82-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 5, 2000
PeopCc Wko Maty Ike
LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
NORTH CORNWALL (Leba
non Co.) Swingin’ at the 44th
annual Lebanon Area Fair, from
July 29-Aug. 5, included lots of
new entertainment this year, but
it’s the traditional competitions
and food that continue to pro
vide day-to-day enjoyment for
thousands of people.
From 5 a.m. to midnight, vol
unteers keep busy preparing and
serving food, and of course,
cleaning up the mess. Catherine
Schott, who is in charge of The
Eatery, said that 3Vi tons of po
tatoes are turned into French
fries. Some of the other amounts
needed to satisfy the cravings of
fair visitors include 900 pounds
of soup, 1,200 hamburgers, 800
of pounds pork barbecue, and
40,000 drinks.
Required daily are three shifts
with 25-30 people on all shifts.
“I want to stress that these are
all volunteers. None of us are
paid for the eight days. It’s
Queen, Beth Kreider wrote
an essay on what the fair
means to her, presented a
3-5 minute speech, an
swered the impromptu
question about ethics and
how it affects her genera
tion, and underwent the in
terviewing process. The
16-year-old is one busy
lady this week. She arises
early to pick produce to sell
at the family farm’s road
side stand before rushing
off to represent the fair.
Danette Ocker, right, shows off her Apple Streusel Pie
that placed first and enables her to advance to state com
petition. Dot Martin placed second.
amazing how everyone pitches
in to get the work done,” Schott
said.
Schott celebrated her 65th
birthday during fiklr week. She
said, “I love what I do. I hate to
fetire.”
In her years at the fair, Schott
has watched several generations
grow up and help her in the
kitchen.
Baking competitions include
a mix of old and new names. An
ecstatic Danette Ocker, Myers
town, claimed the top prize in
the Blue Ribbon Apple Pie con
test. Last year, she took second
place, so this year, she used a
new recipe.
The unusual aspect of her
recipe is that it uses yellow deli
cious apples.
“I’m diabetic, so I don’t want
to add much sugar,” Ocker said
of her choice of the apple vari
ety.
Ocker is following in the
footsteps of her grandmother,
who was an award winner.
Ocker’s hobby is baking and one
that was perfected with the
oversight of her grandmother
and mother.
In competition, Ocker also en
tered and received ribbons for
shoofly pie, apple oatmeal cof
feecake, oatmeal whoopie pie,
pumpkin cookies, and zucchini
bread.
At this point, Ocker only
enters her local fair, but she is
considering doing what many
others are doing traveling the
fair circuit to enter other county
fairs.
Dot and Oeb Martin are a
mother and daughter team from
the southern end of Lancaster
County. The two are prolific
bakers who have garnered hun
dreds of ribbons from local fairs
and from the Pennsylvania
Farm Show.
At the Lebanon Fair, Deb
took first place in the Hershey’s
Cocoa Cake contest. She’s keep
ing her recipe a secret in quest
for the state competition.
Her mother Dot placed
second in the apple pie contest
with her cream cheese streusel
pie.
Another mother and daughter
duo who enter numerous fairs
also had a good reward at the
Lebanon Fair. Katie Myers, Dal
lastown, took first place with her
chocolate brownies. The 16-
year-old is a former first-place
winner at the Pennsylvania
Farm Show in the same cate
gory.
Katie’s mom, Belinda, placed
third in the chocolate cake con
test. Belinda baked the best cake
in the state at the Farm Show
three years ago.
Mollie Knause, 11, placed
second with her Black Forest
Brownies. Two years ago, she
also placed second at the Leba
non Fair. Her sister Emilee and
mother Connie are former top
winners in baking competition
at Lebanon.
In her first competition, Tara
Dice, 10, took third prize for her
S’mores Brownies.
“My mom made me enter,”
the 10-year-old said. Tara
wasn’t complaining. She hopes
to follow in her mother’s
footsteps. Her mom Lori re
ceived the Homemaker Award
of the Year this year. This was
her fourth year in placing in that
category, but the first time to
walk away with the top prize.
Competition for the Home
maker of the Year involves set
ting up a display that includes
two sewing articles, a craft, a
canned item, and a baked item.
Lori set up an eye-appealing
display by covering the table
with a folk-art chicken theme.
Inside an authentic chicken
crate was the replica of a hen.
Surrounding the display to illus
trate her homemaking skills
were a quillow, canned peaches,
apron, flowers, decoupage plate,
flowers, and a plate of molasses
cookies.
Here are some of the winning
recipes for readers to enjoy.
Chocolate Cherry
Cream Cake
Cake:
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
V* cup sour cream
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
2Vi cups cake flour
1 cup baking cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
Grease three 8-inch cake
pans.
Cream sugar and butter to
gether. Add eggs and vanilla.
Beat until light and fluffy. Mix
flour, cocoa, baking soda, and
salt. Blend into creamed mixture
alternately with sour cream and
buttermilk. Divide dough batter
evenly between three prepared
pans. Bake in 325-degree oven
for 30-35 minutes. Cool. Place
one layer on doily-covered cake
board.
Cherry Cream Filling;
3-ounce package cooked va
nilla pudding
1 cup evaporated milk
Cook in smalt saucepan over
medium heat until mixture
thickens. Cool.
Cream:
Vi cup butter
1 cup sugar
Vi teaspoon vanilla
Vi cup shortening
Beat butter, sugar, vanilla,
and shortening in large mixer
bowl until fluffy, approximately
10 minutes. Fold in cooked pud
ding mixture. Blend well. Add 1
cup chopped cherry pie filling
and 1 tablespoon Kirsch cherry
liquor. Fold in completely.
Icing:
V/i cups butter
1 cup cocoa
1 tablespoon vanilla
6 cups confectioners’ sugar
Melt together cocoa and
butter. Stir until smooth. Place
all ingredients in large mixer
bowl. Gradually add drops of
milk until icing is of spreading
consistency.
fair Qo 'Hound
Part of the crew that feeds fairgoers include these vol
unteers, clockwise from front, Chelsea Horst, 11; Cathe
rine Schott, chairman of the food stands; Dustin Lentz, 12;
Mark Ruhl, 13; Kevin Kreider, 13; Eric Ziegler, 14; and
Kirby Horst, fair board member and dairy committee chair
man.
To assemble cake:
Split or torte each cake layer
in half. In between layers,
spread Vi cup cherry cream fill
ing. Continue to layer each layer
ending with cake. Frost cake
with icing. Decorate top of cake
with cherry cream, cherries, and
chocolate.
Makes one three-layer 8-inch
round cake.
Belinda Myers
S’mores Brownies
Vi cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
Vi cup unsifted flour
Deb Martin, left, baked the best cake in the Hershey’s
Cocoa Cake Contest, and Belinda Myers, last year’s first
place winner, placed third.
'A cup baking cocoa
Va teaspoon baking powder
Va teaspoon salt
Topping:
1 cup mini marshmallows
Vi cup mini chocolate chips
Vi cup fine chopped nuts
Mix together butter, sugar,
eggs, and vanilla. Add flour,
cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 de
grees. Remove from oven and
spread on topping in order
listed. Bake 5 more minutes.
Place on cooling rack and cool
completely. Cut into squares.
Makes 9-12 brownies.
(Turn to Pago B 9)
Tara Dice