Students use a Piggy Bank to practice counting coins:

Working hard on building villages in Social Studies:

Kindergarten:

Best Chili in Cook Off - Joanne Farley & Sue Glover, the Chuck Wagon Chix, from Austin & Marble Falls, won 1st Place in Chili at Hurricane Junction’s 5th Annual Gumbo & Chili Cook off benefiting the POC Library.

The 5th Annual Gumbo/Chili Cookoff was held on the grounds of Hurricane Junction on October 26. Thanks to the efforts of all the talented cooks, the judges, and those who came to taste and to bid on auction items, the Port O’Connor Library Fund has grown by $3,800.

Special thanks go to Jim Hooper, proprietor of Hurricane Junction, who has for the past five years organized this cookoff and given the proceeds to our library. It is members of our community like Hoop who make such a difference in funding of our organizations.

Winners of the Chili Cookoff:

1st Place        Chuck Wagon Chix (Joanne Farley, Sue Glover, and Nicole Collins)

2nd Place    Swamp Gas Cookers (Lynn and Lorie Turner)

3rd Place    Coastal Bend Charters (Ann Margaret Fowler, Kimberly Fowler, and Capt. Matt Jensen

Winners of the Gumbo Cookoff:

1st Place        Kim and John Jones

2nd Place    Cavallo Cookers, Chef Peyton Martin

3rd Place &    Sandy Bottoms (Marie Richter, Leah Griffin, Mary Showmanship    Nell McGee, Holly and Drake Dyes)

Thanks to the esteemed judges of the event: Nancy Pomykal, John Hridek, Donnie Head, Teresa Bolding, Jane Lane and Eddy Voss.

John & Kim Jones 1st Place Gumbo

3rd Place Gumbo & Showmanship Drake Dyes, Holly Dyes, Marie Richter, Leah Griffin, Mary Nell McGee,

Cavallo Cookers, Peyton Martin 2nd Place Gumbo

3rd place Chili with Hoop

Ginnie Lichac, President of Friends of the Port O’Connor Library, and husband Jerry

Heather Osborn, daughter of Jerry and Cathy Osborn of Port O’Connor, won Reserve Champion with her pen of rabbits at the Calhoun County Fair. Heather is a Senior at Calhoun High School.

Intercoastal 4-H News

by Elizabeth Carey

Intercoastal 4-H did well at the Calhoun County Livestock Show and Fair this year! A lot of hard work came to an end on October 16th.  It was a lot of fun, but it’s kind of sad that its all over. Below is a list of POC 4-H members and how they placed at the show.

Turkey: Jade Alford , Grand Champion; Robin Stringo, Reserve Champion, Senior Showmanship; John Rosenboom, 4th ; Dalton Alford, 5th; Justin Munsch, 7th.

Rabbits: Shelby Rodgers, Grand Champion; Heather Osborn, Reserve Champion; Carly Rosenboom, 5th and Junior Showmanship.

Roasters: Elizabeth Carey, Grand Champion; Hannah Hernandez, Reserve Champion; Tristan Krenek, 4th ; Madison Hawes, 7th; Sam Thumann, 8th; Tarah Munsch, 12th; Jeremy Thumann, 13th; Brooklyn Redmon ,15th; Thomas Hawes, 21st; Sarah Doggett, 23rd and Junior Showmanship.

Intercoastal 4-H has a meeting the 1st Monday of every month at 7:00 p.m. at the POC Elementary in the Library. Everyone is welcome to come.

Lakeside’s Fair Results

Public Speaking Contest: Keegan Brumfield won 1st Place Junior – “PETA vs Raising Animals for Human Consumption”

Livestock Show: Mason Clark – Reserve Champion Steer; Ethan Wooldridge – Grand Champion Lamb & Junior Showmanship; Chloe White – 2nd Place Heavy Weight Lamb; Keegan Brumfield – 5th Place Heavy Weight Lamb; Shelby Koliba – 3rd Place Light Weight Goat; Casey Wooldridge – 4th Place Heavy Weight Goat; Canion Epley – 2nd Place Medium Weight Swine; Sara Guice – 4th Place Light Weight Swine; Cierra Harper – 5th Place Roaster

Food Show: Ethan Wooldridge – 1 blue ribbon; Casey Wooldridge – 1 Grand, 1 Reserve, 1 blue; Clay Brumfield (Clover Kid) – 1 red ribbon

Livestock Judging Contest: Ethan Wooldridge – 1st Place Junior Individual, 3rd place junior team; Casey Wooldridge – 5th Place Junior Individual, 2nd place junior team

Lakeside would like to thank all of the buyers for their continued support to the youth of Calhoun County. We would also like to thank everyone of the Calhoun County Fair Board and Junior Livestock Committee for their dedication to the fair and all of its activities.

-Connie Wooldridge

Nancy Pomykal (Justice of the Peace, Pct. 5) has been making Christmas Fruit Cake Cookies since 1983 when she found the recipe in an old magazine. She adjusted the recipe a bit and began making the cookies at Christmas time. Nancy only makes them at Christmas time because they are time consuming, expensive and the ingredients can only be found this time of year. She would give them to family and close friends and everyone loved them.

“Last year when I was walking through the exhibits at the Fair, I got the idea to enter the cookies just to see if I would even place in the competition,” Nancy said. “I would have been happy with 3rd place or honorable mention.”

She had never entered anything in the Fair before this year. She read all the rules and regulations and made the cookies.
“You can imagine my surprise Tuesday night when I checked to see if I had placed. WOW! I was so shocked! First place in cookies and “Grand Champion” over the category. I couldn’t believe it,” she said.

The judges are from out of town and the entries are all anonymous, so Nancy didn’t have an advantage because of her position.
“I figure one reason the cookies are so good is because I’ve had 29 years to perfect them,” Nancy said. “I am flattered and amazed to have won and for the many positive comments I’ve received. I understand all the Port O’Connor entries did quite well. I am so proud of our little community.”