Sepia Saturday challenges bloggers to share family
history through old photographs.
This week’s Sepia Saturday photo showing party guests
going through the buffet line could have been taken at any one of the many dinners
at Cradock United Methodist Church. Fellowship Dinners are what most Christian
churches do. Cradock was no
exception. In fact, if there wasn’t a
dinner on the calendar when we were members back in the 1980s and 90s, we thought something was terribly wrong.
There were dinners to thank volunteers.
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| The "roast" for Reverend Ed was packed. How did we even get to our seat? |
There were dinners to bid farewell to a much loved minister and his family.
There were dinners to welcome the new one.
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| Eddie Leonard and Dana Tyson |
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| Audrey Williams was confined to a wheelchair, but she could serve punch. |
There were Bunny Breakfasts for the kids at Easter.
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| The children eagerly watched for the Bunny to arrive. |
I have long forgotten the many chicken casseroles and lemon meringue pies thoughtfully prepared at home by proud cooks, but I distinctly recall wonderful times spent in the kitchen with the men and women who kept that church alive.
People like Helen Barnes.
She was the Kitchen Nazi.
She was good-natured but strict, even intimidating until you got to know her. The kitchen was HER domain and she didn’t let you forget it. That was one clean kitchen, cleaner than any commercial kitchen, without a doubt. Helen didn’t let anyone else wash dishes. You could brush the scraps into the trashcan; you could dry dishes; you could move the dishes to their rightful spot in the cabinets. But nobody messed with Helen’s pride and joy, her commercial dishwasher.
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| Helen at the dishwasher Wow - look at those pans! |
She was good-natured but strict, even intimidating until you got to know her. The kitchen was HER domain and she didn’t let you forget it. That was one clean kitchen, cleaner than any commercial kitchen, without a doubt. Helen didn’t let anyone else wash dishes. You could brush the scraps into the trashcan; you could dry dishes; you could move the dishes to their rightful spot in the cabinets. But nobody messed with Helen’s pride and joy, her commercial dishwasher.
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| Some of the ladies of the Silver Anniversary Circle Mary Williams, Cookie Mutter, Margaret Spruill, Sue Scott, Frances Deyerle, Marian Garrett |
We didn’t run out to a Cosco or Sam’s Club to purchase
pre-packaged entrees and salads; we cooked from scratch. Mary Williams taught me how to make
gravy. Betty Lewis and Margaret Spruill
stood alongside me as we cut loaves of bread into cubes for homemade dressing –
no bag of Pepperidge Farm turkey stuffing for Cradock's annual Thanksgiving Feast. Measuring sage. Mashing potatoes. Shuttling gravy boats to the buffet
table. It was always a flurry of
activity in the kitchen at Cradock Church.
And always laughter.
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| Not much left of the pig except the head ! |
Men like Ray Spruill, George Mutter, and Buddy Lewis couldn’t wait for their turn at the fryer which was tucked behind the church away from public view.
It’s not because they were selfless volunteers. It’s common knowledge that the Methodists were historically teetotalers very active in the temperance movement. The truth is that the men sneaked a cooler of beer into the boiler room in eyeshot of the fish fryer. Men will be boys. One time they were caught by the new preacher who looked at them and said, “I didn’t see a thing.”
It’s true what they say about the power of food to bring
people together, to build community.
People like the Lewises, the Spruills, the Mutters, and Helen Barnes were
the life of Cradock Church. Most of
these fine people are gone now. The
dwindling congregation merged with another Methodist church and Cradock closed
its doors. The property has been
sold. But I have my Cradock Church cookbook
with recipes and names to remind me of so many good times in a church that once
was alive and well feeding its sheep in more ways than with a church dinner.
©
2014, Wendy Mathias. All rights
reserved.
Wendy, looks like many happy memories.
ReplyDeleteThey were indeed!
DeleteAh, those church dinners! How well I remember them. Our teenage youth group used to serve the dinners & then clean up after having dinner ourselves in the back room. I remember one time in particular when I was trying to impress a guy - I had glued long fake fingernails on because my own were always breaking. They looked beautiful & everything was fine until I stupidly volunteered to wash the dishes. Oops. After having my hands in that hot soapy water for a while, pink fingernails began floating to the surface & of course it would HAVE to be the guy I was trying to impress who first noticed them. I laughed, but I think my face matched the pink of those floating fingernails!
ReplyDeleteOnly you, Gail. Only you!
DeleteReading this post made me hungry! Such warm memories of kind people and good food. Can there be a better combination? Love this post Wendy.
ReplyDeleteWith Thanksgiving coming up, I'm looking forward to pulling out my much stained copy of the recipes we used at the church dinner.
DeleteI enjoyed your post Wendy. Wonderful memories. I have a couple of great church and school cookbooks too, they are the best!
ReplyDeleteThey ARE the best. They have REAL recipes for the kinds of food real people eat. They also usually have great standards and good basics rather than trendy recipes.
DeleteSorry to hear the church has closed but that must happen a lot these days, as church congregations are getting a lot older.
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head. And the church is in a community in transition -- families with the means left for better communities with stronger schools. The aging church members didn't have the energy to do the kind of work that young economically disadvantaged families needed. I certainly hope that whoever bought this church recognizes what a great facility it is and will build maybe a non-denominational community church.
DeleteIt certainly was cooking on a grand scale. Why is it that I have come back to Sepia Saturday on a week that seems to be dominated by tables full of food - and there is me on a diet!.
ReplyDeleteTiming is everything.
DeleteWhat a delightful post! that kind of collaborative event brings people of all ages! and obviously of varied skills! together to have fun
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. In my circle were women who couldn't cook worth a lick, but they were great organizers or clever with table decorations. I remember some of the men who were so good at welcoming visitors and putting them at ease.
DeleteLove the Bunny Breakfast! And church cookbooks are the VERY BEST -- the wisdom of all those women; the collective experience and knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI love good ol' fashioned cooking, down-to-earth, and REAL. No scouring the market for specialty ingredients.
DeleteGlad to see the men got into the act as well; no doubt they thought they had earned their tipple.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, the men earned a tipple. What's a tipple?
DeleteWere you, perhaps, the church historian that you have so many photos of church dinners? Do you have them in albums? I suppose, in another few years, the descendants of these people who are now gone will be thrilled to find your post with their ancestors in an informal setting. I know I would be!
ReplyDeleteNo, I wasn't the historian. When I was thinking about this answer to the prompt, I remembered having pictures of Reverend Ed's "roast," but I was surprised to find so many other photos. And guess what -- I have names on the back. Go me!
DeleteWhat an enjoyable post about a community of people who hosted/hostessed so many gatherings. But a community does go through birth, growth and then decline, much as living things. I've been a happy member of several of these communities (usually built in churches.)
ReplyDeleteWatching a church struggle and die is hard. I think I'd rather be there at its beginning .
DeleteI come from a family of Methodists who were tee totallers and I have certificates of their involvement with the temperance movement. My Grandmother signed a certificate that she would abstain from alcohol when she was six...........and she did!
ReplyDeleteCertificates -- that would be interesting to see. I suspect if any of my Methodists signed such a certificate, they eventually broke their word.
DeleteThey are very colourful. You must have missed that week :)
Deletehttp://www.shazlex.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/peace-and-plenty-reward-of-temperance.html#comment-form
How did I miss that? I checked my own blog and see that I did indeed participate that week, and I make a point of visiting everyone. Anyway, thanks for sending the link. Those certificates are quite fancy and colorful.
DeleteThe church supper must be one of the few common experiences that unite all religions. I can still remember the warm aroma of the kitchen at my grandmother's church. It was nothing like a school cafeteria or restaurant.
ReplyDeleteSo true. Somewhere this same story is being played out at a church preparing for a Brunswick Stew dinner.
DeleteI'm wondering what a pig-picking and a fish fry could be. A spit roast and a barbecue maybe?
ReplyDeleteThere's a picture of the cooker for the pig - in fact, you can see the pig's head. At a pig-picking, the WHOLE pig is roasted in a big cooker, like in the photo. Supposedly everyone just picks meat out of the pig right off the grill, but frankly that's a bit gross, so usually the meat is removed from the pig, chopped and then served with barbecue sauce. A fish fry is a separate event; fish is battered and deep-fried in oil.
DeleteOh! This is such a fun post Wendy! What wonderful memories. I have a few church cookbooks in my cabinet as well. A few of our favorite recipes have come from one that was produced back when I was a child. The cookbook belonged to my mom, but now I have it. It's seen better days, but it's still a treasure.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing better than a well-loved and well-used cookbook that still has gravy stains and cookie dough bits on the pages.
DeleteWhat a treasure that cookbook is, prompting so many memories; I wish I’d held on to more of mine. Making everything from scratch is an art and sadly dying out in this busy modern life.
ReplyDeleteThe best part of a church dinner used to be getting all that good HOMEMADE food. Nowadays the church dinner is not quite so enticing but instead a collection of store-bought cakes and platters. People say, "I don't have time." Poppycock -- they just don't TAKE time.
Delete