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Vol. CXXIX — No. 34  •  Misquah, Minnesota  •  The Chain of Lakes
Tuesday, August 25, 2026  •  Archive Edition
The Misquah Pilot-Independent loon seal
The Voice of the Chain of Lakes

The Misquah Pilot-Independent

“Where the coffee’s hot, the lakes are cold, and all the children are above average.” — Serving the Chain since 1897.



Issue No. 34ArchiveNews

News

The Complete Open-Class Results: All 412 Entries, and Where the Purple Went

Judged Wednesday, posted Wednesday evening, argued about since. The full list of first-place and champion awards across the open-class divisions, printed here as it is every year, with the pickle classes given the space they have earned.

By Marvella Tollefson • August 25, 2026

A record 412 open-class entries were judged Wednesday morning in the exhibit halls. Champion and first-place awards follow, by division, as posted by the superintendents. Ribbons and premium checks may be claimed at the extension office through September 4.

CANNING & PRESERVES. Champion: Eunice Dahlquist, bread-and-butter pickles. Reserve: Marlys Overby, dill spears. First place — dill whole: M. Overby. Dill spears: M. Overby. Bread-and-butter: E. Dahlquist. Sweet gherkin: I. Bergum. Beet pickle: G. Sandbo. Watermelon pickle: I. Bergum. Salsa: withheld, no entry meeting the class description, a ruling the superintendent has declined to elaborate on and which is understood by everyone. Jam — strawberry: D. Skoglund. Raspberry: J. Vekved. Chokecherry: P. Reinholt. Jelly — crabapple: I. Bergum. Relish: E. Dahlquist. Tomatoes, quart: V. Tho. Beans, quart: J. Vekved. Applesauce: G. Sandbo. Pickled eggs: one entry, one ribbon, no comment.

BAKING. Champion: Irene Bergum, white bread. First — white bread: I. Bergum. Whole wheat: E. Dahlquist. Rye: K. Lindholm (the reverend, who entered under his own name and was judged blind, a fact the judge learned afterward and took well). Dinner rolls: P. Reinholt. Cinnamon rolls: M. Tollefson. Bars: E. Dahlquist. Cookies, drop: L. Dahl. Cookies, rolled: G. Sandbo. Pie, fruit: withheld — see below. Pie, cream: I. Bergum. Angel food: J. Vekved. Bundt: D. Knutson. Zucchini bread: forty-one entries, first to E. Dahlquist, and the superintendent requests that the class be capped next year at a number she will determine over the winter.

NEEDLEWORK & QUILTS. Champion quilt: First Lutheran Ladies’ Aid, “Chain of Lakes” (see separate story). First — pieced quilt: Ladies’ Aid. Appliqué: I. Bergum. Hand-quilted: M. Haugen. Machine-quilted: J. Vekved. Knitting, afghan: G. Rantala estate, entered by request of the family and awarded. Mittens: D. Knutson. Crochet: M. Haugen. Embroidery: B. Solberg, age 9, in the junior division, and the superintendent asks that it be noted the entry was judged in the open class by mistake and won anyway.

HORTICULTURE & FIELD CROPS. Champion vegetable: C. Bjornstad, giant pumpkin, 894.5 lbs. First — sweet corn: the Paulson stand, entered by D. Paulson, first entry in the family’s name since 1966 and the first ever without Arvid to deliver it. Tomatoes: M. Aakre. Cucumbers: M. Aakre. Squash, winter: M. Aakre. Potatoes: K. Vekved. Onions: G. Sandbo. Beans: D. Skoglund. Sunflower, tallest: 11 ft 4 in, W. Knutson, age 4, with assistance he denies. Oddest vegetable: a carrot the superintendent has declined to describe in a family newspaper.

PHOTOGRAPHY. Champion: “July,” T. Brevik — the red sun over Big Pelican, smoke week. First — landscape: T. Brevik. Wildlife: S. Pelto. People: M. Tollefson. Junior: G. Solberg, age 8, “TWO FLY,” a photograph of an empty lake taken, per the entry card, eleven seconds too late.

Accuracy matters here. If you see something that needs correcting, send it to the newsroom. Material corrections are noted online and in the next print edition.
More from this edition
Eight Hundred Ninety-Four Pounds, and Nobody to Beat: Bjornstad Wins the Scale AloneFive Days, One Porcupine, and the Biggest Gate in Forty YearsGrand Champion Goes to a Fifteen-Year-Old Who Has Been Getting Up at Five Since March