Wichita County Chili Cook-Off

Last night was the Wichita County Economic Development's Chili Cook-Off. It was very well-attended by the young, old and everyone in between. The chili and soups were very well enjoyed. The Wichita County Jr/Sr High School's Teachers and Staff won 1st place for their chili. The money will be donated for research of breast cancer. Leighlyn had told me that the chili was being prepared in the Wichita County Jr/Sr High School's concession stand all day. All day long, the students smelled the brew as it cooked. She said that even after the students had eaten their lunch, their tummies were still a-growling! LOL!!!

The comic entertainment was Mini and Her Sister, Earlene, out of Backwards, Arkansas. Actually, the duo and their other sister who is in charge of the sound machine, are from Smith Center, Kansas. Mini owns a restaurant there named THE JIFFY BURGER. Wonder if she has ever had the chance to try Leoti's Dairy King's jiffy burger???

Anyway, the crowd giggled and laughed all of the way through their act. The audience was required to participate throughout their routine. At one point, Mini asked people from the local crowd if anyone out there did NOT know the Economic Develpment Committee's President, Mr. Chris Conard. Of course, Chris has been a major part of Wichita County ever since he moved to Wichita County as the manager of Seaboard Feed Mill when it was opened for business in the late 1990s. He has always taken a very active role in many activities that benefit the people here. For example, he is not only in the E.D. Committee, he is also a member of the Wichita County Amusement Association, etc. His wife, Julie, is a high school teacher and they have a daughter in the 6th grade and a son in the 2nd grade.

Anyway, when the crowd was asked if there was anyone who did NOT know Chris, all hands remained down except for one...my sweet nephew, Lars... He had gone to the event with Mama and Grandma and just loved every second of it. My mom told him that he did know Chris. Lars argued that he did not know Chris personally. LOL!!! Since then, they have now been introduced! Mini went to where Lars was sitting and decided that his name should be "Wilbur". Everyone enjoyed that and laughed. It was fun for everyone!

Somewhere in the act, Mini pointed out that the three sisters felt like they had really made the big time as soon as they passed by Leoti's Security State Bank and saw their name on the bank's lighted marquee. In reality, they were already famous before they made their appearance in Leoti. They have played to crowds in Las Vegas, Dallas... Their next gig is in El Paso. (Lets hope they don't come face to face with the dangerous drug criminals that we are hearing so much about right now...)

Mini is a very petite lady. At one point, she spotted Jantz Engel, a third-grader, in the audience. She decided that since he was so handsome, she should "marry" him. Of course, the spectators loved the idea but poor Jantz was not so thrilled about the concept. He kept looking at his parents, Matt and Marti (Lewis) Engel, for protection!

During the evening, Mini welcomed various people from Wichita County to their stage. A couple of people who joined them for a dance were Eric Hassell and Ron Kramer. For the first time in Mini's comedy career, both men joined hands with Mini in the middle and danced with her. The crowd loved it!!!

Pat Arfstan and Helen Ridder were also brought onto stage and added a great deal of humor.

Anyway, those of us who did not make it out to last night's annual event, missed out on a lot! Just make sure that you don't miss it next year!!!

VLE-B