Tall Tales from West Virginia's Top 'Liars'

NPR

Published May 27, 2006 at 10:04 AM EDT

Bil Lepp is a liar... and proud of it. He's won the West Virginia Liars Contest five times.

Each year on Memorial Day weekend, West Virginia's best storytellers compete for the prestigious title of "Biggest Liar." The tall-tale contest draws large crowds, and the winner receives a Golden Shovel. You can imagine why.

A storyteller for more than 15 years, Lepp tells tales on subjects ranging from his dachshund, "Buck-dog," to his fourth-grade teacher, who he swore was a superhero.

But Lepp is just getting started on his fibbing career compared to Bonnie Collins. At 90, she has judged the West Virginia contest for more than 20 years... and as Debbie Elliott discovers, she still tells a pretty fair whopper, too.

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