Meals create social events
Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day.
Teach a man to fry fish, and he might end up going through a half ton of fish in three hours.
"We started holding fish frys in the old gym we used to have, and we were happy to get 225 dinners," said the Rev. James Murphy of St. Fidelis Catholic Church in Meridian on Friday.
"We had 1,400 people last week, and our highest ever is about 1,700."
Popular because of the Christian observation of Lent, during which Catholics — and other Christian denominations — refrain from eating meat on Fridays leading up to Easter, fish frys have taken on their own life as social gatherings and, of course, a place to get a great dinner.
No less than eight fish frys take place each Friday at churches, volunteer fire department halls and businesses around Butler County this time of year, each costing between $7 and $9 for adults and $5 for children.
"Every time I've been here (St. Fidelis) it's been good," said Ruby Strange of Prospect. "And, I don't cook fish at home, so this is much easier."
St. Fidelis served about 900 pounds of fish last week, said Father Murphy, who has led the church for 14 years.
Preparation for a fish fry starts with setting up tables and chairs Thursday night, then on Friday morning, cooks come in to start peeling potatoes and making coleslaw.
"We have about 100 volunteers. The older people really like to come here. It's like social hour for them," Murphy said.
"And about 40 of our volunteers are youth, which is very nice to see."
The first fish filets hit the six fryers between 3:15 and 3:30 p.m., which is about the same time Murphy assumes his post in the parking lot.
"It's a lot of fun (directing traffic). I enjoy it," Murphy said.
"There was nobody out here doing this for a while, but when I started, we got a few more. Sometimes the shepherd must lead his flock," he joked.
Nancy Marshall of Cabot has been a regular at St. Fidelis' fish fry since last year.
"In my opinion, they have the best fish, best service and the best setup for space," she said.
"The desserts have a lot to do with that, as well."
At Cabot United Methodist Church, Rich and Jeff James have organized a Friday fish dinner for the past dozen years, dating to the church's years in its former building.
"We started out with just a fish platter and fries. Then the next year, my brother and I decided we would take every Friday off from our business (James Refrigeration, Heating and Cooling in Sarver)," Rich James said."Our menu now is baked or deep-fried fish, coleslaw and a choice of mac-and-cheese or fresh-cut french fries or parsley potatoes. Then there is a homemade dessert and coffee or juice"Cabot United Methodist offers a chicken tender combo to adults and children who aren't fans of sea fare."We start cooking at about 1:30 p.m. We're lucky because our 6-ounce cod is already breaded for deep frying, and the 5-ounce cod is oven-ready," Rich James said.The money from the fish dinners supports church activities and mission work, he said."The first night this year, we had almost 300 people here, even with the bad snow," Rich James said."In years past, we've had up to 330 people."To serve those people, a platoon of 20 to 30 volunteers cooks, ferries food to tables and cleans up the sanctuary afterward. Cleanup only takes about an hour, James said."There's a lot of people that come in just for cleanup. We'd like to thank everyone that helps for the fish frys. We can organize it, but without the volunteers, it couldn't happen," he said."Our goal is to have fellowship, fun and safety at our fish fry. A lot of the people who help once, they keep coming back. And the people who come for the meals come back regularly."St. Mary of the Assumption in Herman has a 54-year tradition of fish dinners on Fridays during Lent."The food is just fantastic here," said Joan Miller of Cabot.Spanish rice and beans are among the menu items in Herman that can't be found elsewhere. The method of preparation also is unique."We have tried other places, and this is the best, I think, because it's pan fried," said Gary Beers of Herman."When we first started coming here years ago, we'd see people who aren't Catholic or from this parish because the food's so good."The Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company, in its fourth year of holding fish dinners to support the company's needs, also offers one thing the others don't: delivery."We are competing with a Catholic church this year, and still serving between 120 and 140 full dinners a week," said Puddie Taggart, the VFC's medical officer."For a lot of the older folks in senior centers or elsewhere, the delivery service is great."Eat-in, takeout or delivery, the station provides a baked or fried piece of fish, fries or cheesy potatoes, coleslaw, a dinner roll, drink and a variety of desserts"This year we have firefighters as well as some people from the community to help out. It's a crew of about 15 people total," Taggart said.Volunteers cook some items, like the cheesy potatoes, all day, but most of the cooking starts at 3 p.m. in the station's oven, roaster and three fryers.
