New Minnesota State Fair award will honor late ‘Blue Ribbon Baker’ Marjorie Johnson
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The Minnesota State Fair this year will honor an award-winning baker with an award of her own.
The “Marjorie Johnson Honey Bee Award” is named after the iconic Robbinsdale resident who won over 2,500 ribbons at state and county fairs, earning her the title of “Blue Ribbon Baker.”
Johnson died in October at age 106, just months after adding another two ribbons to her collection at last year’s State Fair: second place for her gingersnap cookies and third place for her sweet rolls.
Her daughter Marleen Stromme said the family is sponsoring the annual “Honey Bee” award to keep her legacy alive.
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“She loved to bake. She could bake all day, and she thought it was just wonderful if she inspired other people to bake and to become blue ribbon bakers,” Stromme said.
She said Johnson was a huge fan of the Minnesota State Fair and attending was a family tradition. For decades, she packed them lunches of cheese, fruit, sandwiches with homemade bread and samples of everything she had entered into fair competitions.
Stromme described Johnson as a fabulous mom who poured her energy into her children, and then into baking. The prolific baker only began entering competitions in the second half of her life.
Stromme said Johnson used to say, “It's never too late to start things” and “Your life is just beginning when you're 50.”
This year’s award will go to the baker of the best sweet rolls, Johnson’s favorite baked good, according to Stromme. The category may be coffee cakes in the future to reflect her other love.
Per competition regulation, honey must be the only sweetening agent in the recipe.
The winner will receive $100, a rosette and a copy of Johnson’s book of tried-and-true recipes. Registration closes 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13 with exhibits due shortly before the State Fair.
Competition may be fierce as Johnson’s friend — another skilled baker — plans to enter in her honor. Stromme said Johnson’s nephews and nieces are also pretty good bakers, and the family distributed Johnson’s massive collection of cookbooks to loved ones at a celebration of life in June.
Johnson’s family will visit the Minnesota State Fair on opening day to see who won. They also plan to do the things she loved at the fair like meeting her friends, checking out other competitions and enjoying a meal at the Hamline Church Dining Hall.
A Minnesota State Fair spokesperson said Johnson in 2023 received the fair’s 50 Year Award which is granted to “individuals who have actively participated in the Minnesota State Fair for 50 years as an employee, exhibitor, vendor and/or volunteer.”
Her pecan pie and “Grandma Johnson's Butterhorn Rolls” recipes were included in the recently released "50 Years of State Fair Recipes” featuring winning submissions at the Minnesota State Fair from 1976 to 2025.
According to Stromme, Johnson’s blue-ribbon strategy involved repeated practice — and three freezers filled year-round with baked goods.
Stromme recalls her mother telling someone who had lost a competition: “You compete in the State Fair because you love what you're doing, and if you win any ribbon, that feels wonderful. It's really exciting.”
“If you don't win your blue ribbon, read the judge's comments carefully and learn from them. And then practice, practice, practice, practice, and try again,” Stromme said she continued.
