What began in the early morning hours Thanksgiving Day concluded late that evening as the 85th annual Thanksgiving Bazaar was held at St. Boniface Gymnasium.
Workers started early in the morning frying the sausage which had been made weeks earlier using a recipe that has been handed down through the years.
Parish families began arriving soon after sunrise with homemade pies, or to just lend a hand doing what needed to be done so food could be ready to serve at 11 a.m.
When the first tickets were taken and the line began to move forward, ticket-goers were treated to a fantastic dinner consisting of turkey/dressing, sausage, potatoes/gravy, sauerkraut/ribs, corn, cranberry and jello salads, dinner rolls, homemade pie, coffee and water. As has been the case in past years, the dressing was made from the same recipe used for the first bazaar 85 years ago.
The line was steady throughout the first 2 1/2 hours as tables inside the gymnasium remained full.
Towards the last half-hour of the afternoon session, only then did the line shorten.
After a break from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., the line was again open for lunch.
Church Secretary Michele Reicks said the numbers were very close to one year ago.
“We served 1207 dinners and 93 carry-outs for a total of 1,300 noon meals (Which was 8 more than last year),” she said. “In the evening we served 450 (which was 75 less than last year).”
The total was 1750 meals for the day (67 less than last year).
Just how much food goes into feeding the masses at an event like Elgin’s Thanksgiving Bazaar? Here’s a breakdown of the food served this year:
• 40 Turkeys.
• 17 batches of dressing.
• 1,861 pieces of pie.
• 27 gallons of sauerkraut.
• 12 gallons of Jello salad.
• 15 gallons of cranberries.
• 34 gallons of corn.
• 1,350 Dinner rolls,
• 565 pounds of ring sausage and 65 pounds of patties.
Grand Prize winners for the raffle were Harold & Joyce Anderson of Bellevue. They won the Dell Computer.
The St. Boniface Quilter’s quilt was won by John Harrison of Missouri.
