Competition for the Powell Centennial beard contest will be stiff. Hair-raising in fact. The contest and judging will take place on Powell Founder's Day — May 25 at 4 p.m.Three locals, Preston Eckhardt, Steve Rogers and Tim Feathers, will be strutting their fluff and Honorable Beard Judge (Mayor) Scott Mangold weighed in.

“We want to find the best beard ... maybe the ugliest,” said Mangold, head beard guy for the Centennial Committee.

Other classifications include the longest, shortest and a beard most like John Wesley Powell's, Mangold said.

Eckhardt, 18, a Northwest College freshman, reckons his whiskers, that made their debut New Year's Eve, extend four inches from the bottom of his chin.

People have claimed Eckhardt bears a resemblance to 1970s TV icon Grizzly Adams.

Eckhardt has received accolades, but not everybody is tickled pink with the whiskers. His mother, Kelly Eckhardt, even had the audacity to claim his growth gross.

His dad, Roy Eckhardt, has verdant Vandyke, but keeps it mighty tidy.

Young Eckhardt bristles.

“It's not like I store food inside there,” he said.

With his flowing, silky, jet black facial hair, Eckhardt is no stranger to razors.

“I've been shaving since I was 10,” Eckhardt said. Sure, it was only once a week way back then, but that should give elder bearded aspirants pause just the same.

Steve Rogers, 65, is certainly discernible filling prescriptions and flaunting his fleecy face behind the counter at Powell Drug.

“I get a lot of comments,” Rogers said.

“Hello, Santa Claus,” is one sally. Rogers said he gets a lot of that.

Rogers is one of those guys that greeted the mirror daily with razor in hand — or did.

Now a beard flows down his face in shades of gray, and yes, with healthy streaks of white. It juts a couple inches past his downy chin.

“This is the first time I've grown one in over 25 years,” Rogers said.

Rogers is not taking his beard-growing endeavor too seriously, but he is behind the Powell Centennial Committee's shindig in the offing and applauds it.

“I'd like to see the whole town get in the spirit of the centennial,” Rogers said.

Powell Police Chief Tim Feathers, 50, and centennial Committee member, renounced his razor at the beginning of the year.

Department dress code outlaws police beards, but officers growing beards for the centennial are pardoned, until May 25 anyway.

“It takes time getting used to,” Feathers said of his whiskered mug.

Scratch that. Tonya, Feathers' wife, is not exhilarated.

“She prefers me clean-shaven,” Feathers said.

Feathers has been bearded only once before — 25 years ago for Powell's 75th birthday.

After the town's 75th, Feathers hacked every facial hair from his face and recognized too late he preferred the mustache he had sported since 18 or 19. The missus did, too.

“Well,” said Feathers, recalling that fateful smooth upper-lipped day almost 25 years ago, “I'll never do that again.”

It is all good, clean, albeit fuzzy fun for the chief.

“It's just kind of a fun thing to do for the centennial,” Feathers said.

It's not too late to start growing a beard for the contest, gentlemen. Let the razor collect dust for a month or so.

Get into the centennial spirit. After all, guys did it on Powell's 50th and 75th birthdays, Mangold said.

Mangold, who sports a mustache-goatee combo, will not be jockeying for a prize, but he'll be one of the judges.

“I'll recuse myself,” Mangold said.

Go for it, boys.

“You're only 100 once,” Rogers said.