The Maple Hill Loopers returned to the Winner’s Circle to win their eighth N.C. State Fair Tobacco Looping Contest Friday, Oct. 14. The team is made up of husband and wife Sandy and Ken Jones of
Maple Hill and Michael Sunday of Hendersonville.
Sandy Jones looped the stick of tobacco in 1.06 seconds and earned 64 out of 70 points for quality. The team took home $250.
The Granville County Loopers made up of Joy Blackwell and Ricky Hart of Oxford and Ruth Coats of
Garner earned second-place honors and $150. Blackwell looped the stick of tobacco in 1.15 seconds and 65 quality points.
The third-place team was the Brown Stringers, with stringer Jane Bodenhamer of Rural Hall and handers Faye Macemore of Hamptonville and Debbie Grace of Ronda. They took home $100. Bodenhamer’s stringing time was 1.16 seconds and earned 62 quality points.
Judging was based on a combination of stringing time and stick quality, including bundle size, evenness of leaf heads, 36 to 38 bundles on a stick, tightness, evenness, neatness and holding ability. All three teams were close in quality points and the winner was determined by time.
The finished sticks of tobacco from the competition, plus others tied Friday afternoon, went into the
tobacco barn to be flue-cured during the fair. Cured tobacco will be part of the mock tobacco auction at 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, in the Tobacco Pavilion.
The contest is sponsored by the John Deere Ice Cream Boys located in Heritage Circle.