Hard to argue with 45 years of spaghetti dinners
From that simple beginning 45 years ago, the cooks hang onto their yellowed and tattered copy of the recipe, making it the same way every year.
Members of Dundee United Methodist Church are busy putting together the church’s 45th annual spaghetti dinner, coming up Saturday, Nov. 11 from 4-6:30 p.m. The dinner helps raise money to cover expenses for the congregation’s holiday mission activity.
It was 1978 when the idea for the dinner began, said Mary Maurer, a longtime organizer of the event. “The Ladies Aid group got together then and decided to have this spaghetti dinner in November and to make it an annual event. We’ve been doing it ever since. It was just that simple.”
The recipe for the sauce has remained unchanged over all that time, Maurer said. “It came from the Dundee Church cookbook from that time. I think the cookbook had just come out. Several of the ladies took that recipe and made the sauce, and that’s how we still do it.”
Five people from the church cook up big batches of the sauce, then blend it all together for the day of the dinner. “It simmers all day for hours,” Maurer said. “That’s why it has such a great flavor.”
The recipe is a little unusual, calling for minute amounts of herbs, green peppers and no garlic. It is hard to argue with 45 years of successful spaghetti dinners, and Maurer said the meal is always popular.
“We usually serve about 150-175 dinners. We make up about 15 gallons of sauce. You have to for so many people,” Maurer said.
From that simple beginning 45 years ago, the cooks hang onto their yellowed and tattered copy of the recipe, making it the same way every year.
The dinner includes spaghetti with the famous sauce, homemade applesauce, bread and cupcakes for dessert, with coffee and punch available to drink. The dinner is served for a freewill offering. Carryout also is available that day.
Dundee UMC and many other churches worldwide participate in Samaritan’s Purse, which fills shoeboxes with gifts that are shipped around the world. The spaghetti dinner is the chief fundraiser for this holiday activity, Maurer said. “It helps cover the cost of doing that, and of postage.”
Dundee United Methodist Church is at 6764 OH-93 in Dundee. The church office can be called at 330-852-1324. The congregation website is at www.umcdundee.org.