When the serving line opens at 11 a.m. Sunday, it will mark nearly 60 years that Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Dexter has served traditional Thanksgiving dinners to the Dexter community.
Dinners as a fundraiser, though, began almost 70 years ago when the growing young church desperately needed a new facility.
Sacred Heart parish was established in 1889 as a mission of the Poplar Bluff parish. Settlers met in their homes for nearly 10 years, until two lots of land were purchased and a small white frame church was built.
The parish grew and in 1949, the Rev. Raymond P. Slay was appointed as the first resident priest. Upon his arrival, Fr. Slay quickly realized that the parish had outgrown the tiny wooden structure, and began a vigorous campaign to raise funds to build a new facility.
"At that time, we were still in the St. Louis Diocese," says long-time member Doran Vancil, "and Fr. Slay had money contacts in St. Louis."
Those contacts pledged to match dollar-for-dollar any funds raised by the Dexter parish. Monthly dinners were one of many strategies employed by the enthusiastic priest.
The little church was nothing more than a room to worship. There was no kitchen, no serving hall, not even restrooms. How did they prepare and serve monthly dinners?
"They cooked and served at the armory," says Vancil, "which at that time was located just a few blocks from the church."
Irene Huey, another long-time parishioner, remembers that there were two different committees in charge of the dinners. "That way," she says, "the duties were rotated."
The tables, chairs, dishes and serving utensils were stored at the home of parishioner Louis Mayer.
"I was just a kid back then," says Catherine Bockhold, "but I remember my parents talking about transporting all those items back and forth every month."
The new church and hall were dedicated in 1954, and the monthly dinners were now prepared and served on site. The monthly dinners continued throughout the 1950s.
The mortgage, which those dinners helped to pay, was burned in the early 1960s, and that is probably when the monthly dinners transitioned to a yearly Thanksgiving-themed event.
In the early days, the dinner was advertised as a fall bazaar. In addition to the dinner, there were crafts and baked goods for sale, and small carnival-type games for amusement,
"Looking back," observes Vancil, "it's amazing what we were able to do with the limited kitchen space we had."
He remembers that Ed and Dorothy Vandeven raised the sweet potatoes and prepared them, then they were baked in various homes. The dressing was mixed in the kitchen, but then it, too, would go to individual homes to be baked. "For years Martha Guethle was in charge of dressing," he adds.
"I remember going with Mom to the day-old bread store," says Bockhold. "Then the bread would be spread out on the kitchen counters to dry out in the days before the dressing was made."
Vancil says various parish members, or families, assumed duties of mashing potatoes, making gravy, cooking green beans, and preparing cole slaw.
"In those days we served salads, too, so all the ladies brought Jello salads, as well as their homemade pies," Vancil says.
As the yearly dinner grew in popularity, the once "large" hall space was no longer adequate, and the small kitchen much too undersized for the crowds that were served. The bazaar feature was discontinued to allow for more seating and serving room.
By the mid-1980s the parish once again faced the need to expand. In 1988, a new 8,000-square-foot parish center complex was added. The center, with its spacious kitchen, gym and meeting room provided space for drive-thru/carry out to be added to the serving options.
The drive-thru is very popular, with cars lining up in the alley as early as 9:30 or 10 a.m. in anticipation of the 11 a.m. serving time. Children from the parish provide "car hop" service as automobiles inch their way down the alley past the serving door.
Mary Ann Taylor serves as the turkey dinner coordinator -- a position she has held for several years. Taylor says she generally starts the preliminary planning in August, and orders the tickets and turkeys by the first of September.
Taylor says as coordinator, her focus is to make sure all crews have the proper tools and supplies to do their job. She explains that she knows what goes on during each shift, but that most crews have veteran members who take charge and see that things run efficiently.
It takes a concerted effort by Taylor and the countless parishioners who volunteer their time, to make this event successful.
"We have community help, too," says Taylor.
For several years the church used the kitchen at one of the schools to prepare the dressing; however, in recent years that has not been an option.
"Our friends at First Baptist Church generously loan us the use of their kitchen on Saturday and Sunday morning. Without their help, we just couldn't continue to do it," Taylor observes.
Last year, around 1,050 people were served between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. According to Taylor, more than half of that number was in the drive-thru and inside carry-out.
Taylor's grocery list for the turkey dinner includes 30 whole turkeys, 16 turkey breasts, 285 pounds of ham, 300 pounds of potatoes and 100 loaves of bread for the dressing. Then there are green beans, cranberry sauce, cole slaw, sweet potatoes and rolls.
Each family of the parish is asked to supply two homemade pies for dessert.
Tickets for the dinner are $10 for adults and $5 for children aged 6-10. Children under 6 are free. Drive-thru and carry outs require an adult ticket. Tickets are not necessary to eat, though, and diners may pay at the door, as well.
Proceeds from the dinner go to the local Parish Council of Catholic Women (PCCW). Those monies are used for kitchen improvements and supplies; youth activities; servers' gifts; women's activities; and community donations.
"Last year we were able to donate $5,000 toward the purchase of a property adjacent to the parish," Taylor added.
The annual dinner has come to be identified as the unofficial kickoff to Dexter's holiday shopping campaign.
"Several years ago," says Corner Cottage owner Kim Williams, "merchants decided to capitalize on the turkey dinner crowd, and began holding Christmas open house on that Sunday."
The event is now called Fall into Christmas, and is timed to coordinate with the serving time of the dinner.
"We used to begin at 1, when the dinner ended," explains Williams, "but people who ate at 11 complained that they had to wait to shop, or they simply went home and skipped the open house event. Now, we begin at noon and go until 5."
Festivities don't end at 5 p.m., however. Williams says that the Dexter Visitors Center Depot and Museum will be the scene for a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at 5:30. Refreshments of cookies and hot chocolate will be served and holiday entertainment will be provided by a quartet from Mary Ruth Boone's Showstoppers performance troupe.
A full afternoon of holiday activities begins at 11 a.m. Sunday, when serving begins at the annual turkey dinner at Sacred Heart Church. It is doubtful those parishioners who began the monthly fundraising dinners nearly 70 years ago, had any idea their humble efforts would evolve into the much-anticipated community tradition that it has become today.