Charlie: It was between two newspaper columnists: Francis X. Talbert of Dallas and H. Allen Smith of New York. Talbert got Wick Fowler to cook for him. David Witts (Dallas attorney) and Carol Shelby (race car mogul) had just purchased a lot of land (which was the seed for the Terlingua Ranch development) which also included the Ghost Town. Shelby's son-in-law later started Chili's restaurant chain. In the Albuquerque restaurant you can see a picture on the wall of Sandy and two little blond kids - Craig and Tara Deal.
The first couple of years it was a big joke. In 1967 and 1968 it was a draw. First year because the chili burned out the taste buds of the deciding judge (Witts) and the second year masked riders with drawn six-guns rode in and stole the ballot box before they could be counted. Sandy and I played a significant behind-the-scenes role during the first dozen years in the 70s and know what happened here in Terlingua. The bickering in Dallas, Houston, and California resulted in THREE factions, in which people now actually want to be judged the "best" chili cook. There is also now a LOT of money involved, and the proceeds provide important support of the Terlingua School and emergency services in the Big Bend. DirtDoc ----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Loving via Texascavers" <[email protected]> To: "Cavers Texas" <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, April 25, 2015 6:38:31 PM Subject: [Texascavers] Terlingua Once upon a time there were two guys that decided to face off in a chili challenge Wick Fowler was one (owned Two Aarm in Austin) and his friend whose name escapes me. They were the only two there. I was there as were a lot of others and it was fun. Now it has turned into some sort of bull shit with two factions. -- Charlie Loving
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