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September 5, 2008

Burger time nears

Uncle Fletch Cook-off set for next weekend

By Angela Weatherford Staff Writer

With a week left until the grilling begins, Uncle Fletch Hamburger Cook-off organizers are still welcoming anybody who thinks they have the perfect patty.

“We are getting great participation from businesses,” Athens Director of Tourism Debbie Schwanbeck said, “but we would like to see more individuals enter.”

Schwanbeck’s goal is to line the west side of the square with participants on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“We’ve got an edge,” she said, referencing a long-held discussion regarding where the first hamburger was made.

According to Frank X. Tolbert’s book, “Tolbert’s Texas,” Uncle Fletcher Davis — a local potter — introduced his sandwich at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. A commemorative plaque on the Henderson County Courthouse square now marks the lunch counter were Davis cooked the beef patty between two slices of homemade bread.

“We’re going to have a really good time getting back to basics and celebrating the hamburger,” Schwanbeck said.

Along with the participants, members of the Davis family, State Representative Betty Brown and State Senator Robert Nichols will be on hand to celebrate the burger and the history of Henderson County. Brown successfully passed a resolution in the Texas House of Representatives last session declaring Athens as “Home of the Hamburger.”

“The Ambassador Hambassador, Rick Vanderpool, will also be at the cook-off selling and signing his posters,” Schwanbeck said.

Vanderpool was named the Ambassador Hambassador through a proclamation signed by Athens Mayor Randy Daniel in 2006. Vanderpool designed a poster with photos of several hamburger stands around the state.

Many people like the poster because some of the hamburger stands are no longer open, Schwanbeck said.

Cost to enter the amateur cook-off is $25 per team and entry forms can be found at Athens Visitor Initiative Center or by visiting their Web site www.AthensTx.org.

“Teams only have to cook eight burgers,” Schwanbeck said. “I think some people are afraid they will have to provide hamburgers for everyone and they don’t have to.”

Schwanbeck would still like to see more members of the community participate.

“I know there are individuals out there who think they have the best burger, but I would really like to challenge them to see if they do,” she said.

For more information about the Uncle Fletch Cook-off, or the hamburger, visit the Web site, “Home of the Original Hamburger” at www.originalburger.com.

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