Adamah Ranch wins chuckwagon cookoff

A Chuckwagon with local history was named the top winner at the eleventh annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff last Saturday.

The Adamah Ranch Chuckwagon was chosen for the best wagon and camp; and under the direction of head cook Don Johnson, it placed in two out of five food categories.

The wagon was once owned by Fred G. “Bar-O Kid” Patching and was used on the family ranch near Clarendon and on the North Tule Creek in Swisher County from the late 1800s to the early 1940s. Today, it is owned by Patching’s great grandson, Dr. A.V. “Sam” Bass, and is based at his ranch at Wayside.

The cookoff, which benefits the Saints’ Roost Museum, was hailed as a great success by museum board members.

Tickets for the authentic Chuckwagon supper sold out early last week; and just as happened the last three years, extra tickets were prepared and divided among the wagons along with additional food to meet the high demand.

Museum officials estimate 1,300 people attended the daylong event. Seven hundred people went through the lines to enjoy the Chuckwagon supper.

Breakfast and lunch concessions on the museum grounds were provided by Boy Scout Troop 433. A trade show was held throughout the day, and live entertainment was provided by local and area talent. Relatives of legendary cattleman and Chuckwagon inventor Charles Goodnight also were on hand for their annual family reunion.

The third annual Saints’ Roost Gun & Knife Show was held at the Clarendon Community Center in conjunction with the cookoff. Each cookoff ticket holder received free admission to the gun show, and attendance was believed to have exceeded that of last year.

For the prologue to the eleventh cookoff, 178 people enjoyed a delicious steak dinner Friday night on the museum grounds. The event was held exclusively for Chuckwagon team members and members of the museum and their families.

Twelve wagons competed in this year’s cookoff, and each served a menu of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, beans, and cobbler. Prizes totaling more than $3,000 were paid out to the winners.

Complete results are as follows:

Overall Wagon & Cooking: 1) Adamah Ranch of Wayside, 2) Gayland Ward Wagon of Hereford, 3) Rocking K Chuckwagon of Southland, and 4) Quarter Circle KC of Lockney.

Overall Cooking: 1) Rocking K, 2) JA Ranch of Paloduro, 3) Gayland Ward, and 4) T Half Circle Wagon.

Best Wagon Camp: 1) Adamah Ranch, 2) Quarter Circle KC, 3) JS Chuckwagon of Shallowater, and 4) Gayland Ward.

Best Meat: 1) Rocking K, 2) Gayland Ward, 3) C.W. Chuckwagon of Hereford, and 4) Quarter Circle KC.

Best Beans: 1) Gayland Ward, 2) JA Ranch, 3) JS Chuckwagon, and 4) Rocking K.

Best Dessert: 1) JA Ranch, 2) Rocking K, 3) Quarter Circle KC, and 4) Adamah Ranch.

Best Bread: 1) Adamah Ranch, 2) JA Ranch, 3) Gayland Ward, and 4) Rocking K.

Best Potatoes: 1) Gayland Ward, 2) Rocking K, 3) T Half Circle, and 4) Honey Do Spoiler.

Wagon Judges this year were Billy D. Bowman, Shirley Creacy, and Tonya Whipkey. Food Judges under the direction of Tashia Duncan were Jack Hall, Eddy Eads, Edwin Campbell, Mike Word, Earl Shields, MaryRuth Bishop, Susie Shields, Holly Eads, Melinda McAnear, and Terri Floyd.

Among the other winners during Saturday’s activities was Terry Ashcraft of Clarendon, who won a pair of James Owens handmade boots.