By Jeffra Wise DeViney
The DeQuincy Masonic Lodge #279 held their 4th Annual Squirrel Hunt and Wild Game Cookoff this past weekend on Saturday, Feb. 21 at the DeQuincy Railroad Museum grounds.
The following awards were given for the Squirrel Hunt: Shane Vincent Team, 1st Place Youth Division with 15 squirrels; Larry Parker Team, 1st Place Adult Division with 24 squirrels; Dennis Corner Team, 2nd Place Adult division with 21 squirrels; and Matthew Hungerford Team, 3rd Place Adult Divisionwith 16 squirrels. Dennis Corner Team had the most unique squirrel and the largest squirrel.
Wild Game Cookoff
The 2026 Wild Game Cookoff winners are told here by division:
Fur category: 1st place – Tasha Lyles, 2nd place – Annajo Haynes & DeQuicncy Police Dept., 3rd place Kenny Griffin
Fin category: 1st place – Kenny Griffin
Feather category: 1st place – Kenny Griffin, 2nd place – Annajo Haynes & DQPD
People’s Choice – Annajo Haynes & DQPD
BB Gun Competition
Hunter Warren was the Overall winner with a score of 89.
Competitors in the BB Gun Competition are told here by age division:
6 yr. – JuJu Lyles, Kami Megee, Lucas Pierce
7 yr. – Ennis Giles, Everett Giles, Angeliyah Earnest
8 yr. – Braxton Pierce, DayDay Lyles, Braelynn Dorman
9 yr. – Holden Pickering, Carter Mcgee, Anastasia Earnest,
10 yr. – Beau Ziegler, Braxton Richardson
12 yr. – Branson Burnitt, Mattie Giles, Kenzie Lyles
13 yr. – Hailey Burnitt, Phoebe Hydle
Competitors received a BB Gun. Other attendees were given tickets and the remaining BB Guns were given out by drawing.
The local Masons put on a community event that offered something for everyone to enjoy. There were plenty of free activities for the children, free booth spaces for vendors, tours of DeQuincy Railroad Museum and the playground at the Museum Park. This event will bring a year’s worth of bragging rights to the top squirrel hunting teams and winners of the cookoff event.
It was a joy to see the children enjoy free events such as BB Gun Competition, Face Painting, petting zoo, miniature train rides and cotton candy; and most won BB guns!
The Cookoff teams, cooked their best and provided samples of excellent culinary dishes. There were many booths with vendors for shopping and raffle events. Hats off to our Masons for providing this great comaraderie for our community.
