It's really just all about the crust
By Laura Collins
Published in News on October 6, 2010 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/BOBBY WILLIAMS
Bridgette Lane carries her Oreo pie to the judging table during Tuesday's pie baking competition. Her pie took third place in the junior cream pie category. Her sisters and mom were also winners in the competition.
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News-Argus/BOBBY WILLIAMS
Jackie Flowers registers a pie by placing a sticker on the entry before it is judged in the pie baking contest Tuesday afternoon at the fair.
This year's Wayne Regional Agricultural Fair Pie Baking Contest proved to be a family affair Tuesday afternoon.
Becky Jo and Ryan Lane brought their daughters, Victoria, 10, and Bridgette, 7, to the pie baking contest Tuesday for the seventh year in a row.
"It's been a tradition since Victoria was about 4," Mrs. Lane said. "We just love it. It's a special time for just our family. The girls talk for months about what they're going to make, which always changes a dozen times from then to now."
But Monday night the girls, and their parents, made their final decisions and began baking two of the four pies they would enter. Victoria entered a chocolate chess pie and Bridgette entered an Oreo pie. Mrs. Lane baked a pumpkin pie for the competition and Ryan Lane made a cinnamon pear pie to be entered. Since they only bake one of each pie, they aren't able to sample what they've made before the competition, which can lead to some nervousness, Mrs. Lane said.
In addition to the Lanes' four pies, 71 other pies were entered into the competition. They were broken down into five categories: cream, custard, nut, fruit and other.
Victoria Bridgette said the best part of the day is all the other pies.
"I like doing this because I like seeing what other people make and seeing the pies come in," Victoria said.
"And you get to take pie and you get to see different pies that are really creative," Bridgette said.
And this year's pies didn't disappoint, two of the most unique pies were a taco salad pie and a broccoli and beef pie.
This year's first place junior winners include:
*Cream Pies-Hannah Lee, Mount Olive
*Custard Pies-Jessica Leeper, Pikeville
*Fruit Pies-Christy Johnson, Newton Grove
*Nut Pies-Alicia Johnson, Goldsboro
*All Other Pies-Taylor Downey, Goldsboro
But the Lane girls didn't go away empty-handed. Each girl came away with a prize for winning third place in their respective categories: Bridgette won third place in the Junior Cream Pies category and Victoria won in the Junior All Other Pies Category.
Mrs. Lane also brought home a ribbon. She won first place for pumpkin pie in the Custard Pies category.
Other winners include:
*Cream Pies-Margie Smith, Goldsboro
*Custard Pies-Becky Jo Lane, Pikeville
*Fruit Pies-Niki Sanders, Dudley
*Nut Pies-Colleen Smith, Goldsboro
*All Other Pies-Wesley Dills, Dudley
The only man who placed in the competition was Wesley Dills, 26, who entered a banana pudding pie, which won first place, and a blueberry maple pie, which won second place in the fruit category.
Dills said he's been competing in the pie baking contest for the past seven years and said every year he enters one of his staples, either the blueberry maple pie or a buttermilk pie. He said being involved in the fair is second-nature to him.
"It's fun, it's competition and it's tradition. My family, on both sides, were based in agriculture. So coming to the fair was always the highlight of the year. It beat out family vacation," he said. "Agriculture, that's who we are."
Dills said he's already thinking about next year's competition and "getting a game plan ready."