A tradition of food and fun

Ellen Brown, pictured with some of the salads at the luncheon. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

This is the church’s major fundraiser of the year, in which proceeds benefit local mission projects.

What started with a salad luncheon fundraiser back in 1984, has grown to include a bazaar featuring the handicrafts of the women of the church.

“We thought, ‘We get such good attendance with the luncheon, why don’t we add this?’” said Jeanne Akers, organizer of the bazaar.

Walls and tables in a room set up for the bazaar were lined with handmade gifts such as quilts, embroidered kitchen towels, dolls, handbags and jams, as well as used housewares, books and white elephant items.

As people milled around the varied merchandise, Margaret Marci sat crocheting “scrubbies,” using hand-cut strips of netting and crocheting them together into round, multi-purpose, non-abrasive scrubbing pads. So far this year, she’s made 200 of them in a variety of colors.

All the women of the church group pitch in with the making of the salads — more than 80 made for this year’s luncheon — as well as a large variety of baked goods.

“This year I made 24 pies plus brownies,” said luncheon organizer Morganna Brissenden. She’s known for her lemon meringue pies, especially by the senior shut-ins around the area that she delivers to throughout the year. “Life is about helping people,” she said.

In the center of another room where the salads all sat nestled in a bed of ice, a group of ladies stood by ready to help serve, including Ellen Brown, the eldest member of the church women’s organization.

At 91, she has been doing her share of salad preparation since the inaugural event, and this year was no exception. Her great-granddaugher, Sarah Russell, was among the youngest member of the ladies group.

While the kitchen was abuzz with members preparing, serving and cleaning, diners sat in the Social Hall to enjoy good food and good company.

This year’s luncheon and bazaar brought in about $3,000 with 119 lunches served.