I think I'd cook it a little longer!

Ellen Thoma Wins Turkey Cook Off At Walnut Grove's Annual Turkey Days

Walnut Grove, MN May 25, 2000

After the roaring success of last year's Reindeer Festival, the city (?) of Walnut Grove Minnesota decided to add another festival to the local calendar: Turkey Days!  Last Year's Reindeer festival was highlighted by the Ms. Rudolph contest. But who would have guessed that Last Year's Ms. Rudolph winner would also win this year's Turkey Cook Off!  Some say that it might have to do with the fact that her mother and sisters were the judges at each of the contests....but that's just a rumor.

There were a number of very interesting entries.  Bertha Syverson contributed a Lemon filled turkey with white frosting... unfortunately the turkey was so moist (along with the lemon pudding filling) that it kept falling apart.  Roy Syverson of Hard Times Farms contributed something he called a smoked turkey.  Further examination, however  confirmed that it may have been the remains of Ed the pig that had been smoked instead of a turkey.  Annie Syverson contributed a Potato Salad.... she hadn't read the rules that only turkey dishes were allowed.  Some of the judges however did appreciate the variety and they did award an "honorable mention" ribbon for the salad despite the violation of the rules.  But the winner was Ellen Thoma's "Wild Turkey Surprise".  The surprise of course is that Ellen forgot about the contest until the last minute and so took Bruce's wrecker out near the woods by the old school house where she thought she had seen some wild turkeys the last time she came out to Hard Times Farms for a cup of Cappucino.  Sure enough she found Tom the Wild Turkey and chased him down, put him in a gunny sack...and brought him home.  But she had some trouble bagging the turkey and by the time she got home, it was almost time for the contest.  She decided to just stuff the turkey into the pan and put the cover on... and bring a live turkey.... "Wild Turkey Surprise!" she would call it.  If anyone had any doubts she would say something about becoming a vegeterian and not wanting to harm any of God's creatures, she thought it better to just admire them.  They judges were certainly surprised as they opened the lid of the pan and a wild turkey jumped out at them....gobble...Gobble.  The judges found the turkey a bit rare...but with all the animal rights protesters that had come into their quiet little town all upset about this "Turkey Days' thing... they decided that this might send the right signal.... all the world would know that Walnut Grove loves their turkeys and wouldn't want to harm them.  So, Ellen's Turkey Surprise was the Surprise winner of the first Turkey Day's cookoff.

After the contest, Roy Syverson brought out his tuba and played a Thanksgiving Medley and after the wild applause when he finally finished... he gave them an encore of his infamous version of Jingle Bells/Mexican Hat Dance Medley while he did the Mexican Hat Dance.  It was something to behold.