Fortenberry family rakes in ribbons

STATE FAIR PARK — U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry visited the Nebraska State Fair’s Expo Building on Sunday, but he wasn’t stumping on health care.

Instead, the Nebraska Republican and his wife, Celeste, and their five daughters came to see how they did on food and craft items they had entered in various State Fair contests.

Celeste Fortenberry placed second with a loaf of bread she had baked for the Fleischmann’s Yeast Bake for the Cure contest. Her bread featured a loop of dough resembling the pink ribbons worn to commemorate the fight against breast cancer.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Fortenberry, 10, collected a third place ribbon for her chocolate chip cookies, and Claire, 12, placed second with a pillow she sewed. However, Kathryn, 9, bested her older sister with a first place ribbon for her pillow in the same category.

Celeste Fortenberry said she had never before entered a State Fair baking contest but wanted to do so before the fair moves from Lincoln to Grand Island next year.

The cooking and sewing items were entered in the fair’s open-class competition, though Rep. Fortenberry noted that his daughters belong to 4-H and that he enjoys taking his family to both the Lancaster County Fair and the Nebraska State Fair.

Celeste Fortenberry was among the winners of recipe contests sponsored by food manufacturers, among which was Hormel’s contest for Spam, its canned pork product.

Other winners:

Fleischmann’s Yeast Bake for the Cure: First place, Kyle Barber of Fairbury, bread ring; third place, Cassey Reese of Omaha, cinnamon rolls shaped into a frosted pink ribbon.

Best batter bread: Kaylee Hoover of Bennet.

Spam contest: first place, Pat Jarecke of Lincoln, pot pie; second place, Mary Beardsley of Lincoln, soup; third place, Bev Emswiler of Lincoln, dessert.

Junior Spam contest: first place, Kaylee Hoover of Bennet, pizza; second place, Emily Steinbach of Lincoln, casserole; third place, Kylee Barber of Fairbury, stuffed bread.

Hidden Valley salad dressing contest: first place, Beth Kumm of Lincoln, stuffed zucchini shells; second place, Doris Chittenden of York, casserole; third place, Larita Lang of Lincoln, vegetable salad.

Malt-O-Meal recipe contest: first place, Elke Roby of Lincoln, blueberry cereal bars; second place, Vicki Clarke of Lincoln, crispy cocoa cookies; third place, Kathleen Lodl of Lincoln, oat cereal bars.

Pillsbury Pie Crust contest: first place, Bev Emswiler of Lincoln, Poison Ivy pie featuring cherries and gooseberries; second place, Camron Smith of Lincoln, piña colada pie; third place, Ramzi Hynek of Lincoln, red-white-and-blue pie.