Fair's pie contest for boys too

1982 Sidney Argus-Herald

SIDNEY, Iowa – While the Fremont County Fair pie auction had been well underway since 1963, the first boys did not compete until 1982.

The four boys … Scott Gregory (Riverside Rockets), Scott McClure (West Nishna Livestock), Jeff Mattes (West Nishna Livestock) and Steve Jorgenson (W.M.P.) all have different memories of why they started baking that year.

Gregory, who lives in Texas now, remembers it was the summer between his junior and senior years of high school.

The three older boys had been on the Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) trip to Washington, D.C. just prior to fair.

He remembers the girls on the trip talking about the contest and how they challenged to boys to enter.

“We thought, we can do anything you can do,” Gregory said.

After returning home, he asked his mother, Sandra Gregory, to teach him how to make a pie from scratch.

Sandra also remembered the preparation for pie baking that year.  He had never made a pie before that summer.

She helped him the weeks leading up to fair and remembers it all went terribly wrong the day before the contest.  Scott learned how to patch a crust that day.

“We were teenage boys,” Gregory said.  “We didn’t really care about making pies.”

The boys all said they went in, made their pies and were done very quickly.

At the fair, June McClure, Scott’s mother, said all four boys had just come in from grooming their cattle.

June remembers the looks the boys received from the judge who at the time watched the pie baking. 

All three boys came in with the shirts they were wearing in the barn.

They went right from the barn to baking.  Gregory remembers still having a curry comb in his back pocket while he prepared his pie.

McClure also remembers making a pie while his clothes were covered in dirt and cattle hair.

The boys didn’t want their mothers in the room while they made their pies for fair, but Sandra remembers seeing them all pass the cream and sugar around to finish out their pie top crusts.

Scott McClure remembers a different beginning to having boys bake pies at fair.

His father, Richard McClure, was the Fremont County Extension Director.  He had been hearing some grumbling in Ames about 4-H needing to be more diverse and have more boys in typically girl events.

At the time, there were still boys clubs and girls clubs in Fremont County.

Having boys make cherry pies at fair seemed to satisfy the state.

He remembers his mother, June, encouraging the boys on the CWF trip to make pies when they returned to Fremont County.

In fact, June helped all four learn to bake before fair that summer. 

Scott said he was heavily coached by his mother.  She would have classes in the kitchen.

Scott had never made a pie before that summer’s fair when he was going into his senior year of high school.

Steve Jorgenson had a very personal reason for learning to bake pies that year.  He did not attend the CWF trip that year as he was too young.

Just going into 6^th grade that fall, he turned to pie baking to help him manage the loss of his father.

His dad died in a farm accident in May of 1982 and his grandmother Ginny Strong tried to get his mind off the tragedy.

Steve said working with 4-H animals was a thing he and his dad enjoyed every summer.

His grandmother taught him to bake pies, make lattice tops and they used a family recipe handed down from her mother.

Today, Steve said he doesn’t do much baking, but he does like cooking for his family in Council Bluffs.

Steve also remembers coming right in from the cattle barn to bake a pie.

Mattes could not be contacted for comment.

Gregory said the girls were very surprised at how well the boys did on their challenge.

Oddly enough, three of the four boys placed better than girls in the contest that year.

Sandra (Ohrt) Jensen (Locust Grove Lively Lassies) received the grand champion baking honors in 1982, but the three older boys finished in the top 5.

Gregory was the reserve champion, McClure placed third and Mattes was fourth.  Jorgenson received a blue ribbon for his pie.

McClure, who now lives in Boone, was very surprised to see the high placings from the boys that year.

Gregory said he very rarely makes a pie now.  When he lived in New York City, his coworkers found out he used to make pies for 4-H.

They wanted him to make a pie for the office and he said it was very hard to find lard in NYC.  Using lard is the best way to make a good crust, Gregory said.

Since 1982, there have been both boys and girls in the Fremont County Fair pie baking contest and auction.

The 2023 Fremont County Fair will celebrate its 60^th cherry pie contest and auction July 15 at 6:30 pm on the main stage at the fairgrounds in Sidney.