Fish chowder luncheon brings friends together
(Reprint from Capital Weekly Newspaper 9/9/05)
BY JOHN HALE WINTHROP - Winthrop Congregational Church on the corner of Bowdoin and Main streets was a beehive of activity on Friday, Sept. 9, 2005. The reason is that was the day of the first fish chowder luncheon of the season.
Volunteers of the church put on the fish chowder luncheons the second Friday of the month every month except for December, July and August. So there was a lot of excitement gearing up for the first luncheon in September.
A lot of work goes into preparing for the luncheons which serve an average of 80 guests, plus another 30 take-out meals. Men and women show up at the church basement activity room about 8 a.m. on the day of the luncheon. The day before the luncheon, women of the church have baked a variety of pies. Some of the pies are baked on the morning of the luncheon, according to Darlene Rodzen, a veteran baker, and an organizer of the luncheon. She said about 15 church volunteers work on the luncheon.
This year Rodzen baked three pies - blueberry, strawberry-rhubarb and sugar-free blueberry. Her friend, Marie Pettengill, made an interesting pie - a combination of blackberry, strawberry and raspberry. She also made an apple pie. In all, volunteers baked 19 pies for the lunch and Darlene Rodzen cut them into individual servings. "I'm the industrial-strength dishwasher," joked Pettengill. "It's a job you never get fired from."
Rodzen, who is the office administrator at the church, says her work on the lunch is entirely volunteer. She has been volunteering for the lunch for 30 years - since the fish chowder lunches began in 1975.
The cost of the fish chowder lunch is $6 and it is a fund-raiser for the church. The doors open for the lunch at 11:30 a.m. And the diner gets all-you-can-eat chowder with crackers, homemade biscuits, homemade pickles and a slice of homemade pie. There's always sugar-free pie available. Coffee and lemonade are served as well. All-in-all, it's a delicious meal which, by the way, is served on real china with real silverware. To top it off, on Sept. 9, the tables were decorated with Hydrangea flowers in vases.
The chowder recipe used today was developed by Mary York for that first fish chowder in January 1975. Mary York's daughter, Lee Gilman, is carrying on the family tradition, baking two pies and donating her homemade pickles each month.
Barbara Ingham, who passed away recently, was known as the "biscuit boss," baking 100 biscuits for each chowder luncheon until she was in her 90s. Ginny Webb is the present "biscuit boss."
In the large church kitchen, Bob Ashby presided over three very large kettles, each containing the precious chowder, on a big gas stove, about an hour before the luncheon guests began to arrive. "The first year, they made me wash dishes," he said. "The next year I was an apprentice under the late Eric Doughty and Russ Hewett. Then I worked my way up to chowder master." Ashby said each kettle contained 10 pounds of potatoes and 12 to 14 pounds of chowder fish. Two-and-a-half pounds of onions go into each pot, along with butter, milk and evaporated milk. Very little water goes in, plus a minimum of salt and pepper "and patience," Ashby said. "Usually, we start melting the butter and cutting up the onions at 8 o'clock in the morning," Ashby said. "The rest of the crew is making the coffee and setting up the tables." Ashby said the chowder starts to cook about 8:30 a.m. and it's pretty much done by 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. "Then it just sits and stays warm after that," he said. "It sits there and mellows until they're ready to serve at 11:30. The secret is not to scorch anything." Ashby is a retired electrical consultant from northern Maine.
Bill Rodzen, Darlene's husband, said he's been working on the luncheons for six years.
"I come in in the morning and cut up the fish and do whatever's necessary," he said. "I've been delivering meals around town, to teachers at the schools and every once in awhile we have somebody who's sick or a shut-in and we deliver to them." "All the people who work on it are great and it's a chance to see a lot of different people once a month," Bill Rodzen said.
Jean Doughty, like Darlene Rodzen, has worked on the luncheons since they began in 1975. "We made $66 in that first luncheon," Doughty recalled. "People from all over town and a lot business people come. Where we're handicapped- accessible, people with walkers come. It's grown immensely."
Doughty said she started out peeling vegetables and she's done all the other jobs. For the last 20 years or so, she's been hostess of the event. "It's kind of a camaraderie," Doughty said. "People really enjoy the sociability of it. People expect to see us here and we expect to see them here."
At 11:15 a.m., the first guests showed up at the door and they were seated, followed by a steady stream of people behind them. By 11:45, the activity room was bustling with people and the tables were getting full with guests who were engaged in lively conversation as they enjoyed their homemade chowder and biscuits. They saved the slices of pie they had selected until last.
The Rev. Kimberly Murphy, pastor of the church, said, "It's more than just a meal; it's fellowship." Charlie Denoyer of Manchester who was there for the lunch with his wife, Lee, said, "This is our first visit, but not our last."
According to a church press release, regular lunch patrons attend from Winthrop, Wayne, Monmouth, Augusta, Lewiston, Gardiner and Farmingdale. Often, former church members and former pastors who have left the area return from Waterville, Scarborough and Wells.
(Reprint from Capital Weekly Newspaper 9/9/05)
BY JOHN HALE WINTHROP - Winthrop Congregational Church on the corner of Bowdoin and Main streets was a beehive of activity on Friday, Sept. 9, 2005. The reason is that was the day of the first fish chowder luncheon of the season.
Volunteers of the church put on the fish chowder luncheons the second Friday of the month every month except for December, July and August. So there was a lot of excitement gearing up for the first luncheon in September.
A lot of work goes into preparing for the luncheons which serve an average of 80 guests, plus another 30 take-out meals. Men and women show up at the church basement activity room about 8 a.m. on the day of the luncheon. The day before the luncheon, women of the church have baked a variety of pies. Some of the pies are baked on the morning of the luncheon, according to Darlene Rodzen, a veteran baker, and an organizer of the luncheon. She said about 15 church volunteers work on the luncheon.
This year Rodzen baked three pies - blueberry, strawberry-rhubarb and sugar-free blueberry. Her friend, Marie Pettengill, made an interesting pie - a combination of blackberry, strawberry and raspberry. She also made an apple pie. In all, volunteers baked 19 pies for the lunch and Darlene Rodzen cut them into individual servings. "I'm the industrial-strength dishwasher," joked Pettengill. "It's a job you never get fired from."
Rodzen, who is the office administrator at the church, says her work on the lunch is entirely volunteer. She has been volunteering for the lunch for 30 years - since the fish chowder lunches began in 1975.
The cost of the fish chowder lunch is $6 and it is a fund-raiser for the church. The doors open for the lunch at 11:30 a.m. And the diner gets all-you-can-eat chowder with crackers, homemade biscuits, homemade pickles and a slice of homemade pie. There's always sugar-free pie available. Coffee and lemonade are served as well. All-in-all, it's a delicious meal which, by the way, is served on real china with real silverware. To top it off, on Sept. 9, the tables were decorated with Hydrangea flowers in vases.
The chowder recipe used today was developed by Mary York for that first fish chowder in January 1975. Mary York's daughter, Lee Gilman, is carrying on the family tradition, baking two pies and donating her homemade pickles each month.
Barbara Ingham, who passed away recently, was known as the "biscuit boss," baking 100 biscuits for each chowder luncheon until she was in her 90s. Ginny Webb is the present "biscuit boss."
In the large church kitchen, Bob Ashby presided over three very large kettles, each containing the precious chowder, on a big gas stove, about an hour before the luncheon guests began to arrive. "The first year, they made me wash dishes," he said. "The next year I was an apprentice under the late Eric Doughty and Russ Hewett. Then I worked my way up to chowder master." Ashby said each kettle contained 10 pounds of potatoes and 12 to 14 pounds of chowder fish. Two-and-a-half pounds of onions go into each pot, along with butter, milk and evaporated milk. Very little water goes in, plus a minimum of salt and pepper "and patience," Ashby said. "Usually, we start melting the butter and cutting up the onions at 8 o'clock in the morning," Ashby said. "The rest of the crew is making the coffee and setting up the tables." Ashby said the chowder starts to cook about 8:30 a.m. and it's pretty much done by 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. "Then it just sits and stays warm after that," he said. "It sits there and mellows until they're ready to serve at 11:30. The secret is not to scorch anything." Ashby is a retired electrical consultant from northern Maine.
Bill Rodzen, Darlene's husband, said he's been working on the luncheons for six years.
"I come in in the morning and cut up the fish and do whatever's necessary," he said. "I've been delivering meals around town, to teachers at the schools and every once in awhile we have somebody who's sick or a shut-in and we deliver to them." "All the people who work on it are great and it's a chance to see a lot of different people once a month," Bill Rodzen said.
Jean Doughty, like Darlene Rodzen, has worked on the luncheons since they began in 1975. "We made $66 in that first luncheon," Doughty recalled. "People from all over town and a lot business people come. Where we're handicapped- accessible, people with walkers come. It's grown immensely."
Doughty said she started out peeling vegetables and she's done all the other jobs. For the last 20 years or so, she's been hostess of the event. "It's kind of a camaraderie," Doughty said. "People really enjoy the sociability of it. People expect to see us here and we expect to see them here."
At 11:15 a.m., the first guests showed up at the door and they were seated, followed by a steady stream of people behind them. By 11:45, the activity room was bustling with people and the tables were getting full with guests who were engaged in lively conversation as they enjoyed their homemade chowder and biscuits. They saved the slices of pie they had selected until last.
The Rev. Kimberly Murphy, pastor of the church, said, "It's more than just a meal; it's fellowship." Charlie Denoyer of Manchester who was there for the lunch with his wife, Lee, said, "This is our first visit, but not our last."
According to a church press release, regular lunch patrons attend from Winthrop, Wayne, Monmouth, Augusta, Lewiston, Gardiner and Farmingdale. Often, former church members and former pastors who have left the area return from Waterville, Scarborough and Wells.
