My activities today were reminiscent of times past when I spent quite a few hours in the kitchen getting ready to feed a group.
Long about 1989 the county accountant, Perry Shroeder, proposed a what if to me. The employees owned the pop machine in the courthouse and the resources were getting substantial. What if we put on a noon luncheon for all the county employees. I was game to do it.
After we had agreed on a date, Perry arranged for the county garage to be cleared out and swept out during a time from eleven to one. The library, county highway shop, human service crew all had fluctuating noon hours.The garage was a stone’s throw from the courthouse. The custodial department volunteered to get the tables and seating arranged.
We have a wonderful Chinese restaurant in town. I visited with Kun Hung and he said he would take care of everything and bring the food. We agreed on the price per person. I mentioned to him we could have plenty of crock pots on hand to keep the variety of rice hot. Kun’s response was memorable . . . “No, no. No crockka pots.” Kun arrived with the portable steam ovens. The first employee noon lunch was a huge success. It was wonderful for employees to visit with each other from other departments. All we had in common to that point was that our W2 forms came from the same place. That was the first of many total county employee noon meals.
Perry and I tried to involve more people to ramrod the meals but it didn’t pan out. One instance that I recall was that someone from the courts volunteered to bring the sauerkraut for the grilled link brats. It was enough for maybe eight people and we were set up for 90 people. A dash to the grocery store and a visit to the extension’s kitchen saved our butts. That did the buddy thing for the events. If I did it on my own, I knew there would be no panic at the designate date or time.
Perry and I took care of the noon lunches until I retired in 1999. We did one hell of a blow out once each summer. It made for great camaraderie and great memories. Ten summers of people getting together. Priceless.
Today I was in my totally cleaned kitchen and prepared food for a family gathering tomorrow. It is the family of my father’s family of eight siblings. It is the Wendlandt family. There is one of the originals left . . . Aunt Janet at age 88. It is so special to me that Carrie’s and Kevin’s will be there. That was all I needed to be aware of and I volunteered to bring enough of the pass around dishes for all of us. How could I not! I made sure that family favorites were prepared.
It’s just about supper time and I am totally ready with the food, the list, and the mode of transportation for the food. It will be about a 75-80 mile trip and the food needs to arrive in good stead. This is the peace that passes all understanding. One sad note is that Mom’s family picked the same date for the Riebe family gathering. It was first come first serve. Perhaps the next one Dennis and I will be able to attend.
