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Is there anything more American than winning the baking contest at a local fair on your birthday by making an apple pie?

Well, probably not.

Ruth Ann Arney did just that Wednesday, when her Grandma Pam’s apple pie took top honors at the Baker’s Best at the Morgan County Fair. The dessert had a lattice crust and a frosted top, and it was comprised of apple, cinnamon, butter and sugar, she said.

“I think the key was getting good apples,” Arney said, adding that she got the fresh fruit from the tree of a friend, Pam Wooten.

She said the recipe is “very simple” and has been in the family for many years. Arney, who baked the pie at 5 a.m. Wednesday and is a past Baker’s Best grand champion, said she gets plenty of requests to bake the dessert from her family — especially her husband.

“It was one of my mother’s favorite recipes,” she said.

Wednesday’s contest was actually a family affair as well. Arney’s sister, Marie Dake, won the cookie division with her Apple Pie Bars, which caught the eye of a couple attendees.

In addition, Dake’s three grandchildren, Jada, 8, Jordan, 12, and Michaela, 15, competed and placed in the contest. All three attend Eminence schools and were supervised by Dake while baking their masterpieces.

“It was hard, I tell ya,” the grandmother said.

Jada baked two desserts, an apple butter pie and a spiced apple upside-down cake, that received first-place awards. However, watching Jada flip the cake wasn’t easy for Dake.

“I thought for sure it was going on the floor,” she said.

Jordan’s apple sauce cookies took a first-place award as well, and Michaela took second for her apple meringue pie. Dake said the second-place finish came as no surprise, as they made the crust a little too done and didn’t cook the apples quite enough.

Regardless, Dake was pleased that her grandchildren competed.

“I’m just glad they’re carrying on a tradition,” she said.

Obviously, this year’s theme was apples. Gladys Jones of Martinsville, the event chairman, said the entries had to have a predominantly apple taste. They were also judged by texture and flavor, among other things.

Janel Dent won the bread division for her apple bread, and Eleanor Witt won the cake division with her apple raisin nut pound cake.

Jones said the turnout was good for the event, given the heat. After the contest, participants either took their entries home or left them for the fair officials, which suited them just fine.

“Some people that work around here really enjoy that,” Jones said.