Ladies State Chili Championship of Texas

Kim Schofield - Auctioneer and T-Shirt Concession

Kim is a busy gal of few words.  Ultimately I decided that the best way to approach this column was in a question/answer format.  For now, we'll just call it The LSCC Interview.

How and when did you personally become involved in putting the Ladies State on?

Well, I'm not sure exactly when, but it was during the time when the judging was still held in the Dance Hall at Luckenbach, the registration was at the Egg House and the Auction was silent. It was probably in 1984 or 1985.  Laura and Susie were overwhelmed and disorganized.  I pitched in to help.

What did you do that year?

The same things I do today...auction control and selling t-shirts.

What is the most important part of your responsibilities?

Showing up.

What is your favorite part of the cookoff?

Seeing everyone and showmanship

What is your least favorite part of the cookoff?

What’s not to like? Friends, Food, Song, & Drink. All good.

When was the first time you actually cooked?

Believe it or not September 2007 at Just A Chili Cookoff. We were short on cooks. After all I'm a Yankee, and we all know they put beans in their Chili...EWW.

How often do you cook throughout the year?

I have only cooked 3 times (all without beans).

Do you plan on going to Terlingua this year?

John and I always plan to go....but it seems to be harder to get there than to plan.

Have you been before?

Yes...Behind the Store site....and so long ago I couldn't tell you when.

Highest honor won at any event?

5th place Chili and 1st place Show at Just A Chili Cookoff 2007.

Is the pirate theme....Dirty Pirate Chili the permanent name of your chili?

Not sure seeing as I don't cook on a regular basis.

Why did you chose it?

The name was chosen based on the fact that I'm a Dirty Pirate and have a feathered friend who is an attention-getter.

When is your birthday?

February 5th

(Shares her birthday with actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, Red Buttons, Zsa Zsa Gabor and funny man Christopher Guest of Spinal Tap fame, Roger Staubach, Hall of Famer and NFL quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.)

Your favorite color?

All colors are beautiful and I'm thankful to be able to see them.

Curious about Dirty Pirate, I googled it.  These are just a few of the bits and pieces I found.

Dirty Pirate Clothing - has a selection of cute, punk, vintage clothing, rockabilly clothing, sexy holiday outfits, retro clothing, shoes, and accessories on the planet! We have clubwear, streetwear, sexy lingerie, swimwear, loungewear, children's, pet's, and infant clothing that you can't find anywhere else!
Dirty Pirate Whores - carries a line of t-shirts, caps and stickers featuring a sexy pirate wench.  S-L, $$.
You can buy a premium quality Dirty Pirate Hooker Skateboard on one site.
The Extra Tasty Dirty Pirate Hooker drink recipe:

1 part Spiced rum
1 part Amaretto
1 part Gold tequila

Mix shots in glass in any order.

There seems to be a role-playing computer game in the United Kingdom called Dirty Pirates.

Then of course, there is
MySpace.com - DIRTY PIRATE HOOKER! - 84 - Female - LOS ANGELES
Musical group DIRTY PIRATE HOOKERS: Live Anywhere

2009 Detroit Music Award Nominees The Dirty Pirate Hookers have hit paydirt on their first CD unearthing a treasure chest of blues gold." "A hip shaken good time." Big City Rhythm & Blues magazine. Great blues without the chintzy stuff.
There’s the Dirty Pirate Hooker Party theme.
And, last but not least it could be a veiled reference to being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan.  With a dirty face perhaps.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT - Susie & Doug Higgins

When in Terlingua, if you hear a peal of laughter and see a bottle of wine sitting around, Susie Higgins is bound to be close by. And, she doesn’t just drink the stuff - she makes it.  Read on.

Susie, an Aires, has been perfecting her chili recipe for over 30 years, Qualifying for Terlingua the first time in 2002, she took home 7^th place. She also has trophies for 5^th place in 2006 and 10^th place in 2007. Susie was also involved with Chilympiad for more than 15 years and an El Jefe blue vested member.   A serious chili cook, after her husband Doug won the Men's State in 2008, she fired up her stove and won the Brazilian Open the next day.

She is a Master Gardener, past president of the San Antonio Regional Wine Guild and has won several "Best in Show" ribbons. Propagating her own vines, she claims her favorite to be Mustang wine but says she can brew up a batch of vino with just about any fruit or vegetable. Hmm. Zucchini wine. I might give that a miss.

When asked about her participation in the Terlingua Six Pack, the story of the Viking horned hats they wear and the infamous Rubber Band Man, she giggled and said I’d need to talk to the Estradas and the Weirs, and with a smile on her face she left it at that.

Susie is hostess to the four cookoffs at Camp Ranger, with the biggest of the lot being the Ladies State Chili Championship. Originally enlisted by her sister Laura Carlton, Judy Wimberly and JoAnn Horton in 1976, the Ladies State has been a part of Susie’s life ever since. Now, as Co-Director of the event, she is far too busy running the show to enter the competition itself.

Nearly four years after moving the event from Luckenbach to Blanco, she says she is finally losing the guilt associated with the move.

"You know Luckenbach just isn’t that big. The RVs were getting bigger every year, chewing up the grounds and more than one got stuck. Folks trying to get in or out where banging into each other, tempers flaring, and next thing you knew, insurance cards would be out. It was just putting too much of a strain on Luckenbach, and of course, we had no control over the tourists vandalizing buildings and taking souvenirs. I was afraid that we were leaving permanent scars. Moving the cookoff was a hard decision to make, but to preserve what Hondo Crouch had created out there, finding a new home for the cookoff just couldn’t be avoided. Sure was scary though."  

 

The natural and logical choice was Camp Ranger, ten-acres she and Doug own on the outskirts of Blanco. Attendance has steadily climbed over the last three years and rumor has it, this year’s event will be better than ever.

The Terlingua Six Pack

2008 Tolbert Men’s State Champion

Doug Higgins

Born under the Zodiac sign of Virgo, a member of the Terlingua Six Pack with Kerry and Linda Weir, Adrian and Lisa Estrada and his lovely wife Susie, the group’s claim to fame is the Rubber Band Man. Precision dancing with sticks and rubber bands. Quite a sight to see.

Doug began cooking Pioneer Chili in 1981 when living in the Dallas area. Doug said that in those early years it didn't take him long to realize it would be a lot easier to qualify as a show team than in chili, and he has a fertile mind. He smooth talked co-workers into participating with him for that first foray into the showmanship arena. They were the "Bearded Wonders." The following year he led a group of misfits under the name of the "Chili Air Farce." Doug says that the Rubber Band Man will probably make another appearance this season, depending on health and tequilla consumption, but he doesn’t know when or where. I’ll be keeping an eye out for what will be another thrilling exhibition of skill and rhythm.

Doug opens the gates to Camp Ranger to host four cookoffs per year: The Bring in the New on January 1st, Just a Chili Cookoff in May, the Tolbert Ladies State Chili Championship the first weekend in October, and the Ring Out the Old cookoff on December 31st. Each cookoff is unique, and all are a blast, so mark your calendars now.

Another big ‘un for Doug is the Mexico International where he met and has enjoyed competing against Susie since 1995.  After many years of tinkering with his recipe, Pioneer Chili finally took first place in Lipan in 2005, and he was crowned the 2008 Tolbert Men's State Champion in 2008. 

Doug, along with the rest of the Terlingua Six Pack also hosts the annual Wine and Cheese Tasting Party, long enjoyed by the early arrivals in Terlingua each November. What started as Susie’s homemade wine tasting has grown into a "Bring-Your-Own-Bottle-AND-One-To-Share" event complete with tables piled high with sweet and savory finger foods complimenting the vino and cleansing the palate at the same time. Traditionally held Thursday before the big cookoff on Saturday, the party starts just before sunset. Bring a bottle or two and make your way to the top of the Six Pack Hill. It’s a good party and the empty bottles are growing into a sculpture you gotta to see to appreciate.

TERLINGUA GOLF ASSOCIATION

This is crazy to watch and keep up with. Started in 2002, Doug’s annual three "hole" golf tournament is a hoot and a half. With torn up bath mats, and brightly colored golf balls, each one personalized for identification purposes, the entrants take their turn at tee’ing off from the box. Terrain in the "box" varies according to what kind of rug the player has. Doug says, "I personally prefer a hand woven Persian with a 7/16th inch nap."

With no grass and certainly no manicured greens, figuring the lie of the ball is beyond difficult. With creosote bushes, broken shale, dirt, rocks and uneven terrain, well just imagine your favorite sports announcer doing the play-by-play:

 

Whap! "It’s a good one! Lots of air on that ball. Oh no! Hit a rock! It has now changed directions! Ohhhhh another rock! Look at that ball zig zag! Where’d it go? Anybody see it? What color was it? There’s a moving bush. AH! One of the eagle-eyed spotters found a ball! Something appears to be wrong. He’s called the referee over. Lots of head shaking going on down there. Looks like they’ve made a decision. Oh my! It’s from a previous year! Wait....what’s that? The ref says it counts! Is that in the rules?"

 

So, if you are in Terlingua a couple of days early, bring an old bath mat, pay the nominal $3.00 entry fee and have yourself a blast. Tee off time is nine o’clock on Thursday morning.

Copyright  LSCC 2009. All rights reserved.

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