Logan County Fair

Jeanne Runyon “Takes the Cake” on Friday at the Fair

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[August 09, 2018]  On Friday morning at the Logan County Fair one of the sweetest tasks of the week was that of judging the snacks, candies and cakes all carefully made by a variety of Logan County residents.

The task was delegated to Judge Kathleen Emery, a former Home Economics teacher from Bloomington and a returning judge for this particular event.

The day began with candies and snack foods and ended with the judging of cakes. Those first place winners then qualified to move on to the Cake Classic Bake-off and Auction to be held on Sunday afternoon at the Lincoln Stage.

During the judging, Superintendent of the show Mary Ellen Martin shared that the Cake Classic auction is a big fundraising event for the fair with proceeds going to support local 4-H programs. She told the audience that the first Cake Classic was held in 1964. The overall winner that year was Marilyn Klockenga.

The auction brought in a total of $105 with the largest sale totally $25. In 1984 the total proceeds from the auction amounted to $820, in 1998 that figure rose to $1,775. In 2005 the total from the auction came to $3,500 and the largest auction in the history of the Cake Classic was in 2011 and brought in $3,950.

In the 2017 Classic, the first place winner was also the top seller. The Angel Food Cake baked by Hannah Crider brought in $1,000. The cake was purchased by Marvin Bartman.

In 2016, Joan Dahmm won the Sunday judging with her Sweet German Chocolate Cake and was also the top seller of the day bringing in $1,200. That cake was purchased by Culler’s Fries, a long time vender at the Logan County Fair who also has a long time history of bidding and buying at the Cake Classic.

The cake judging on Friday sets up the bakers for the Sunday event. Each one will be expected to bake their cake again on Sunday, and will be judged again on Sunday by a different judge.

This year Jeanne Runyon took first in Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting, Red Velvet, and also the Chiffon Category. Jeanne also won Best Over All with the chocolate cake. Because she may only compete in one category on Sunday, Jeanne chose to bake that top winning chocolate cake on Sunday. This qualified the second place winner of that category to also bake on Sunday, so look for Faith Sanders to be baking her Red Velvet entry. In the Chiffon Cake category, Darlene Crider will bake on Sunday.

Karen Sandel also took first place in two categories. She won first with her Sweet German Chocolate and also with her Spice Cake. Karen was the only entry in the German Chocolate category so she will be baking that cake on Sunday. The baker of the Spice Cake on Sunday will then be Dana Oltmans.

Carlene Crider took first in the White Butter with White Frosting category.

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Daniel Crider took first in the Youth Chocolate Cake.

Joyce Conrady took first in the Angel Food Cake category.

Winners in the candy and snacks who were present for photos included:

Joyce Conrady – Peanut Cluster and also Caramels

Carlene Carter – Peanut Brittle and also Divinity

Darlene Crider – Trail Mix

Kelsi Meeker – No Bake Treat

Other winners included Allison Matthews with her traditional chocolate fudge (no marshmallow crème), Sarah Carr – Fudge with Marshmallow Crème, Patty Huffer – Pretzel Treat, and Celia Cross – Caramel Corn.


[Nila Smith]

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