Firefighters retain banana split contest title
GRANVILLE – At the start of the Whit’s Banana Split Eating contest between the two-time defending champion Granville Township Fire Department and the Granville Police Department, firefighter Bri Hill said “We’ll try to give them a chance this year!”
But the police team fired blanks as the fire department claimed its third straight title in the hilarious contest on the Fourth of July.
Armed with tiny “taster spoons,” contestants tried to shovel in the tasty treat as fast as they could in three separate events, another featuring local dignitaries and the third one being the second annual battle between the Kiwanis and Rotary clubs.
The contest is sponsored by Whit’s Frozen Custard.
The winning fire department team was composed of Hill, Ryan Hussey and Andy Baughman. Competing for Granville’s finest were Brian Costa, Taylor Dunlap and Chuck Marcum.
The police got some measure of satisfaction, however, when Chief Bill Caskey won the dignitaries contest, beating Granville Recreation Commission Executive Director Andy Wildman, Denison University representative Mike Hills, Board of Education representative Russ Ginise and defending dignitaries champion Fred Wolf, who stormed the stage in a red, white and blue cape.
For the defending champion Rotary Club, it was a matter of “famous last words,” as immediate past-president Tom Bunyard quipped just prior to the contest, “Last year we only needed three members. I think we’re in good shape.”
Not!
The Kiwanis team of Mike Birkmeyer, Tim LePontois, Tom McKee and Fred Wolf took an early lead, then let Rotary catch up. But McKee gave the Kiwanians the lead back and they coasted to victory against Rotarians Bunyard, Dr. John Weigand, Dick Van Meter and Don Jones. Kiwanis, as a result, won the big new trophy made for the contest for the first time.
Games for All Ages winners
Winners of the Granville Rec Commission-sponsored Games for All Ages on the Fourth of July were (listed by age group):
Egg Toss
• 6 & under — 1. Lillian Rosendahl and John Bollenbacher
• 7-9 — 1. Blake Wood and Connor Jude, 2. Marco Armador and Landon Goss
• 10-12 — 1. Will Pape and Drew Pape, 2. Mike Chaykowski and Matt Chaykowski, 3. Ryan Nowell and Aden Nowell
• 13 & over — 1. Mike Winslow and Chris Winslow, 2. Remi Elmer and Spencer Elmer
Sack Races
• 6 & under — 1. Luke Jakobowski, 2. Carson Cusick, 3. Zane Schilling
• 7-9 — 1. Beckett Long, 2. Marco Amador, 3. Caden Rosendahl
• 10-12 — 1. Mike Chaykowski, 2. Aiden Voorhis, 3. Story Lange
• 13 & over — 1. Daniel Miller, 2. Trevor Steyn, 3. Trent Compton
Three-Legged Race
• 6 & under — 1. Corbin Rosendahl and Michael Pape, 2. Luke Jakobowski and Zane Schilling, 3. Emily Treptow and Campbell Reding
• 7-9 — 1. Avery Jakobowski and Marco Amador, 2. Lindley White and Rachel Schmidt, 3. Beckett Long and Wilson Wells
• 10-12 — 1. Mike Chaykowski and Matt Chaykowski, 2. Tommy McEnery and Bennett Schilling, 3. Miranda Murvine and Gabby Hathaway
• 13 & over — 1. Sam Hollingsworth and Ryan Black, 2. Jim Reding and Jimmy Hoben, 3. Jenna Winslow and Jason Reding
Spoon Egg Carry
• 6 & under — 1. Zane Schilling, 2. Carson Cusick, 3. Lillian Rosendahl
• 7-9 — 1. Blake Wood, 2. Hart Miller, 3. Rachel Schmidt,
• 10-12 — 1. Miranda Murvine, 2. Emme Wells,
• 13 & over — 1. Ryan Black, 2. Alex Miller, 3. Michael Brown
Fiddle contest winners named
Addy Hiltner, 13, won first place in the 13-18 age division and Brandon Shull, 18, placed first in the 19-25 age division in a revival of the Granville Fourth of July Fiddle Contest, held July 2 on the downtown stage. Each won $250 in prize money and engraved wooden plaques, provided by the Granville Arts Commission.
The contest was presented by the Granville Kiwanis and Denison University music professor Andy Carlson.