Gristmill bakers club educates McConnells Mill visitors
SLIPPERY ROCK TWP, LAWRENCE COUNTY — Although it has been decades since the grist mill at McConnells Mill State Park churned, making grain into flour for bread making purposes, a group of bakers still keep that part of the park’s history alive.
The Gristmill and Dutch Oven Bakers is a group founded around 2009 by Stan Malecki, with the goal of showing park visitors what the gristmill was used for before it was a landmark in a state park. On Sunday, Sept. 1, members of the informal group set up outside the mill with different types of grains, a grinder, bread and even pizza, so people, particularly children, could understand how the mill made bread from grain.
Malecki said education has always been the priority for the group, but he wants to make it fun for people to experience.
“This is how men used to do things, make bread from grain,” Malecki said. “The kids, they have to see how it is because a lot of them don’t know where their food comes from.”
The Gristmill and Dutch Oven Bakers set up their stands at McConnells Mill every Sunday, and members of the group will be present for demonstrations at McConnells Mill Heritage Festival the weekend of Sept. 28. Some volunteers at the park demonstrate the use of a grinder, while others offer samples of the products made from grain.
The offerings of the group on Sundays depends on the people who set up there, because everyone has a different specialty. Cathryn Crego, one of the Gristmill Bakers at McConnells Mill, said the group is a good community for people who enjoy baking.
“If you like to bake, this is where you come,” said Crego, who has been a volunteer at the park for about two years. “We use the grain to make flour and then bread.”
Other people who volunteer for the park, like John Chos, enjoy giving tours of the mill and explaining to people how its different parts work. Simon said anyone can volunteer in the gristmill, it just takes a little training from the park’s staff.
Chos, who has volunteered at the gristmill for about four years, said he also learns from people who visit the mill on his watch.
“Last week I had a woman from South Africa, and she explained how they do it in their country,” Chos said.
With summer winding down, the gristmill will go from being open five days to four, but the Gristmill and Dutch Oven Bakers will still be present every Sunday through the end of September. The end of the summer season did not stop Glen Kramer from volunteering for the first time Sunday, alongside his grandson, Collins Kramer. Kramer said he wanted to get more involved with volunteering since retiring last month, and lauded the experience he had at McConnells Mill on Sunday.
“It was a great time,” Kramer said. “It’s a beautiful day and I was glad to do it.”
