A Historical Moment Slice

Jenny was a cheerful helpful lady and most of the townsfolk with smiles would call her Aunt Jenny. Legend has it that Aunt Jenny saved the town by chasing away a hungry bear.

The real story is Jenny caught a bear eating the apple pies she was airing in her kitchen window. The steamy hot pie apples caused the bear to yelp and run away.

That is what she told the news reporter, but the story the newspaper printed seemed believable and Jenny, by chasing away the bear, became the town hero. About a year later, Jenny and newspaper reporter wed to great town fanfare and then they had 7 children in 8 years.

Jenny’s pies being eaten by an escaped tame nearby carnival bear had started a fiction giving Jenny fame, but this had not helped her attain her most desired prize.

This town had held a Summer pie tasting festival starting in 1901 and the winner would get a professional to paint their pie that would be displayed on the Wall of Winners at the local historical society.

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Jenny’s April Fool’s joke on her ’reporter’ hubby backfired. She told him she was expecting again and he seized up, said let me be reincarnated as a Protestant, then died. Jenny waited for his counter-joke to end until realizing he wasn’t fooling.

Jenny raised her kids to be fine citizens and each Summer, for 36 straight years, had entered a pie for the Town’s now historic pie festival. She had never won. She had come close only to be edged aside by novelty ingredients (and a few bribes).

The town flourished because every true blue American likes pie. Let the French eat their cake. It’s their neck. Jenny’s heroics, her kindly helpful nature and her being a tourist guide to pay the rent and entering the pie contest for decades had to mean something in the 2001 anniversary looking for attraction gimmicks.

The influential members of the town met secretly and decided, since Aunt Jenny was getting on in age, that they’d rig this pie festival to make sure she would win. The historical significance was understood and all gave a thumbs up to give Jenny a professional pie painting for ages to remember.

It mattered not if she used salt instead of sugar, Aunt Jenny would be declared the winner by a panel of 10 men. There were many many delicious pies entered, but all eyes were on Jenny’s pies until a beautiful curvy newbie wearing a bikini asked the gentleman if they’d like a slice.