C Bar C team wins third straight title

It was déjà vu all over again when the C Bar C Ranch won the 22nd annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff last Saturday, September 24.

The wagon team members from Hartley bested 13 other teams to claim their third consecutive championship from the Saints’ Roost Museum, placing in four out of five cooking categories on their way to taking first place for Overall Cooking and the champion bean pot for best Overall Wagon & Cooking.

C Bar C Ranch has earned five championship titles at the Clarendon cookoff and is the only team to win three titles in a row from the cookoff.

Officials with the Saints’ Roost Museum, which sponsors the event, said they fed about 750 people at the cookoff, compared to about 615 people last year.

The C Bar C placed first in Meat, second in Beans and Bread, and third in Potatoes.

The ninth annual Junior Cookoff the day before the big event drew eight contestants, who were paired with experienced wagon teams to prepare potatoes for the cooks’ dinner Friday night. Millie McAnear from Clarendon won first place and was teamed with the Trapdrag Wagon from Pampa.

Kami Duncan of Clarendon was second, working with the Honey-Do-Spoiler Wagon from Pampa; and Mycah Woodard, also from Clarendon, was third and worked with the Crosstimbers Ranch from Mustang, Okla.

Other junior participants included Boe and Coy Boedeker of Lockney

Following the Junior Cookoff, 215 people enjoyed a delicious steak dinner Friday night on the museum grounds, compared to 214 the year before. The invitation-only event was held exclusively for Chuckwagon teams and members of the Museum and their families as well as 76 members of the Goodnight family.

The trade show was held throughout the day Saturday, and live entertainment was provided. Relatives of Chuckwagon inventor Charles Goodnight also were present for their annual reunion.

The 14 wagons served a menu of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, biscuits, beans, and cobbler. Prizes totaling $3,250 were paid out to the winners.

Complete results were:

Overall Wagon & Cooking: 1) C Bar C Ranch.

Overall Cooking: 1) C Bar C, 2) Cross Wagon of Vega, 3) Honey-Do-Spoiler of Pampa, and 4) Crosstimbers Ranch of Mustang, Okla.

Best Wagon & Camp: 1) Crosstimbers, 2) C4B Chuckwagon of Amarillo, 3) J Bar D Ranch of Amarillo, and 4) T-Half Circle Wagon of Silverton.

Best Meat: 1) C Bar C, 2) T-Half Circle, 3) Honey-Do-Spoiler, and 4) Crosstimbers.

Best Beans: 1) Cross Wagon, 2) C Bar C, 3) Crosstimbers, and 4) Block Y Chuckwagon of Ozona.

Best Potatoes: 1) Palo Duro Cowboy Church of Tulia, 2) Honey-Do-Spoiler, 3) C Bar C, and 4) Mountain Trails Chuckwagon of Rye, Colo.

Best Bread: 1) Mountain Trails, 2) C Bar C, 3) J Bar D, and 4) Cross Wagon.

Best Dessert: 1) Block Y, 2) Trapdrag, 3) Honey-Do-Spoiler, and 4) T-Half Circle.

Total Alloy & Cast Products., Inc. of Memphis, formerly Pearce Foundry West, again made the commemorative cast iron bean pot taken home by the winning team.