FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SUNDAY, OCT. 19, 2008

Winners of State Fair tobacco stringing contest announced

RALEIGH – There was no three-peat in the tobacco stringing contest at the 2008 N.C. State Fair. Stringing Seniors won the contest Friday, dethroning the two-time defending champion Looping Fools.

The winning team consisted of Bertie and Jimmy Lanehart of Whiteville and Susan Rhodes of Fuquay-Varina. They won $200 and a plaque.

Second place went to The Allison Sisters, composed of Jeanne Crabtree and Sarah Clayton of Hurdle Mills and Marian Houck of Winston-Salem. They took home $150.

Looping Fools finished third and won $100. The team is composed of Sandy and Ken Jones of Maple Hill and Carolyn Keith of Creedmoor.

The Bensonites, composed of Nancy Stewart and Susie Allen of Benson and Peggy Gaddis of Clinton, took fourth place and $50.

Teams competed to see how fast they could tie tobacco leaves onto a tobacco stick. Contestants were judged on the speed and quality of their tying.

The tying process, known as stringing or looping, was used in North Carolina until the mid-20th century. Farmers tied tobacco onto sticks and loaded them into barns, where the tobacco was cured.

The contest was sponsored by the John Deere Ice Cream Guys, Duke Homestead Historic Site and the State Fair.

-bal-5