie, but declined to enter the competition.
Adding to the tension the Barneys, who live in Michigan, had arrived in town only Thursday afternoon and hurriedly baked their pies in time for the 6 p.m. competition.
Sure, there was some light-hearted banter among the competitors, “but mostly it’s fun,” said Joyce Lee, who also was credited for helping her children and grandchildren learn many of their culinary skills.
The large number of entries meant judging took a while (roughly 90 minutes), allowing the tension to build before event manager Linda Garrett announced the two winners.
Joyce, the Lee family matriarch, who had entered (and usually won) the baked pie contest pretty much every year of its existence, was once again crowned queen of the kitchen.
That was no surprise.
The runner-up, however, was.
Gianna Barney, age 13, who had never entered a contest — heck, who had never baked anything before — was given the runner-up cash prize.
“She just decided today to enter,” older sister Sage said afterward. “We’ve done this before, and she gets it her first time.”
THE FAIR hits high gear at Iola’s Riverside Park over the weekend.
The Iola Rotary Club Smokin’ Hot Cars & BBQ contest begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, along with a Sandy Hooves volleyball tournament on the sand volleyball court.
