30. History of Turkey Suppers at Mt. Pleasant UMC by Wanda and Earl Keller

In the mid 1940’s, the members of the Women’s Society for Christian Service (WSCS) made plans to hold turkey suppers at Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church. The suppers were to be held the first Wednesday in October and were open to the public by the sale of tickets. The menu consisted of roast turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, sauerkraut, coleslaw, rolls, butter, coffee, tea and pie for desert. The turkeys were prepared by members of the church and the remainder of the food was prepared at the church.

This endeavor met with great success and a lot of hard work. We had only the church and no kitchen to prepare and cook the food and wash the dishes. To make serving the supper possible, all the pews had to be removed from the sanctuary and stored in two different locations in the neighborhood. Following that, tables were set up in the sanctuary to seat and serve our guests. The next situation to be solved was how and where to cook the food and wash the dishes. The men took care of this problem on the outside of the church by installing a canopy over the area where the food was prepared on kerosene stoves. Water was carried in and heated on the stoves for dish washing. The prepared food for serving our guests was passed through the open church windows. Following the supper, the pews were returned and placed in the sanctuary.

The suppers were held in the sanctuary until 1953, when an all-purpose hall with a kitchen was completed and then the preparation and serving the suppers was moved to the hall. Shortly after, it was agreed to hold the suppers on the first Saturday night in October. After a few years, it was decided to hold a supper in the spring, usually in early April.

Now in 2010 we are still successfully having two suppers each year, and hopefully will do so for many years to come.