THE first apple pie of the giant Northern Daily Telegraph/Cookeen competition, run in 1955, was handed in an hour and a half before the contest opened.

Mrs M Leeming, of Shear Brow, who was moving home that day, got to King George’s Hall early, so she could still be in with a chance of a prize.

Within an hour of opening, more than 40 home-cooked pies had been handed in – among them one from Miss Nightingale, of Malvern Avenue, which had been decorated with the word Cookeen in pastry.

She had got up at 5am to make her entry, before starting work as a weaver in Ewood.

Rivalry among two sisters was also reflected in two other entries, from Audrey and Margaret Green.

When Margaret started work at the age of 16 at the Electricity Showrooms and began baking, her 18-year-old sister didn’t want to be out done and took to pie making too.

One of the youngest bakers was 13-year-old Kathleen Hawkins of Ansdell Terrace, who was off school after suffering a bad fall – her mother, who taught how to bake, also entered.

Mrs H Grant’s pie, still fresh from the oven, nearly didn’t arrive at all – it smelled so good on the bus as she rode into town that the conductor offered to buy it off her.

After judging, which saw 12 entries go forward as Blackburn’s entries, the hall was opened to the public.