What Did You Say? 800 Apple Dumplings?

Why is there a picture of my shoes?

I will tell you.

My mom contacted me a couple weeks ago and asked if I would be interested in helping the United Methodist Church in Stryker, Ohio make apple dumplings.

"How many apple dumplings are you talking?" I asked

My mom said, "Well, (and she kind of held onto the word well for a while) last year we made over 1,000."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!" (and I held onto the word serious for a while)

So, as I was getting myself ready today for a full day of apple dumpling making, my first thought was comfortability. If I am going to be on my feet most of the day I want to wear something comfortable on my feet. I chose slippers.

Also the thought of sticky apple juice, sugar, flour, and shortening went through my mind.

Did you notice how clean they are before I leave the house?
20 bushels of apples.....

And I'm saying again, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?"
This is my first year helping with the apple dumplings, and the fourth year for the church preparing them.

This church congregation really knows what they are doing.

That is April Sloan in the kitchen cooking up the sauce that is poured onto the apple dumplings before baking.

They offer the customers their choice of baked or unbaked. The sauce is being created for the baked orders.
When I said the congregation knows what they are doing, that's what I meant.

They had an assembly line starting with the dough ingredients right down to the packaging and labeling.

Two tables for dough ingredients, then passed on to two tables of dough mixers and cutters, three tables of apple peelers, dough rollers, and apple wrappers, one table for dry ingredient bagging, and three tables for the packaging, labeling, storing, and shipping.

So each station was a department.

Mary Lou Barnum in the picture above was in the dough ingredient department. She measured the flour, baking powder, salt, and shortening.

Way to go Mary Lou!!

Helen Bell was working in the dough cutting department. She cut in the shortening, and then cut the dough into squares for the apple wrappers.

Awesome job Helen, awesome job.

Bob Luke in the background with the bucket was an apple peeler.

The next four pictures are of the apple peelers, dough rollers, and apple wrappers (kind of sounds like a rock band, huh?)

Well, let me tell you, this church was rock'n alright.

We threw out (no, no, produced) over 800 dumplings today....HANDS IN THE AIR, HANDS IN THE AIR...

WOOP, WOOP!!

In this picture is Bev Wheeler, Rena Garber, and Carol Sloan.

Great work ladies!!
In this picture is Midge Clark (and I'll have you know, she is 92 years young), Helen Grisier, Carol Sloan, Arlen Horton, Maria Cruz, Jack Kroa, Rena Garber, Gene Garber, and Bev Wheeler.
This picture holds the hard workers of Nancy Woodcox, Cliff Weigle, Susie Smith, and Maria Cruz.

And that right there folks is my beautiful mother, Mary Luke working along side of Kenny Bell.

I would have missed out on this great experience if my mother wouldn't have invited me.

One of my favorite books in the Bible is Psalm. "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"
Psalm 133:1

And that is exactly what we did today.

This is Gene Garber. He was the go between from the wrapped apples to the shipping department. He would load up his utility cart with foil pans of apple dumplings and make sure they were delivered to the packaging and shipping department.

He was so full of energy, he made me tired just watching him.

Bob Clark (93 years young) and Dan Short were in charge of the bagging spices department.

They packaged the ingredients that get put in the unbaked orders.

This is Vernon Sloan. He worked in the labeling and shipping department.

The bagging spices department and shipping department is where all the orders came from.

When I say orders I mean, "HURRY UP!!", "A LITTLE FASTER WITH THE APPLES!!", "IF YOU GO ANY SLOWER YOU ARE GOING TO GET LAID OFF!!" That type of orders, with the instigating help of Ken Culler who missed the photo....Where did you disappear to Ken?

All in fun though, all in fun.

What a great day to be able to congregate and have loads of fun.
This is the shipping department.

That's a whole lot of apple dumplings there, and they still aren't done.

Sunday they have make 600+ more.
This is at the end of our apple dumpling assembly day.

WHAT A MESS!!

Would I do it all again?

I sure would!!

I spent the day with some amazing people and had loads and loads of fun.
Ah, back to my shoes.

They are not clean anymore.

It looks like I spent the day making 800+ apple dumplings.

If you ever get the opportunity to congregate with great people, a great church, and be creative, do not pass it up. One thing our world is lacking today is the joy of congregation.

Live Large~Love Much~Laugh Often