Hippie Kitchens - sometimes at certain concerts (i.e. Grateful Dead or Phish) there would be people cooking cheep food that you could buy and enjoy after the concert, like grilled cheese sandwich, or a veggie burrito. They weren't commercial foods or vendors - basically a tail-gate sounding way to break bread. (And probably a way to satisfy the screaming munchies after a smoke!)
Ha!! Reminds me of something I heard Robert Earl Keen say once ---
(Could be wrong, but I think it was on Austin City Limits --- )
He was commenting on being a folk singer, vs. a country singer.
He said "When yer a folk singer, people invite you to parties,
and serve you a bowl of LENTILS AND RICE!!"
But -------------------- if yer a COUNTRY SINGER,
They invite you over for BBQ, and WHISSSSSKKKEYYYYYYYYY!!.
Sorry -- guess this was , but it sparked a memory. ;)
Some twi old-timers who lived in Ohio might remember the annual pig roasts at Ray and Vera K***le's. It was always such a family gathering, and the food was unbelievable. All the women in the fellowship (which was huge, btw) baked homemade pies, and they roasted the pig in a spit for hours and hours.
That, to me, is a prime example of a tradition centered around food and fellowship.
DMiller- If Robert Earl Keen ever comes to play in my town, I'll invite him over for barbequed lentils. :)
There's a program I know of "Food Not Bombs." They share free vegetarian food, and at the same time promote peace. They also work to eradicate homelessness. They were out there when Katrina struck, feeding the hungry.
Now there's a very real danger of this and similar programs ending, or at least dampened, because of the laws being made to label protesters as terrorists.
Thanks for this thread, Chas. I'm going to listen for the program!
For about 10 years of my married life, we and a group of our friends had an annual outdoor party. We called it the FOFOF (Friends of Friends of Friends). We invited our friends and our friends were invited to invite their friends.
Each year we had a series of parties of the people that did the work to put the party on. We had a mowing party to clear the area. We had a party to plan the date. We partied and partied all around this party. Got to a point where we hired my friend Steve to perform the Saturday night. We made t-shirts and sold them to help pay for the beer. We went through 30 quarter barrels on average!
Everyone brought a dish to pass and the guys roasted a pig. Toward the end there, one time I got invited to the FOFOF by someone who had been invited by someone and they didn't know my husband was the originator of the whole deal. LOL Small world, for sure!
The idea was to come and pitch a tent and stay the night - we were out in the country, back off the road, in a field - no drunk driving incidents was our goal.
Oh yeah, the 3rd last year we did it, the wives and girlfirends of the 4 guys that were the main organizers got together for a few parties of our own - we sewed a FOFOF flag and hung it proudly.
Ha! This got me to thinking! I love this thread!
My twig used to have an annual Game Feed Dinner for a few years. The guys almost all were hunters. They got a kick out of trying to out-game the others. We had possum, squirrel, rabbit, pheasant, frog, deer, buffalo, beefalo, all sorts of things you might not get to try otherwise.
That was another bring a dish to pass event - great times had by all!
Linda Z------------Those pig roasts at Ray and Vera's prove there really were some good times to remember in our old WAY days. People looked forward to those all year. Do you remember the clam bakes or had you already left the area by that time?
And what Friday night in Cleveland could ever be the same without fishfry and pierogie at every corner tavern?
My parents managed a home for the elderly in Maine and we lived there for 13 years. By today's standards it would be considered "assisted living" - the patients could feed and dress themselves, some still drove their car, some were rather independent, etc. There were between 20-30 residents - a wing for the men and a separate wing for the women.
There was a staff kitchen there that looked like something out of the 1930's - deep sinks, a huge Agar (??) stove with eight pilots, three ovens, and grill. There was a huge stainless steel island in the middle - where the food was set for serving the patients.
The staff would eat after the patients were served. We'd wolf our food down because we knew that as soon as the first patient was finished eating, they would be looking for seconds or would want their noon meds or whathaveyou. The table WAS from the 1940's or 1950's - it was red, with chrome or stainless steel legs and sides, with a big leaf, and chrome and plastic chairs.
But the good times were AFTER the meal - the kitchen would be thick with cigarette smoke (it was the 70's - everyone smoked) and people would be telling stories about their kids or something that happened a long time ago. The next week's menu would be in the planning, by my father, who did much of the cooking (he had been a chef at the Princess Anne in Burmuda, worked at UNH, and some other large kitchens.)
Everyone would be drinking coffee, munching on cookies or sometimes cake or a whoopie pie (my personal favorites) - but it was always a good time - the staff was always so much fun to listen to - it's one of those memories that's burned in your mind, and although you may come across it only once every five years or so, it's still good.
Waysider, yes, I must have left before the clam bakes because I don't remember those. Our branch prepared a "roast beast" on a spit in the Metroparks one of the years Steve Stri** was here, but that's the only other big food-centered gathering I can remember.
Chas, what a great story, and so well told. Thanks for sharing it.
I have always believed in the power of a meal to bind people
In our family - every Sunday morning we have homemade pancakes - no boxed mixes -with real maple syrup
On more than one occasion I have had "pasta parties." During these I would have some homemade pasta dough started. I assigned a job to each party goer - and we would all "work for our meal - LOL"
In the process I would teach someone how to make real italian sauce and meatballs, someone else learned how to make ravioli, someone else had to make a killer salad. We not only had a great time over great food - but we all went home with enough food for another meal.
The best ever party I ever threw was a "Minestrone Party." Here I called folks and told them to bring "one carrot" or " a head of cabbage" More than one person was told to bring a bottle of wine.
I had a bunch of italian h'ors d'oevres ready and every one participated in chopping and mincing and adding to the pot. Wine flowed and when we finally did get to eat - no one really cared about the food - because we all had done something together. The last folks left at 2AM.
There is a great feed almost every Friday in the park where my shop is. Its called the 'Industrial Park" but really its just a bunch of funky buildings tucked out the way nestled in the mountains a little out of town down by a river.
Most of the guys there have known each other since childhood (im the newcomer at 3 years) and get together after work on Friday at "Non Toxic Johns" shop for food and a good time and their friends and girlfriends come as well.
There is usually anywhere from 15-50 people and everybody brings something. Matt and is usually smoking or deep frying a turkey or cooking up some amazing piece of succulent meat on the huge grill.
The guys who fish may bring trout or bass. People come and go and bring everything from cheeseplates and munchies to roasted duck..Someone who knows there stuff came with a pickup full of mushrooms a few weeks ago to add to the feed... You never know what might happen but it always good and there is always plenty. Somebody always makes sure you have a beer in your hand and food on your plate.
There are some pretty good musicians that go and more often than not some spontaneous jam sessions of one sort or another will break out...( usually after someone has smoked something ( but shhhh about that)that are very very good and usually hilarious. (NonToxic was atouring musician for several years before he became a cabinet maker, and there is always several guiatrists a few mandolin players, a harmonica player and if we are lucky a fiddler or two..
The place is basically a wildlife refuge, so we see lots of interesting critters-- we have had a telescope set up to watch the moonrise over the mountains, while other play horseshoes or shoot darts-(lots of serious dart players) tell stories, let go of the week and just hangout and have agood time...
There are lots of exquisite restaurants where i live, but on Friday nights I know where Im going....
Chas, I think the word you're looking for is "Halal". While studying for my MBA, one of my teammates' uncle was thinking of opening his own restaurant. Their family is Muslim and he was wanting to cater to the Muslim community as that's their culture and all the food has to be Halal. We got to put together a marketing campaign for him and, of course, sample all his food. It was a rough class, I tell ya!
My all time favorite Hidden Kitchen is:
Uncle Jones' BBQ - "Nuthin' Mo Betta" and he ain't lyin'! It's the kind of place you pass on the road and think, "I'd never eat anything that was cooked in that kitchen!". A double wide trailer that's been put up on cement blocks and then added onto. A red brick chimney stack rising above all that with the black tar of much use oozing all over it.
Perfuming the place is the combined smell of "old building", fried food, smoke and cigarettes (although the cigarette smell is fading now that you can't smoke inside).... Ahhhh...... perfume to my nose! Reminds me of the smell of my grandmother's home when I was growing up.
Best d@mn soul food anywhere!! Reminds me of growing up in the country and helping Mama Nina pick veggies from the garden, bringing them in to can 'em or fry 'em. When I get homesick I go to Uncle Jones' and truly there ain't "Nuthin' Mo Betta" just like he claims!
**************
Then there's the Jamaican Joint across the street - it's an old converted Pizza Hut. You can get a half a Jerk Chicken (make the right way), Plantains, Meat Patties and service with a Jamaican, "Dank you, Dear. Djou come back to see us, okay?" from the sweet glowing wife while her long haired dread-locked husband works in the kitchen.
***************
There's the Cuban Sandwich Place where my boss, who is first genration American-Cuban, LOVES to go for lunch every day. Small place with just "window service" - no dining room at all. I think it's an old converted Ice Cream Stand. LOL! The owners barely speak English, so I just get George to order for me.
**********
We have an area of downtown Orlando that's called "Little Vietnam" and you can get some awesome food down there that you can't even find in your mainstream "fancy" Vietnamese restaurants. These are the real thing made by the Real People. Thai and Indian places also have their special corners of the world down here.
*************
I think we're really lucky here in Orlando to have so many immigrants and so much availability to true ethnic foods made by true immigrants, usually first or second generation. There's the Italian joint that shuts down for three months every year so the family can go visit their families back in Italy... Ditto the Greek family who serves the best Spank-yer-pita and other new things to my palate.
When I started paying attention to what was around me, taking suggestions from friends and getting over the "appearance" and "ambiance" of these places, I began to realize how much I had been missing out on. Usually the portions are huge and the prices are small. The "ambiance" grows on you, but mostly it's the companionship of true natives and getting to know the owners, learning new foods and having new experiences.
I can't wait to look into this special, Chas! Thank you!!
Dooj, great party ideas! I agree...breaking bread together is a good thing.
Mstar, you reminded me of something from my distant past that I haven't thought about in years.
Back in the mid-70s I took a job as a water meter reader in Berea, a small city near Cleveland. I was the first woman meter reader in Berea and, in fact, the first woman employee in the water treatment plant we worked out of.
I didn't make the guys put lacy curtains on the windows or anything, but I did suggest that we have a cookout every other Friday and that everyone bring something. The idea was a big hit. At one end of the big old building was a garage that we used for shelter in bad weather, so we could cook there even in the winter with the garage door open.
I have such fond memories of those days. We didn't have such exotic fare as Mstar describes, because this was something we did on our lunch hour, but we really did bond over our burgers and hot dogs and other goodies. As far as I know, the tradition continued for years after I left there.
Even longer ago, when I worked on the L.A. Free Press, the staff would get together every week after we "put the paper to bed" and either go out to eat Chinese or go to one of our houses and cook a huge pot of spaghetti or something. It was always a great time. Funny, I can even remember conversations I had with people over those meals, and we're talking more than 35 years ago!
Good idea for a thread, Chas. Food really is interwoven into our lives and relationships, isn't it?
Catholics, because they do the group event money raising things, put on some great feeds, from the soup kitchens they do at the Salvation Army to the feeding events throughout the year to support their other social services.
I think the dinners and bake sales are a community service because of the fun of putting them on and the benefit to those people who do the work because they keep people active and giving long after they are working in a job -- as well as to the good food they make available.
Little Flower Church, where I go here in Reno, does mac and cheese bingo nites, piroshki bake sales, corned beef St Patricks day dinner, and nice Christmas bake sales (and other stuff, too).
Especially a highlight for me is the Passover meal they put on, which is complete with the Yarmulkas provided for the men, a backwards-written program, and the readings and blessings (by our priest) as well as the good food good served on best-service china provided by the hostesses.
There is so much kind fellowship of that goes with all these events. Been a great blessing to my life.
I think these events, as well as the altar society and the bookstore etc help keep Catholics alive and well for so long (at least that's the answer I come up with to the question, "Why are there so many old Catholics?")
Now ya got me d@mned close to crying remembering Ray and Vera...of all the people in the TWI I miss them the most.
Some twi old-timers who lived in Ohio might remember the annual pig roasts at Ray and Vera K***le's. It was always such a family gathering, and the food was unbelievable. All the women in the fellowship (which was huge, btw) baked homemade pies, and they roasted the pig in a spit for hours and hours.
That, to me, is a prime example of a tradition centered around food and fellowship.
Another caller talked about some of the southern Catholic Church barbeques that took place. They talked about how the men did all of the cooking, stayed up all night to do it, and some of the traditions that took place around it. There was certainly a feeling of bonding - not just over the food, but over the recipies, techniques, and almost a reverance for the tradition - that surpassed anything else.
I went on the NPR website about this interesting series:
Finally, have you been to one of those southern Catholic Church barbeques I mentioned? What's that like? (Man, that sounded interesting - never saw anything like that when I was down south...)
Hey, Chas, yes, I have been to many Catholic barbeques. In fact, one month ago, my mom and I went to St. Agnes Catholic Church in Uniontown, KY, to their annual barbeque. The weather was beautiful.
You stand in line & pay for your barbeque, then you are directed to a table where you stand and eat. The servers come by and bring barbeque, cole slaw and bread are on the table, as well as baked beans. You pay for your soft drinks or beer separately, that way you can drink all you want. Then when you are finished eating, you can play bingo or other games. If you win, you get a choice of a homemade pie or cake. They also sell barbeque mutton and ham by the pound.
My mom was raised Catholic so she has been going to barbeques for 80 years now except when she was married to my dad, and neither did we, but I try to take her to one at least every year since she divorced my dad 22 years ago.
If you want to go next year, let me know, and I will give you a schedule of the ones in my area.
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dmiller
Ha!! Reminds me of something I heard Robert Earl Keen say once ---
(Could be wrong, but I think it was on Austin City Limits --- )
He was commenting on being a folk singer, vs. a country singer.
He said "When yer a folk singer, people invite you to parties,
and serve you a bowl of LENTILS AND RICE!!"
But -------------------- if yer a COUNTRY SINGER,
They invite you over for BBQ, and WHISSSSSKKKEYYYYYYYYY!!.
Sorry -- guess this was
, but it sparked a memory. ;)
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Linda Z
Some twi old-timers who lived in Ohio might remember the annual pig roasts at Ray and Vera K***le's. It was always such a family gathering, and the food was unbelievable. All the women in the fellowship (which was huge, btw) baked homemade pies, and they roasted the pig in a spit for hours and hours.
That, to me, is a prime example of a tradition centered around food and fellowship.
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VeganXTC
DMiller- If Robert Earl Keen ever comes to play in my town, I'll invite him over for barbequed lentils. :)
There's a program I know of "Food Not Bombs." They share free vegetarian food, and at the same time promote peace. They also work to eradicate homelessness. They were out there when Katrina struck, feeding the hungry.
Now there's a very real danger of this and similar programs ending, or at least dampened, because of the laws being made to label protesters as terrorists.
Thanks for this thread, Chas. I'm going to listen for the program!
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dmiller
HIDDEN KITCHENS
(Did I really see Tom Strange putting up a sno-cone stand on that site???!!??!!!)
:blink:
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bowtwi
For about 10 years of my married life, we and a group of our friends had an annual outdoor party. We called it the FOFOF (Friends of Friends of Friends). We invited our friends and our friends were invited to invite their friends.
Each year we had a series of parties of the people that did the work to put the party on. We had a mowing party to clear the area. We had a party to plan the date. We partied and partied all around this party. Got to a point where we hired my friend Steve to perform the Saturday night. We made t-shirts and sold them to help pay for the beer. We went through 30 quarter barrels on average!
Everyone brought a dish to pass and the guys roasted a pig. Toward the end there, one time I got invited to the FOFOF by someone who had been invited by someone and they didn't know my husband was the originator of the whole deal. LOL Small world, for sure!
The idea was to come and pitch a tent and stay the night - we were out in the country, back off the road, in a field - no drunk driving incidents was our goal.
Oh yeah, the 3rd last year we did it, the wives and girlfirends of the 4 guys that were the main organizers got together for a few parties of our own - we sewed a FOFOF flag and hung it proudly.
Ha! This got me to thinking! I love this thread!
My twig used to have an annual Game Feed Dinner for a few years. The guys almost all were hunters. They got a kick out of trying to out-game the others. We had possum, squirrel, rabbit, pheasant, frog, deer, buffalo, beefalo, all sorts of things you might not get to try otherwise.
That was another bring a dish to pass event - great times had by all!
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waysider
Linda Z------------Those pig roasts at Ray and Vera's prove there really were some good times to remember in our old WAY days. People looked forward to those all year. Do you remember the clam bakes or had you already left the area by that time?
And what Friday night in Cleveland could ever be the same without fishfry and pierogie at every corner tavern?
ps.Who stole the kieshka?
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ChasUFarley
My parents managed a home for the elderly in Maine and we lived there for 13 years. By today's standards it would be considered "assisted living" - the patients could feed and dress themselves, some still drove their car, some were rather independent, etc. There were between 20-30 residents - a wing for the men and a separate wing for the women.
There was a staff kitchen there that looked like something out of the 1930's - deep sinks, a huge Agar (??) stove with eight pilots, three ovens, and grill. There was a huge stainless steel island in the middle - where the food was set for serving the patients.
The staff would eat after the patients were served. We'd wolf our food down because we knew that as soon as the first patient was finished eating, they would be looking for seconds or would want their noon meds or whathaveyou. The table WAS from the 1940's or 1950's - it was red, with chrome or stainless steel legs and sides, with a big leaf, and chrome and plastic chairs.
But the good times were AFTER the meal - the kitchen would be thick with cigarette smoke (it was the 70's - everyone smoked) and people would be telling stories about their kids or something that happened a long time ago. The next week's menu would be in the planning, by my father, who did much of the cooking (he had been a chef at the Princess Anne in Burmuda, worked at UNH, and some other large kitchens.)
Everyone would be drinking coffee, munching on cookies or sometimes cake or a whoopie pie (my personal favorites) - but it was always a good time - the staff was always so much fun to listen to - it's one of those memories that's burned in your mind, and although you may come across it only once every five years or so, it's still good.
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Linda Z
Waysider, yes, I must have left before the clam bakes because I don't remember those. Our branch prepared a "roast beast" on a spit in the Metroparks one of the years Steve Stri** was here, but that's the only other big food-centered gathering I can remember.
Chas, what a great story, and so well told. Thanks for sharing it.
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doojable
Ok well - here goes
I have always believed in the power of a meal to bind people
In our family - every Sunday morning we have homemade pancakes - no boxed mixes -with real maple syrup
On more than one occasion I have had "pasta parties." During these I would have some homemade pasta dough started. I assigned a job to each party goer - and we would all "work for our meal - LOL"
In the process I would teach someone how to make real italian sauce and meatballs, someone else learned how to make ravioli, someone else had to make a killer salad. We not only had a great time over great food - but we all went home with enough food for another meal.
The best ever party I ever threw was a "Minestrone Party." Here I called folks and told them to bring "one carrot" or " a head of cabbage" More than one person was told to bring a bottle of wine.
I had a bunch of italian h'ors d'oevres ready and every one participated in chopping and mincing and adding to the pot. Wine flowed and when we finally did get to eat - no one really cared about the food - because we all had done something together. The last folks left at 2AM.
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mstar1
There is a great feed almost every Friday in the park where my shop is. Its called the 'Industrial Park" but really its just a bunch of funky buildings tucked out the way nestled in the mountains a little out of town down by a river.
Most of the guys there have known each other since childhood (im the newcomer at 3 years) and get together after work on Friday at "Non Toxic Johns" shop for food and a good time and their friends and girlfriends come as well.
There is usually anywhere from 15-50 people and everybody brings something. Matt and is usually smoking or deep frying a turkey or cooking up some amazing piece of succulent meat on the huge grill.
The guys who fish may bring trout or bass. People come and go and bring everything from cheeseplates and munchies to roasted duck..Someone who knows there stuff came with a pickup full of mushrooms a few weeks ago to add to the feed... You never know what might happen but it always good and there is always plenty. Somebody always makes sure you have a beer in your hand and food on your plate.
There are some pretty good musicians that go and more often than not some spontaneous jam sessions of one sort or another will break out...( usually after someone has smoked something ( but shhhh about that)that are very very good and usually hilarious. (NonToxic was atouring musician for several years before he became a cabinet maker, and there is always several guiatrists a few mandolin players, a harmonica player and if we are lucky a fiddler or two..
The place is basically a wildlife refuge, so we see lots of interesting critters-- we have had a telescope set up to watch the moonrise over the mountains, while other play horseshoes or shoot darts-(lots of serious dart players) tell stories, let go of the week and just hangout and have agood time...
There are lots of exquisite restaurants where i live, but on Friday nights I know where Im going....
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Belle
Chas, I think the word you're looking for is "Halal". While studying for my MBA, one of my teammates' uncle was thinking of opening his own restaurant. Their family is Muslim and he was wanting to cater to the Muslim community as that's their culture and all the food has to be Halal. We got to put together a marketing campaign for him and, of course, sample all his food.
It was a rough class, I tell ya! 
My all time favorite Hidden Kitchen is:
Uncle Jones' BBQ - "Nuthin' Mo Betta" and he ain't lyin'! It's the kind of place you pass on the road and think, "I'd never eat anything that was cooked in that kitchen!". A double wide trailer that's been put up on cement blocks and then added onto. A red brick chimney stack rising above all that with the black tar of much use oozing all over it.
Perfuming the place is the combined smell of "old building", fried food, smoke and cigarettes (although the cigarette smell is fading now that you can't smoke inside).... Ahhhh...... perfume to my nose! Reminds me of the smell of my grandmother's home when I was growing up.
Best d@mn soul food anywhere!! Reminds me of growing up in the country and helping Mama Nina pick veggies from the garden, bringing them in to can 'em or fry 'em. When I get homesick I go to Uncle Jones' and truly there ain't "Nuthin' Mo Betta" just like he claims!
**************
Then there's the Jamaican Joint across the street - it's an old converted Pizza Hut. You can get a half a Jerk Chicken (make the right way), Plantains, Meat Patties and service with a Jamaican, "Dank you, Dear. Djou come back to see us, okay?" from the sweet glowing wife while her long haired dread-locked husband works in the kitchen.
***************
There's the Cuban Sandwich Place where my boss, who is first genration American-Cuban, LOVES to go for lunch every day. Small place with just "window service" - no dining room at all. I think it's an old converted Ice Cream Stand. LOL! The owners barely speak English, so I just get George to order for me.
**********
We have an area of downtown Orlando that's called "Little Vietnam" and you can get some awesome food down there that you can't even find in your mainstream "fancy" Vietnamese restaurants. These are the real thing made by the Real People. Thai and Indian places also have their special corners of the world down here.
*************
I think we're really lucky here in Orlando to have so many immigrants and so much availability to true ethnic foods made by true immigrants, usually first or second generation. There's the Italian joint that shuts down for three months every year so the family can go visit their families back in Italy... Ditto the Greek family who serves the best Spank-yer-pita and other new things to my palate.
When I started paying attention to what was around me, taking suggestions from friends and getting over the "appearance" and "ambiance" of these places, I began to realize how much I had been missing out on. Usually the portions are huge and the prices are small. The "ambiance" grows on you, but mostly it's the companionship of true natives and getting to know the owners, learning new foods and having new experiences.
I can't wait to look into this special, Chas! Thank you!!
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Linda Z
Dooj, great party ideas! I agree...breaking bread together is a good thing.
Mstar, you reminded me of something from my distant past that I haven't thought about in years.
Back in the mid-70s I took a job as a water meter reader in Berea, a small city near Cleveland. I was the first woman meter reader in Berea and, in fact, the first woman employee in the water treatment plant we worked out of.
I didn't make the guys put lacy curtains on the windows or anything, but I did suggest that we have a cookout every other Friday and that everyone bring something. The idea was a big hit. At one end of the big old building was a garage that we used for shelter in bad weather, so we could cook there even in the winter with the garage door open.
I have such fond memories of those days. We didn't have such exotic fare as Mstar describes, because this was something we did on our lunch hour, but we really did bond over our burgers and hot dogs and other goodies. As far as I know, the tradition continued for years after I left there.
Even longer ago, when I worked on the L.A. Free Press, the staff would get together every week after we "put the paper to bed" and either go out to eat Chinese or go to one of our houses and cook a huge pot of spaghetti or something. It was always a great time. Funny, I can even remember conversations I had with people over those meals, and we're talking more than 35 years ago!
Good idea for a thread, Chas. Food really is interwoven into our lives and relationships, isn't it?
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Kit Sober
Catholics, because they do the group event money raising things, put on some great feeds, from the soup kitchens they do at the Salvation Army to the feeding events throughout the year to support their other social services.
I think the dinners and bake sales are a community service because of the fun of putting them on and the benefit to those people who do the work because they keep people active and giving long after they are working in a job -- as well as to the good food they make available.
Little Flower Church, where I go here in Reno, does mac and cheese bingo nites, piroshki bake sales, corned beef St Patricks day dinner, and nice Christmas bake sales (and other stuff, too).
Especially a highlight for me is the Passover meal they put on, which is complete with the Yarmulkas provided for the men, a backwards-written program, and the readings and blessings (by our priest) as well as the good food good served on best-service china provided by the hostesses.
There is so much kind fellowship of that goes with all these events. Been a great blessing to my life.
I think these events, as well as the altar society and the bookstore etc help keep Catholics alive and well for so long (at least that's the answer I come up with to the question, "Why are there so many old Catholics?")
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RumRunner
Now ya got me d@mned close to crying remembering Ray and Vera...of all the people in the TWI I miss them the most.
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act2
Hey, Chas, yes, I have been to many Catholic barbeques. In fact, one month ago, my mom and I went to St. Agnes Catholic Church in Uniontown, KY, to their annual barbeque. The weather was beautiful.
You stand in line & pay for your barbeque, then you are directed to a table where you stand and eat. The servers come by and bring barbeque, cole slaw and bread are on the table, as well as baked beans. You pay for your soft drinks or beer separately, that way you can drink all you want. Then when you are finished eating, you can play bingo or other games. If you win, you get a choice of a homemade pie or cake. They also sell barbeque mutton and ham by the pound.
My mom was raised Catholic so she has been going to barbeques for 80 years now except when she was married to my dad, and neither did we, but I try to take her to one at least every year since she divorced my dad 22 years ago.
If you want to go next year, let me know, and I will give you a schedule of the ones in my area.
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