Dalene Caffey, Crazy Fishermen, winners of BBQ Turkey & Cowboy Stew, with Paul McGee

November 21, 2015 dawned with greyish skies and a weather report that went from bad to worse. And this was the weekend of the Annual Turkey Cookoff as staged by Joe and Eloisa Newsome on the grounds of their restaurant, Josie’s. Due to the inclement weather forecast of rain, chilled temperatures and wind, a number of the previous participants in this event decided to cancel. But we had a number of chefs who braved some rain and a coolish temperature to set up their bbq stands and start cooking.

There were three events this time for those cooks to show off their skills: a Bloody Mary cup; a Cowboy Stew; and the cooked turkey. And if you were driving up or down Adams, you could smell that distinctive aroma of cooking turkey. And many newcomers to our area, decided to stop and see exactly what was cooking!

Seven potentially winning teams entered this event, all hopefully aimed at showing off their talents and capturing the trophies for the very best entry. These included the Smokin’ Joes composed of Joe and Eloisa and Dandra Alford; the Up ‘n Smoke Smokers with Kim Dickens, Steven Few and Deidre McCollum; the Trophy Hunters with Gary Rigamonti and Tammy K; the Crazy Fishermen with Scott and Dalene Caffey; the Bugs composed of Alex Doolin and Andre Brown; the Team Butterballs with previous winner Leroy Smith attending the pit; and the Chuck Wagon Chicks, the gals from Austin with Sue Glover and Nicole Collins. Some of these teams entered all three divisions; some entered only one; but their winning and losing output was amazing.

And then, after several hours of preparation, it came time for five brave people, serving with much trepidation, to prepare to judge with pure honor the dishes. And, despite much experience in preparing Bloody Marys, the judges still awarded the trophy for the best to the SMOKIN’ JOES! Taking second place was UP ‘n SMOKE SMOKERS, and although they mentioned a recount, the awards stood.

First for the Cowboy Stew, a new item in this contest, was claimed by the CRAZY FISHERMEN, and Dalene S. Caffey happily claimed that trophy; and Second went to UP ‘n SMOKE SMOKERERS. But the Award Trophy for the BEST bbq turkey went to the newcomer once again, Dalene Caffey, and her smiling face was very apparent. Second went to the “BUGS”, though as a late arrival to start cooking, they obviously did quite well.

Our community thanks Joe and Eloisa Newsome for once again providing this fun-filled event, from which our community benefits. A donation of $1,000. was made to the Volunteer Fire Department, and the cooked turkeys once again went to the Benevolence Fund for Thanksgiving Baskets.

Eloisa Newsome, the Smokin’ Joes, winner of the Bloody Mary Contest.