Lost teammate honored at annual chili cook-off

Joseph Garza, The Tribune-Star, Terre Haute, Ind.
·2 min read

Oct. 2—Mark Gilmore didn't like hot stuff.

Especially when it came to chili, he preferred the mild over the wild.

No need to fill his bowl with all of that jalapeno-ghost pepper-blazin' chili powder-nonsense.

While the hot chili he-men may have scoffed at his preference, Gilmore was happy to keep it tame.

So, Curtis Jones, Gilmore's good friend, who he met at Otter Creek Middle School in the sixth-grade, thought it would be appropriate to name a batch after Gilmore.

"I make a hot and a mild and He liked mild so I named the hot after him," said Jones with a laugh Saturday. "He liked to gripe a lot so it picked up a name too."

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you "Ragmore's Texas Red."

You know, the batch with the jalapenos, Anaheims, New Mexico reds and, yikes, 40 ghost peppers.

It was one of the options that sat on the table presented by the Sheet Metal Workers Local 20 on Saturday at the Terre Haute Breakfast Optimists Club's Chili Cook-Off at the Wabash Valley Fairgrounds.

And on that same table, next to the warming crock pots that held the union's mild and wild was a white laminated poster board that displayed an array of photos of Gilmore on the job with his sheet metal brethren.

If you looked closely, you could see scenes of him at work and even one of him over a grill.

Besides having a love for the job and his sheet metal union family, Gilmore really enjoyed the annual chili cook-off.

It was his jam. He eagerly looked forward to the annual event.

But, this year, his presence over a chili pot was missing. There was a reason for the laminated poster board.

Gilmore died in late September; less than two weeks before this year's cook-off.

"He loved it," said Jones as he stood surrounded by dozens of his fellow union members.

One of those fellow members was Kenny Norman, another fellow Otter Creek and Terre Haute North alumnus who knew Gilmore back when, who was wearing a t-shirt with a photo of Gilmore and the words, "You Will Never Be Forgotten, Mark Gilmore, 1964-2022."

"He would plan this a month ahead of time," said Norman. "He would be pumped up about it and so excited. It was one of his favorite things and that's why we chose today to be here. We are here for his memory."

Crystal Gaskins, Gilmore's daughter, knew also how much her dad enjoyed the event.

"It was just that time he knew for sure he was going to get with all of his closest friends and him and I were going to hang out for the day," said Gaskins. "He loved cooking. This is a way to carry his memory on."

Joe Garza can be reached by email at joe.garza@tribstar.com.