Jeanie Stokes keeps county fair baking tradition alive after two decades
Longtime exhibitor shares stories of competition, prizes and hopes for younger bakers to carry on
Bakers share a variety of talents at the Coshocton County Fair each year.
File
Jeanie Stokes enjoys entering baked goods at the fair each
year.
"It's becoming a dying thing, but there are people my age
who are still doing this,” she said. “There are fewer all the time, and I am
hoping the younger generation will pick it up. I've won Best of Show and have
placed many times, but if I win, I win, and if I don't, I don't expect to win
every time.”
She has been entering baked goods at the fair for about 23 or
24 years.
"In the past I have done gift wrap and enjoyed that a
lot,” Stokes said. “With baking, part of the money goes to the exhibiter and
part to the art hall. Whatever has not placed is used, or they sell it, so it's
a win-win situation.”
The first year she competed, Stokes entered a coffee cake.
“My husband and I had not been married very long,” she said. “I
experimented with it, and my husband was supposed to take it to the
fairgrounds. He said, ‘Well, it would have won if I had gotten it there.’ I
said, 'Well, all we can do now is eat it.’ Then he said, ‘By the way you've got
a message on your machine.’ The fair called, and I had won. I was shocked, and
they said, ‘You should be because there were 25 entries.’"
The first prize she ever received was an Anchor Hocking glass
cake stand with a fair scene and 4-H etched on it.
"That is the very first thing I ever won,” Stokes said. “It
was quite a shock, but over the years, I have been fortunate to have won some
things. There are an awful lot of women who are good at baking, and most of the
time, there is some pretty good competition. The judges have certain things they
are looking for, and if they don't find it, you are probably not going to win.
The judges are pretty particular. They explain what they are looking for, and listening to their comments is a good way to improve for the next
year.”
The baked goods auction will be Friday, Sept. 26 at 5:30 p.m. in
the youth building, and the pie and cake auction will be Monday, Sept.
29 at 5:30 p.m., also in the youth building.
