34th Annual Harvest Festival and Livestock Show

Hillary King displays her Grand Champion Apple Extravaganza Dessert at the recent Harvest Festival and Livestock Show in Longview. The 34th Annual Harvest Festival and Livestock Show was held Oct. 22-25 in Longview and was open to all bonafide 4-H, FFA and FCCLA members between the ages of 8 years (and in the 3rd grade) and 19 years who reside in Gregg, Harrison, Rusk, Smith and Upshur counties. The contest divisions included the following: Beef Cattle, Swine, Lamb, Goat, Poultry, Rabbit, Ag Mechanics and Home Economics.

In the Home Economics Division, participants could enter items into several categories such as Fine Arts, Handcrafts, Photography, Apple Extravaganza, Poetry, Pumpkin Carving, Salsa and Clover Kid Posters.

This year Rusk County 4-H was well represented and the following is a list of the Rusk County 4-H'ers and the categories in which they competed:

Handcrafts — Daetrion Dansby and Jamarcus Jacobs, who both entered Christmas wreaths.

Photography — Clarrissa Ogden, seven photos, and Jace Kerby, five photos.

Apple Extravaganza — Hillary King, three apple desserts; Taylor McCarthy, two apple desserts; and Kalyn Watt, Clarrissa Ogden, Ryan Edmonds, and Jace Kerby, one apple dessert each.

Pumpkin Carving — Timothy Oneal, Taranisha Oneal and Dalton McKee, who entered one pumpkin each.

Clover Kid Poster Theme "A Bountiful Harvest" — Sierra Reynolds and Dalton McKee entered one poster each.

Each of these 4-H'ers received blue, red or white ribbons for their entries. In each of the Home Economics categories, "Best of Show" was selected and one of Jace Kerby's photography entries earned that recognition.

In the Apple Extravaganza category, the top three desserts were selected and earned a place in the auction. Hillary King's dessert, "Apple Raisin Muffins," earned the Grand Champion award and was sold at auction for $600 to Longview Scrap and Metal, Inc.

Congratulations to all of the Rusk County 4-H'ers on a job well done! APPLE RAISIN MUFFINS 1 cup water 2 cups sugar 2 cups grated apples 2 cups raisins 1 cup (2 sticks) butter 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 1 cup chopped walnuts 2 teaspoons baking soda 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the water, sugar, apples, raisins, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and cool completely. In a large bowl, stir the nuts and baking soda into the flour. Add the cooled mixture to the bowl, and stir until blended. Fill greased miniature muffin tins with batter to the top. Bake for 15 minutes.