KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – On Saturday, Oct. 22, Kelseyville Presbyterian Church will welcome the community to its annual Harvest Dinner.
Many churches and organizations hold dinners in the fall, to commemorate the season, or as a fundraiser. This one is both, but has a history dating back to the 1920s.
Back then, the congregation needed money to build a church. That’s when the ladies got busy.
They offered to put on a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, and to charge $2.50 a plate, quite an exorbitant amount of money during the Depression. People turned out in large numbers, knowing they were investing in much more than a dinner.
Money was raised over a period of time, with a goodly portion coming from those harvest dinners, and eventually, a fine brick church was built.
The determined Presbyterian women kept on giving their dinners. There was a basement under the current Friendship Hall which was often quite damp and even prone to standing water in wet weather.
The kitchen was ill-equipped and the plumbing left a lot to be desired, but each fall, the ladies continued to turn out their delicious dinner. The price was then $5 per person, but as before, the congregation and the community wouldn’t think of missing the yearly feast.
The ladies stuffed and roasted the turkeys and made the gravy at their homes and brought them to church in portable roaster to keep them hot.
If you didn’t roast a turkey, you baked a pie, cooked green beans, prepared mashed potatoes or salad, or fixed relish plates. Others, with the help of the men, set up the tables and decorated them in the harvest theme. The men did the carving. It was served family style with the youth of the church doing the serving. Many, as is still the case today, pitched in on clean-up.
In the mid-1950s a new church was built and Friendship Hall was added. It had a real kitchen, with real ovens where the food could be prepared and served on-site.
The Harvest Dinner has continued with very few changes over the years. It is still a group effort for the ladies of the congregation, and the menu has been consistent and delicious.
The proceeds still go to aid in the maintenance and upkeep of the beautiful church and buildings.
Join the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church this year as they honor the history of this dinner and the community.
The dinner takes place from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
The cost is $13 per person and includes a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, a beverage and dessert. Children under 12 may eat for just $7 each.
Bring along your friends and reserve a table of six. Buy five tickets and the sixth is free.
Reservations are strongly suggested, and can be obtained by calling 707-279-1104, or stopping by the church office at 5340 Third St., from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Julie Berry is the administrative assistant for the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church.