Eight compete for Chili Cook-Off title

On Friday the Nelson American Legion had its annual chili cook-off. The event began at approximately 5:30 p.m. Those attending gave a free will donation and enjoyed several specialty home-made chili soups. Each one was slightly different from the other, several were made from secret family recipes. They were all delicious, which made it hard to choose a winner from the lot.

Those who made chili for the competition, arrived early and paid a $5 entry fee. There were eight competitors all in anticipation of receiving the number one prize. Participants jokingly taunted each other throughout the evening, "My chili is better than yours," "What's in yours, cinnamon?" The funny banter continued throughout the evening.

Participants who brought in chili for the event, also brought in other home-made goodies. A toppings bar was set up at the end of the row of chilis, then an entire table was filled with delightful home-made goodies such as cinnamon rolls, cookies, dinner rolls, brownies and several other delicious items.

At 6:30 p.m. judging was to begin. More people arrived at this time, so the judging was delayed until everyone had sufficient time to taste all the chilis. It was at this time, those who had already evaluated all of the chili's were beginning to have second thoughts. Wanting to make sure they were making the right decisions, they all decided to go back for a second evaluation.

The judging began at approximately 7:30 p.m. Deanna and Chuck Tuttle did the honors of tallying the votes. Deana Tuttle announced the winners to the crowd. Andy Sol was pronounced

first place winner. Second place winner was Tom Creps. Third place winner was Ron Creps. The winner, Andy Sol, will proceed to the district cook-off held at the Clay Center American Legion. The district competition will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 22.

As the evening came to a close, all departed with a full stomach.