Bazaars announce beginning of holiday season
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
POLSON — Thanksgiving is a couple of weeks away, but the holiday season has already started in Polson. Some local churches host bazaars and serve lunches as a fundraiser for the church. The events herald the beginning of the holidays for local folks and visitors.
Not only are there homemade treats and unique gifts to purchase, but the money raised benefits local churches and some local non-profit organizations.
The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church kicked off the bazaar season with their Swedish meatball dinner on Oct. 21. People wait all year to get a taste of homemade Swedish meatballs and lefse with all the trimmings. Church members peeled 120 pounds of potatoes for the dinner. On the day of the dinner, they made 100 pounds of meatballs.
Linda Knutson and Jean Kvande laughed when they were asked how long the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church congregation has been holding the Scandinavian dinner.
“We were just talking about that today,” Knutson explained.
The ladies decided the Swedish meatball dinner had been an annual fixture since about 1987. Kvande said she started volunteering at the event in 1998 or 1999.
Turnage said they fed about 255 people at $7 a plate. The proceeds go to Helping Hands and some will be used for scholarships to church camp for kids.
An emergency needs program, Helping Hands is a project of the Polson Ministerial Association and is supported by churches, community organizations, small grants and fundraisers.
“We help with food, shelter, propane, rent, utilities, bus tickets and lodging,” Linda Greenwood, administrator for Helping Hands said.
The Polson Presbyterian Church women haven’t decided what to do with the money raised on Election Day, the traditional day for their pasty lunch. Pastor Dave Anson believes the pasty making began in the 70s. The church is a convenient lunch spot for voters since it’s located right across the street from Linderman School, the polling place for several precincts.
The church members have pasty making parties, Marsha Anson, pasty maker and pastor’s wife said.
Not only do they sell lunches they also sell frozen pasties for people to take home and bake.
The people who make the filling make it the day before because it has to sit overnight, then they make the dough, roll it out, fill it and freeze the pasties.
Apple dumpling lovers check their calendars for the United Methodist Women’s bazaar and lunch. The year it was held on Nov. 5. In addition to their homemade dumplings, the UMW offered turkey and turkey chutney sandwiches and a choice of vegetable beef or potato soup. Sheila Lake donated the potatoes for the soup.
Dumpling day was Oct. 19 according to Betty Thomas, UMW member. That’s the day the cooks met at the church to make flakey pastry for the dumplings and peel, core, slice and use just the right amount of sugar and spice.
“Paul and Shirley Gochis always furnish the apples,” Thomas said.
Crafty church members donate quilted, crocheted and other items to the bazaar, and the funds raised go to church activities and community and national missions, such as the Blackfeet Parish.
The Blackfeet Parish includes churches in Babb, Heart Butte and Browning. Local organizations to benefit include Share the Spirit and DOVES.
Barbara Medland said the UMW have been doing the bazaar about 30 years and before that they raised money with a smorgasbord.
The Parish Council of Catholic Women also held their apple festival on Nov. 5. Kitt Adams, PCCW president, said the women got together and made 205 big apples pies from scratch to sell at the bazaar. They also serve lunch with homemade pies.
The apple festival is held in the basement of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, and the PCCW give vendors a chance to display their Christmas goods at $10 a table. However, Adams said if they don’t make a lot of money the PCCW waives their fee.
This year the money raised by the PCCW will pay for summer camp for kids at Legendary Lodge in the Swan, extending the cabinets in the community room as well as buying a freezer for the parish kitchen.
Adams said the apple festival monies also go toward food for funeral luncheons provided by the PCCW.
Amanda Harrod and Ethan Buffington are two of many kids who have been sponsored for church camp.
Harrod said it was a life- changing experience. Everybody was friendly and nice. The kids went canoeing, and played capture the flag at the beautiful Legendary Lodge.
So local people attending bazaars, eating homemade food and purchasing gifts can feel good about their money benefiting the community.
