A considerable part of the Township’s year-round population turned up at the First Annual Firehouse Chili Cook-off on Saturday. The firefighters are a wily bunch. They enticed us with excellent treats at no charge.
Eight different chili recipes to sample . . .
Cornbread and gluten free muffins and an assortment of toppings . . .
Cupcakes and brownies and gluten free cookies . . .
It was very difficult to decide which chili deserved the prestigious First Ever Firehouse Chili Cook-off Award. Some of us had to sample our favorites more than once. Don Schultz took his responsibility very seriously. Either that or he was morose over the fate of his beloved Steelers.
For a refreshing change, the community room was full of youthful people with actual children.
In fact, youthful people were in charge of everything. Erin and Cody Randall were selling raffle tickets.
Torch Lake fire chief Ryan Bigelow was beaming at pulling off a successful event.
Firefighters from all over the County compared notes.
Elk Rapids firefighter Don Hoezee carried home the traveling Best Firehouse Chili trophy. He says his secret is to add just a tiny bit of cinnamon—not too much, you understand—and a little brown sugar to mellow out the heat if your head turns red and begins to sweat.
The Dawsons won an astonishing number of raffle prizes, but that’s to be expected. First of all, there are an astonishing number of Dawsons and second, they bought an astonishing number of raffle tickets.
You remember Maryanne and Duane Jorgensen . . .
. . . and Becky Norris. Friends of Babs Ed and Linda were at the table, too. Ed took this photo with my stubborn little camera. Don’t blame him. It’s been a long winter. I have looked better.
You know what those mitts are? They’re wrist warmers. Becky designed them and brought me a pair. (When I got home I took the dogs for a walk and tested them. Toasty warm. And the way the weather forecast looks, I’ll have plenty of opportunities to wear them.)
We are a very small county, but the committee managed to acquire an astonishing array of excellent raffle prizes from local businesses and individuals.
Many thanks to:
- Home Depot (Wet/Dry Vac)
- Abbey Matuszak (Basket of excellent pamperments)
- Allen Davidson (turned wood vessels)
- Northern Fire (fire extinguishers)
- Torch Lake Cafe ($25 Gift certificate)
- Torch Bay Marine (Hydroglide donut tube)
- Pearl’s Restaurant ($25 Gift certificate)
- Pangea’s Pizza Pub (Gift certificate: 1 Large Pizza and 1 Appetizer)
- ?? (Motorola 2-way radios)
- Back Draft Roasting Company (Two pounds of excellent coffee roasted in Northern Michigan)
- Raveau’s Sugar Shack (a quart of Pure Maple Syrup)
- Wicksall Distributors (two classic bar mirrors: Detroit Red Wings/Miller Brewing; Magic Hat Brewing)
I hope the firefighters decide to do this again.
Torch Lake Views 
shoreacres
March 24, 2014
That certainly does look like a fun time. I could use that wet-dry vac to suck up all the pollen that’s collected on the water outside my window. On the other hand, better on the water than floating around in the air. We have rain coming, and that ought to be the end of the seasonal irritation. Of course, I suspect you’d welcome it at this point.
The next time one of these events is coming along, and there’s a raffle, you should give your blog readers an opportunity to contribute something. For example, I could send along a couple of pounds of Texas pecans (shelled, of course). Nothing wrong with long-distance neighborliness.
Gerry
March 24, 2014
Now that is a wonderful idea. I could donate chestnuts from the Haacks’ orchard up on Farrell Road. (Here is a little link about the chestnuts.) Or heartnuts! I will have to give this some thought. A good fundraising idea is hard to come by.
We did have a good time at the Cook-Off. I had my eye on that wet-dry vac, too – the Cowboy sheds something awful – but I lost out to the Dawsons.
Martha
March 24, 2014
Sweet and hot always wins in my book. Nice post of a small community event.
Gerry
March 24, 2014
I like pretty much all chili, so it was really hard for me to choose a favorite. I’m glad you liked the post.
Wendi
March 24, 2014
Looks like a wonderful event. Thanks to our local fire team, and thanks to you for posting. I love how you keep us informed of what is happening in our county. I wouldn’t have a clue without you!
Gerry
March 24, 2014
It was a whole lot of fun. You are full of clues – I get some of my best ones from you. P.S. Happy Anniversary.
dawnkinster
March 24, 2014
Awww man, that looks like it was fun. And yummy too. Perfect way to spend a spring afternoon Up North.
Gerry
March 24, 2014
Spring????
Oh.
It was fun.
P.j. grath
March 24, 2014
It’s a good time of year for chili. And for getting together. And (sigh!) for wrist warmers….
Gerry
March 24, 2014
Indeed. I’m thinking the wrist warmers might come in handy even when it’s warm outside. Becky designed them because she’s had wrist surgery and the cozies seem to help her avoid discomfort. I do a whole lot of keyboarding, and I think they might help with fatigue. Maybe.
tootlepedal
March 24, 2014
A lovely warming post.
Gerry
March 24, 2014
Thank you. It was a lovely warming event. I came home in quite a cheerful mood.
WOL
March 24, 2014
I love those kind of win/win events. Chili and cornbread. I can remember my dad making chili — and eating it three meals a day until it was all gone! My mom doesn’t understand that kind of mentality. However, I appear to have inherited that trait — making a big pot of something and eating it until it’s gone. I can also remember using a slotted spoon to fish out enough of my dad’s chili’s “solids” to put on a slice of bread, adding lettuce, and making a sandwich of it. I wonder if “beans” or “no beans” figured into your firemen’s versions of chili? I like mine with. Looks like the crock pots were out in force. I was going to ask what we did before crock pots, but that would have been a big pot on the stove or a kettle over the fire.
Gerry
March 25, 2014
I have been known to eat up a big pot of something good by having it several times a day until it’s gone. I stave off boredom by putting the servings in different costumes. Chili in a bowl one day, chili over a baked potato another, chili and macaroni on another . . . and always with different sides and/or toppings. This is how I fool myself. I am very gullible.
All the chilis at the Cook-Off, if memory serves, included beans. That seems to be the usual approach Around Here – but there are plenty of people who disagree. One of the things I like about chili (and stew and gumbo and chowder) is that there are so many ways to make it and all of them seem excellent to me.
I don’t know if people made their chili in crockpots or just put it into crockpots to keep it hot on the serving table. Never even thought to aask. You raise some good questions.
Sharon Schultz
March 27, 2014
From what I could tell, there was a nice turn out. I had to wait till the real chili eater of the family got home from work- 6 pm to get there. So, was a little later than most. I’m not a “bean” fan, so there were NO beanless chili’s for me to sample! Darn! Suggestion for the next time. Many kudos to the TL Fire Dept. to pull of a neat event! especially after the winter months we’ve had! HipHipHorray!!! Sharon Schultz
Gerry
March 28, 2014
It was fun, wasn’t it! And it was terrific to see so many young families.
I love all chili, beans or no beans, peppers or no peppers, a bit sweet or not at all – but you make an interesting suggestion. Now what you have to do is find a competitor who wants to submit a beanless chili next year. (Got any secret recipes to share?)
Deb Graber
February 26, 2015
2nd Annual Chili Cook-off will be on Saturday, March 21, 2015 from 4-6:30 p.m. Hope to see you there.