Black River Falls, Wisconsin – Herb Stanelle of Brown Deer took first place honors with his essay, “Just Desserts,” in the Wisconsin Regional Writers’ Florence Lindemann Humor Contest. In his essay, Stanelle plunges the reader into the life of Rupert.

“His family all agreed that Rupert is a ‘oner,’ a lad who, God help him, is just a bit off plumb…rigid, rigorous, relentlessly righteous Rupert.”

Stanelle was awarded the $50 first prize at the May 7 WRWA Spring Conference in Black River Falls. This year’s judge, syndicated humor columnist and author Sarah Smiley of Pace, Florida, said, “This writer is obviously someone with a keen eye for the subtle nuances of our everyday lives, and the ability to describe with such perception a brief, yet complex, scene is extraordinary.”

Barb Jensen (left) of Portage was the chairperson for this year’s contest in which 39 writers competed. Over 100 writers from Wisconsin and neighboring states attended the spring conference.

The $30 second prize went to Judith Sepsey of New Berlin for her essay, “The Old Fashioned Way.” In her essay, Sepsey writes about a couple who have been married for 50 years, a man and wife who get on each others’ nerves. “The woman’s favorite way of getting even was in her daily ritual of planning his murder.”

The $20 third prize was awarded to Gwenneth Hinz of Lomira for her essay, “The Truth About Breasts,” an amusing account of a nine-year-old who gets an unobstructed view of a dinner guest’s unbridled chest.

A Certificate of Merit for Honorable Mention went to Kathy Warnes of Ecorse, Michigan, for her essay, “George and Oliver and Disaster at Church,” a delightful tale about taking two small sons to church.