# @dmregister on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DcSAAZWDKq3
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/69416470-dmregister-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/85cca47a0c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-08-21T00:00:17.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Des Moines Register (@DMRegister) — https://gondola.cc/DMRegister

## Caption

Louise Piper — who came to the Iowa State Fair every year, religiously, since first entering in 1984 — won thousands of ribbons, including many of the especially coveted sweepstakes and best overall nods. She won enough ribbons, in fact, that she even attracted the attention of Martha Stewart, who knighted her as “The Pie Lady.”

But colon cancer kept Piper home from last year’s fair. And she had the aggressive sort.

Unexpected, as carcinoma often is, the disease took her about eight weeks after her diagnosis. Stealing time to let her extended “fair family” — as her mother used to call the army of red-shirted volunteers and judges at the Elwell Family Food Center — say goodbye.

So as Alison Moon thought about ways to honor her mother, her mind kept returning here. To the fair. To its food competitions. And to pie. To one specific pie, actually: green tomato pie.

Tap the link in our bio for more on this story.

#DesMoines #Iowa #IowaStateFair #DSMUSA

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 261
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 2

## Tags

iowastatefair, iowa, dsmusa, desmoines

---
Copyright (c) Gondola