My sister called last night asking if they could go with us to a chicken dinner. I told her that we would pick them up at 10:30 EDT and I heard her say to Bruce that they would be having chicken for breakfast (a little sarcasm since they were having friends over and would be up late Saturday night.)
I was there on time and sleepy-headed Anne shuffled to my car. From White Oak it was down I-74 onto I-275 and exiting at Route 50 and then out Route 1 and eventually crossing Tanners creek at Guilford and up the hill on Yorkville Rd. Biersdorfer’s Orchard had a sign letting us know that fresh peaches were ready (we’ll be back later.) It’s a pretty drive to the church and we soon saw the steeple.
Church was just leaving out and the line for dinners extended past the tent that's there to protect people from the sun. But no one would need to worry about getting too hot today – the forecast is for a high of 75 with clouds. A few years ago, we went to mass and then the dinner but waited a long time. The problem was that there was a busload of seniors who entered the hall before anyone else and caused an hour delay before many others could be seated. Last year we came at about closing time and didn’t have much of a wait but they ran out of some food items.
This year it turned out just fine and we sat at our table in the first seating -- there were about 50 open seats still to go (the hall likely holds 300-400 people.) I believe that they sell almost 2,000 dinners by the time the day is done. When we entered the hall, the line outside extended to the church. When we left the hall it was about 12:30, and the line extended beyond the church (it would be quite a wait at that point.)
As we got close to the door, I spotted Chuck Martin’s article that appeared in the Enquirer last Thursday that talked about church chicken dinners. It was posted near the entrance. As always, I was determined to not draw any attention, but Edith and my sister made comments to a few people in our vicinity. They smiled and one of them commented that I looked much younger in the picture. This getting-old stuff is “for the birds” -- maybe this Christmas I’ll ask Santa for a face lift.
The man who took our meal tickets insisted that I introduce myself to the man in the green shirt who was seating people. His name is Whitey Niedoff and he has a good sense of humor. He said that he had alerted people to look for the “Chicken Man” and claimed that he knew it was me when he saw me walking in his direction; I’m not so sure of that.
When you are the first seated, everything is good and fresh including the servers. There was plenty to choose from on the table, fresh slaw (this was a little more tangy than I’m used to), bowls of (regular) beans and corn, bread dressing and gravy. The dressing was dark, almost the color of rye bread, and was very good especially with a few spoons of gravy. I skipped the mashed potatoes. I liked the chicken but for some reason there was lots of white meat and not much dark, but I was able to snag a piece of back.
One thing different was the bowl of gizzards, small chicken stomachs served in dark gravy. They were nice and tender. I ate a piece of breast meat and enjoyed it but not as much as if I had a thigh. The servers were very friendly and attentive and kept everything well supplied. One of the servers knew that two ladies seated across from us and she was exceptionally nice. She explained to my sister that the yellow cut flowers that were placed on all tables originated in Germany and grew five feet tall, but she couldn’t remember their name (she had written it down when seeing it on the Victory Garden TV show several years ago.) She told us where to look in the neighborhood and we saw some growing in a yard across from the church when leaving.
Seated across from us were Rita W. and Evelyn F. who live in St. Leon. They touted the St. Leon dinner at the firehouse and I agreed that it was a good one. I believe that they were widows and I was impressed as to how articulate they were. They both had children and, as is true many similar circumstances, some of the kids liked living closer to town and its conveniences. Actually, St. Leon is a pretty handy location to Cincinnati and only a short distance to the I-74 exit. Evelyn discussed the placement of the sewage lines in the community and the accompanying assessment. I guess that it’s not all bad in that some of the land in the community is going for $35,000 an acre (it sounds very high to me but I must assume that it’s accurate.)
I finished things off with a slice of pineapple upside down cake, which was very good (it seems like the pies are reserved for the carry-out dinners.) When we were leaving, Whitey came up and said that he hoped I liked the meal and, if not, he was ready to make big changes in the staff (that’s right Whitey, fire the volunteers and bring in new blood – he’s a funny guy and a cheerful one too.) The tables had been mainly cleared from the first group of people and the next group was being seated. It was about 12:30.
We checked on our tickets for the $200 raffle (missed by a lot of numbers) and played the Big Six. Anne took a chance on the quilts and Edith bought a zucchini. For some reason, we didn't get a take-out mock-turtle soup. Cars were still pulling into the lot and were parking pretty far back, near the cemetery. We headed out and turned left to get a few peaches.
It’s about a mile to Biersdorfer Orchards. I’m always impressed how neat and orderly the place is. The peaches looked good but we didn’t buy a whole basketful, only a few for our cereal. I asked if it was busy because of the church festival. The lady said it was because the peaches were just starting to come in and that people call to see when they can get some. The trees were loaded with apples and they were not very tall. I’ll bet that’s how they plant orchards now to allow for more convenient picking.
I decided to give my guests a little tour. I turned left at Yorkville Road, passed the church again and drove a few miles to N. Dearborn Road and drove into St. Paul’s parking lot. They have a small school and their chicken dinner will be in early August. We then headed East and drove over the hills and through the valleys, passed the local winery and then turned North onto Route 1 and passed St. John the Baptist Church on our way to I-74.
Edith and Anne chatted away in the back seat (they sure can talk!) I heard wallpaper, painting, carpet and furniture being discussed. There’s nothing good that can come from that. When we dropped them off Anne told Bruce that he’s had his meal for the day. For being the “gentler sex”, they sure can be difficult.
I’m writing this while watching the news. The weatherman said that today’s high was 72. I think there were only two days that were 90 degrees or more so far this summer. Its okay with me.