A SIGN OF FALL Turkey dinner, bazaar bring crowds to town

By REBECCA SLOAN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
KINSMAN -- For more than 70 years, hundreds of folks from near and far have flocked to the Kinsman Presbyterian Church for its fall bazaar.
Although some people come to the bazaar to browse the trash-and-treasure sale or the craft booths, the majority turn out for the sumptuous, homemade turkey dinner.
And in this case, homemade really means homemade.
The mashed potatoes are real, the squash and corn are home-grown, and the cranberry sauce bursts with tangy chunks of apples and oranges.
No wonder people have been known to travel from as far as Columbus and Michigan for a seat at one of the church's tables.
& quot;The past few years, we have served 600 to 700 dinners, and that's a pretty big turnout for a small town like Kinsman. This event just gets more and more popular every year," said Grace Rieth, head of the church's women's association, which organizes the event.
About 75 women belong to the church's women's association. Proceeds from the bazaar benefit church mission projects.
This year's bazaar is set for Nov. 6.
The trash-and-treasure sale and the senior booth open at 11 a.m., and the various other booths, which include a craft booth, jam and jelly booth, homemade candy booth and flower booth, open at 1 p.m.
Tickets for the dinner go on sale at noon in the church sanctuary and cost $7 for adults and $3.50 for children 12 and under. Servers start dishing out meals at 2 p.m.
Reason for success
Rieth, who has been helping with the bazaar since the early 1930s when she was a teen-ager, said hard work and dedication have made the bazaar a repeated success.
"Although the women's association is in charge of this event, everyone at the church -- men and women -- gets involved in preparing for the big day and helping on the big day," Rieth said. "And there's a lot of work that goes into it, believe me. & quot;.
Church member Marge Tricker has overseen the bazaar's food preparation for the past 10 years.
"It's a lot of work. Although the turkeys are cooked at the church, most of the food is cooked at home and brought to the church the day of the bazaar. Fourteen or 15 people prepare the stuffing, and the cranberry sauce is made a few days ahead," Tricker said.
The dinner also includes coleslaw, gravy and homemade pies and cakes.
Meals are served until the food runs out.
"We usually have to stop serving because we eventually run out of food," Tricker said.
Those who don't come to the bazaar primarily to please their palates come to peruse the bazaar's various booths.
The trash-and-treasure sale is always a crowd pleaser.
Longtime church member Peggy Jones, who organizes the sale, said people donate sale items all year long.
"It's not just people from the church who donate items. It's people from all over. I accumulate stuff all year. This year my barn is full of stuff, and so is the barn at the parsonage. We get a little bit of everything. Antiques, house wares, furniture -- you name it, and we sell it at cheap prices," Jones said.
One thing not included among the items in the trash-and-treasure sale is clothing.
"We don't sell any clothing because we were getting way too much of it in the past," Jones said.
Jones and other church members start carting sale items into the church a few days before the bazaar.
"A couple of the guys get their trucks and start hauling," she said.
Changes
Rieth said the Presbyterian men have gotten more involved with the bazaar as the years have gone by.
"That's one way the event has changed," Rieth said. "Last year, the men cooked all the potatoes. & quot;
Various booths have also come and gone.
"Some of the booths have changed over the years as certain crafts have become more popular than others," Rieth said.
But one thing that hasn't changed is the meal.
"It's always been a really good, homemade turkey dinner, and it's always been the center of this event," Rieth said.
For more information about the Kinsman Presbyterian Church's annual fall bazaar, contact the church at (330) 876-4485.