TAKING TOP HONORS ... Julie Holbrook, daughter of Troy and Judylee Holbrook of Lewisburg, took the blue ribbon in the first-time quilt division at the State Fair. Julia’s quilt was labeled Snails Trail and had a burgundy border. There were too many other colors to count. Julie gets her quilting talents honestly. Her mom is a juried quilter at Tamarack. A stately scarecrow, decked out in a long gown, white gloves and jewelry and carrying a basket filled with corn and black birds was a winner for Amanda Hunter of Renick. I liked the little poem which the scarecrow carried. It read: “Life begins in a garden, making memories as it grows.”

Colton Bostic of White Sulphur Springs won a blue ribbon with a beaded necklace accented with a buck deer while Meghan Mabe of Ronceverte used rose, pink, lime green and purple beads for her award winning necklace. Celeste Cantees of Athens caught a sassy toad sitting on what appeared to be a stone slab and won a first place award in photography in the natural color division. A beach scene with sea gulls aloft won a top award in photography for Stephen Zack of Shady Spring while a handknitted men’s sweater went blue for Anne Caldwell of Princeton. I gathered a jury of folks to determine the unusual color of sweater to no avail. It’s just green. Mary Holesapple of Pickway was a double winner with both her dark and light honey taking a top prize.

ON GOVERNOR’S DAY ... Which traditionally is Thursday at each State Fair, winners of the Candy Fit for a First Lady competition and the Governor’s Cookie Basket made special presentations in the grandstand.

Entering the best candy was Joann Estep of Jolo, while the cookies presented to Gov. Joe Manchin were baked by Brooke Jackson of Christiansburg, Va.

HERE’S HOPING ... That Gene Worlledge of Mount Lookout will be doing some old fashioned whittling in the West Virginia Building today.

I came on Gene by chance and was interested in his old-fashioned hobby. He told me that he has been whittling, or carving, which is the modern term, for 35 years. His wood of choice is holly because it has interlocking grains which make it stronger.

The objects he whittles are very small and intricate including a small girl in a swing and a surveyor. He also has a piece which depicts two men in a game of poker and one is cheating. Self-taught, Gene says he spends about 200 hours on one of his carvings. His wife, Natalie, accompanied him to the State Fair. It’s a neat demonstration!

DON’T FORGET ... A first for the State Fair, the riding lawn mower races, are set for today on the track in the grandstand. They should be interesting to watch!

A GOOD DAD ... When Cheryl Gum, candy maker at The Greenbrier, was short some peaches for her culinary demonstrations in the West Virginia Building on Friday, her dad, Edgar Hull, gave her some of his. And they were delicious!