The Doughnuts are as Good as Ever

Another story from the past.
By Florence Schlegel, of East Zorra Mennonite Church

"In February of 1967, our local WMSC received a letter from the sale committee listing a variety of projects that our group could choose from to get involved with. "Have your pick," was the invitation. Our response was a definite, "Not the yeast doughnuts!"

But guess what - East Zorra, Tavistock and Cassel churches have been involved in yeast doughnuts for fifty years now! The personnel have changed, but the doughnuts are still as good as ever!

For the first sale in 1967, I remember that Rosetta Bender and I made the dough in our kitchen on the farm. When one (large!) batch was ready, we'd head off to the fair grounds in New Hamburg, with several pans of dough in the back seat of the car. Then back to the farm to make another batch. Back and forth..... We had a hundred pounds of flour to start with and in a while we decided we needed more. Someone went uptown to Murray's in New Hamburg for twenty-five more pounds.

The doughnuts were fried in electric pans at that first sale. There were a lot of electric cords about! Someone tripped and spilled a pan of hot oil! Thankfully no one was injured, just scared.

The committee had suggested that we wear sunbonnets - for looks, I guess - but we soon took them off. It was just too hot with them on!

We were a very tired group by late afternoon!

I wonder how many doughnuts we've made over the fifty sales!"