Home Made Videos From Area Chicken Dinners

Chuck Martin did a great job of producing a video for the Enquirer describing the Sunday dinner at St. Paul in New Alsace Indiana. It really gives a feel for what it's like to go to a dinner and, just as importantly, who the people are who go to and work at these churches.

When grandkids started to arrive, I bought a small video camera that I can hold in the palm of my hand. I thought to myself, why don't I try to produce videos of the dinners using my small camera? I must say that I feel like a true amateur and have much to learn about doing anything remotely close to what Chuck produced. But, I hope that I can give you some idea of the "lay of the land." at a few of the church dinners that I visit.

The videos below have been posted to the YouTube Web site. Click the arrow (maybe twice) in the center of the picture below to start the movie.

The movie uses Flash technology, which hopefully is already part of your Computer System. If not, it can be downloaded at: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/

Here's my small video camera:

Mass was being celebrated and parking around the church was pretty full, so we pulled out of the area and parked in town. It was short walk and we didn't mind at all since it was a beautiful sunny day. We found the dinner line and it took us about 30-40 minutes to get to the staging area. The dinner is held in a newer gymnasium building that is air conditioned.

The arrangement is different than any other dinner we've been to in that large round tables are used. This allows you to see everyone at your table and it makes passing food and talking to your neighbor much easier. We had grabbed our dessert when coming in and the food was waiting for us as we sat down. Everything was very good and the cole slaw had to be one of my favorites.

I wanted to see the cooking area since they seem to promote the pan-fried chicken (compared to deep-fried that most church dinners have.) The cooking area had portable gas-fired stoves and sure enough the chicken was being cooked in large pans. The pans had a generous amount of oil but the pieces had to be turned to cook both sides. I don't know if we liked it better than deep-fried, but it was very good and nice-and-juicy too. We got home in time to see the second half of the Bengals-Denver game. The loss couldn't take away from an otherwise perfect day.

The weather was perfect as we pulled off the main road, US52, just past Holy Guardian Angel Church. It was about 6:30 and there was a good crowd. The lines for carry-out and dining room seemed almost equal. It took about 45 minutes to get to the serving area. It's cafeteria style and you are served chicken, potatoes and green beans. I selected my desert as I walked into the dining area.

The large doors were open for ventilation. These are the doors that the fire trucks drive through. There were two sections that held the fireman's coats and other gear. We sat at a long table that had fresh-cut tomatoes and cole slaw. The chicken was good and we walked away feeling satisfied. We walked through the little town on the way back to the car. there was a railroad track right in the middle of things and we noticed a tavern that we later found of the list of 30 chicken dinner places in our region (we'll check it out sometime.)

We looked around the the Catholic Church some as we headed back. It's right on the main street and is pretty good sized. There is a nice looking school building in the back, but it looks like it's no longer used as for that purpose. There also is a nicely-kept cemetery behind the church. By the time we got to the car the moon was shining over the valley. Nice.

Another hot and humid weather forecast and another early arrival. This is one of the smaller dinners but one of my favorites. The church was founded in 1859, so this was their 150th. Anniversary. I turned off the main highway and turned down a country road. There were a few farmhouses and lots of soybeans and corn. And there in the middle of all the crops rises St. Pius Church. If you ever lived in the country, it feels like you're back home.

This dinner has a little different twist in that it's family-style with all the dishes on the table except the chicken. You are given a plate with a a half-chicken but it's plenty and many people ask for a plastic bag to bring the leftovers home. Everything on the table was very good and I capped it off with a moist yellow cake with fresh blueberries. Yum.

I went outside looking for Mick Braunagel. He had called me on the phone earlier and asked if there was something I could do to promote the dinner this year because of their anniversary. I found Mick by the chicken cookers. He was a sturdy-looking man who wore a cowboy hat. He has been helping fry the chicken since he was 16. Mick is close to 65 so, according to my calculations, he's been helping St. Pius for almost 50 Years. Way to go!

We're becoming "early-bird special" kind of people in that we arrived 10 minutes before the dinner started. The main reason was that after our cool summer, the weatherman said it would be 90 and humid. I stood in the sun for about 15 minutes and must say I enjoyed it because of the strong breeze blowing through the waiting area. When the line moved about 50 feet, we were under the canopy and enjoying the shade. We got inside about 11:20 and were part of the first seating, but almost at the end.

The food soon arrived and I was happy to see that they had both slaw and cucumber salad. Edith's favorite was the slaw and I loaded up on the cucumbers. I spotted their famous dressing (it's the greatest) and the dark gravy and knew what would dominate my plate. Everything was great as usual and it's served family-style..

There was a couple at the end of the table who live in Yorkville who were the nicest people. They put us to shame as to the number of dinners they attended this year. Edith told the lady that there was a site that listed these dinners and it might help them in finding out about the places and times. The lady politely said that they use a Web site called ThinkingChicken for their information. And now they can say they know the "Chicken Man." That and $1.50 might get you a cup of coffee (or maybe a chicken leg.)

It was a beautiful summer day with low humidity. We arrived at around 1 pm and had a short wait of less than 15 minutes before we were called in and seated. The gym is large and air-conditioned and likely seats around 450 for the dinner. And the place was full. I seem to recall that St. John serves over 5,000 dinners. That's a lot.

The food was great. I enjoy the fresh things this time of year and looked forward to the fresh corn cut from the cob. I forgot about the cucumber salad, which is so, so good. The chicken was delicious and I finally capped things off with a slice of rhubarb pie. The servers were great and when we asked for something, such as more dark meat, they brought it quickly. It's unusual to find churches "in town" that will go to all the commotion of preparing a family-style dinner in this day-and-age, especially when many moms are working outside the home. Good for you.

We arrived early, around 10:15. I had called a few weeks ago to make reservations for the 10:45 seating and also sent in a check (I believe that this assures that they will not give up your ticket if you're a little late.) The weather was very nice and it likely heated up some in the afternoon. Last year Edith won a "baby's quilt." She took some chances this year using the money her Mom sent along, not thinking she would win again (lots of tickets are sold.)

We were waiting in line for the dinner and I walked over to the booth and saw that they had drawn the ticket. I gave her the number and she was up like a shot -- she won again and since it was early, Edith could pick from a full selection. She had to call her Mom right away with the news.

Waiting in line, we talked to the nicest people who lived on Powner Rd. in Mack, sharing some Elder stories since their boys went to the same school as ours. We were separated inside and sat with a large group of brothers and sisters from the parish. They were great and since we were kind of squeezed in at the end of the table, they made sure that we were passed whatever needed. Everything was very good and Edith was able to snag a slice of pineapple upside-down cake for me. I was a happy man.