Central Texas Tolbert Chili Group

BB's Page

A little bit of everything...

   Scholarship update

     The Central Texas Tolbert Chili Group has named two additional $500 scholarship winners. They were presented to Steve Reeder’s grandson Brady Reeder who will be going to UT Arlington, and to Kelsey Goldstein, one of those Damn Goldsteins! who just graduated and will be going to UT this fall. Both of these kids are very deserving, and we’re happy we can help them out. That brings our total number of scholarships awarded in 2011 to six! Yeah Us!! Maybe next year we can push that number up to eight! 

We released balloons on BB's Birthday - 8/9/11.

                            BB with his sister Mary Burrier and his niece Gina Herbert.

     "I was a customer and a friend of Mike Hughes.  He has been calling on my business ever since we opened the doors.  Every time he came by we had our political conversations and food talks.  He was a fine person and will be missed by all.  It was an  honor to know him and consider him as a friend."

Bob Johnson
Pay-Less Cars

The Nebraskan

Scorpion Wrangler

Greater Metropolitan Fitzhugh

As some of you know, I’m a bit "bunged-up" and was unable to get this finished in time for last month’s issue. For good or worse, here it comes. Let ‘er buck!

He was a man of the West.

From the Sand Hills of Nebraska he came.

He was one of the best

And, we all know his name.

His youth he spent ranchin’ and farmin’

It is said.

In manhood, he covered the country

With flags blue and red.

Boy Howdy, could he cook the beans, chili and ‘cue.

His entries scored high every derned week.

And, those who could beat him numbered but few.

At Terlingua in ‘07, he reached chili’s peak.

He was the Number One Husker,

He loved his Big Red.

In his eyes came a luster,

When his team was ahead.

His friendship was warm,

His heart open to all.

Ne’er an unkind word toward anyone,

Would you hear him call.

He loved both his home states.

A certified Texan by Governor’s proclaim.

Number one in our hearts is where he rates.

And, BB was his name.

** WARNING ---- "No Sissies, Wimps, or Jerks Allowed !" **

By The Right Rev. J. Mike Smith 3 Also Known As --- The Right Reverend

Doctor General J. Mike "SCORPION BREATH" Smith 3, Chili Clergy, Bar-B-Q

Baron, B.E.A.N. and P.E.A. Terlingua Events Founder, SPAM World Champion,

Texas Hamburger Champion, Pepper Inspector, Doctologist, Chilistorian,

Chilioligist, Chilistician, "Chili Mafia" Leader, and Chili Pope West of the

Pecos.......

31 Years With The Goat Gap Gazette

---------SINCE 1950 -----

TERLINGUA , 1995....

" The CHILI - VIRGINS ... "

         It was the glorious   Fall   of 1995, and   " Terlingua - Time "   was near......
 
         For several years back then, Jimmy Doherty and I had been travelling

together out to the Big Bend and spending an entire week out there enjoying the

sights, visiting friends, and staying at the "Old"  Lajitas resort.
I say "Old" because it was before the first sale of the property that led to the

complete renovation and total change of the entire little village there....
 
          The  phone rang a few days before our departure date, and Jimmy said

we had 2 new "Terlingua Virgins"  that were going to ride with us out there to

the "Big-Un" ...
 
          Those "Virgins" were  none other than  B.B. Hughes and  Dwight

Hamilton.
 
           Jimmy already had the two in the car when they picked me up at

dark-thirty  early Sunday a.m., the weekend before Terlingua chili time....We

jumped on Hwy. 290 west in the Oak Hill area of Southwest Austin, and we were

off and running........Johnson City.....Fredricksburg.....Harper......then BAM -----a

young buck Deer jumped out in front of Jimmy's brand new Lincoln

Continental.......thank goodness he had some good old duct tape in the trunk to

hold up the bumper......then carefully on to 

Segovia.....Junction.....Sonora......Ozona.......Ft. Stockton......then beautiful 

Alpine ........ south to Study Butte.......and then 3 miles west to the Cookoff site

behind Arturo White's country store.....
 
           It was a week early, and back then there weren't a lot of folks around that

early , but we got our usual warm welcome from Al Hopkins, who we assured

that we would be around to help put up the  big banner-sign on Tuesday a.m.
 
           We trekked on by the Ghost Town,  and then by the old "Mine site"

where the Terlingua Cookoff was held before the split in 1983,  and the CASI

site, then headed over to check in to our rooms at Lajitas.  Dwight bunked with

Jimmy and B.B.  shared the "Officer's Quarters"  room with me...
 
           In the following days we took a trip up into the National Park to the Basin,

went on an "adventure"  to Presidio and Ojinaga, and went back to Alpine to

"Re-Load" at the "Cash Machine"  at the bank there...We got a few "cold beers"

and some good vittles each night at the Starlite before heading back to the

Lajitas Saloon for   " Executive Session " meetings.....
 
           On that Thursday afternoon late, we stopped at the Pizza joint to give it a

try......We had a couple of good pizzas and some brewskis, met some nice CASI

folks from out of state and one    remarked,    " you guys are great....we thought

everyone at   "THE OTHER Cookoff"   had Devil's Horns and spit poison

......Thats what we heard ! ..."
 
           On Friday a.m. I got up early and was preparing to load up the trophies

and stuff for the   B.E.A.N.  and P.E.A. Cookoffs  I was running  , when B.B.

announced that he was sick......really felt    B A D ....Evidently the pizza didn't sit

well with his insides.....He insisted on staying behind at the room that day to rest

and recuperate.
 
            Then on  to the Cookoff site,  where  I worked the cookoffs in

conjunction with  Colonel Bob and Sue Murphy's  Barbecue  event that day,  got

the announcements made and the prizes all awarded,  and then rerurned to

Lajitas to check on B.B. , who had made a pretty nice recovery by then.....
 
            By Friday, there was a huge crowd at the site, but Saturday a.m. when

we arrived back at the site, there were even more folks that had come in for the

big Chili Cookoff that day,  and  I remember  B.B.'s eyes were as big as silver

dollars when we pulled in that morning....
 
             We visited and roamed around the site that Saturday morning and

introduced B.B. and Dwight to lots of folks there. Jimmy and I had both been

Final Chili Judges for many years and we settled in to taste that fine Chili when

the time arrived..........
 
              Well, our  "Terlingua Chili Virgins"  were Hooked on Chili !
 
              Dwight owned a fine little Tavern in south Austin back then, and we got

together that next spring there for the first of what would become many, many,

MANY Chili Cookoffs that our "Dynamic Duo" would eventually be responsible 

for putting on !
 
              Jimmy and I explained to B.B. and Dwight that day how to do the cups,

score the chilis, monitor the tables, and tablulate the scores.....I believe we had

8 Chilis that day, plus  "Juan and Juana Moore" to make 10 !      
 
              Soon friends of both B.B. and Dwight were encouraging them to put on

other Cookoffs in the   Del Valle, Lockhart, Bastrop, Manchaca areas, and soon

enough they had enough events to keep most weekends of the year booked 

solid with Cookoffs. They added BBQ competition, along with BEAN events,

Bloody Mary and Margarita-Offs, and the occasional Pea event to their Cookoffs,

too.....And today, WOW !   The hard work that B.B. and Dwight  put in for years

has led to the Central Texas Tolbert Chili Group circuit of Cookoffs that starts on

New Year's Eve and continues to Mid-December every year !
 
                 Jimmy and B.B. will  be missed by their Chili-World friends.... They

have joined a big  group of wonderful Chili-Folks up in Chili-Heaven....... and all

our fond memories of them will live on forever....

             ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
                Here's hoping everybody has had a nice Holiday season, and we

wish ya'll a very Happy New Year ......
 
                And Remember to let your good friends know how much they mean to

you...... 
                See ya   'Down the Trail'  ........
                               ----  R R D G  ----
                                           --- 30 ---