Like many other things from the early days, the Methodist Men’s Ground Hog Supper, long a special event in the community of Hooker and the surrounding area, came west. What we have come to know as the annual Ground Hog Supper, came west with the Earl Blackwelder family from the small south central Kansas town of Isabel, located southeast of Pratt.
Mr. Blackwelder and his wife Gertrude were members of the Isabel Methodist Church. The church had an established practice of hosting an annual Ground Hog Supper. Reportedly, many of the Ground Hog Suppers in a wide region of the country are traceable to the Isabel church.
When the Blackwelders came west to the Hooker, OK area in 1928, along with their household goods and other possessions, they brought the Tradition of the Ground Hog Supper. I am told the first event known as a Ground Hog Supper was held, in 1928 and it was primarily a church get-together. The following year the men of the church started the supper as a fund-raising effort and the rest as they say is history. It is said that the supper at what was then the Methodist Church has continued non-stop since that time, missing only a year or two during WW2. The tradition continues as of this writing.
Hooker’s Ground Hog Supper may in fact be the oldest.
Albert and Carolyn Blackwelder shared a story about the Isabel Church actually providing some funding to get the Ground Hog Supper going in Hooker. No word on whether that was a donation, or a loan and if a loan, was the amount repaid, but it illustrates how the men of the two churches, separated by some distance, worked together.
Originally, the Ground Hog Supper utilized locally grown hogs that were butchered and processed by men from the local church. Gail (Blackwelder) Phelps recalls as a little girl some of the butchering and processing being done at the Blackwelder farm and vividly remembers her assigned task of helping scrape hair from the scalded carcasses.
There are stories that have some of the early butchering and processing being done behind the old Ideal Food Store. That building now vacant is known as the Hacker building. In later years the butchering was done at the Louis Rapp farm, the John Kerr farm and at Charlie Butler’s place in the country. Much of the processing of the meat, making the sausage, picking the meat off the ribs to go with the sauerkraut, etc. continued to be done in the church basement.
Part of the tradition was Dorthea Kerr’s cinnamon rolls.
Some years ago, it became unfeasible for the men of the church to butcher and process the hogs as fewer and fewer men from the church could take time away from their jobs and fewer still possessed the knowledge and skill of butchering and process a hog. The Methodist Men had discussions of whether to continue the tradition or not. Jim Sarchet relates how he felt strongly it should continue, and that was the consensus. At that time, hogs were purchased locally and taken to area meat processors to be butchered and cut up, and the sausage prepared. Eventually, the meat was simply purchased from Seaboard in Guymon.
Over these many decades, the Ground Hog Supper, in addition to providing funds for the many worthy causes supported by the Methodist Men, has provided a rewarding time of fellowship both for those working and those dining. Many who are not regular church attenders or maybe not members at all, contribute their time and efforts working at the Ground Hog Supper. Gayle (Blackwelder) Phelps, a member of another church, says she likes helping because of the knowledge it was her Grandad who started it all and she enjoys remembering the family connection.
For the last several years Chairman John Lambley (Known as Mr. Ground Hog) has done great job distributing flyers over a very wide area and using local radio stations to get the word out. Many who come to enjoy the food and fellowship travel from as far away as Liberal, Guymon, some traveling even further.
There may be a list somewhere of all the men who have served in the capacity of General Chairman, but this writer was unable to locate it. In addition to Lambley, the committee has been chaired at different times by Charlie Butler, Justin Rose, Jim Sarchet, Gary Gilpin and Jim Rapp. I am sure there are others who are not known to me.
To make the annual event successful requires the efforts of many folks. There is the “Arrangements Committee” without which none of this could happen. These men set up and connect all the gas burners in the kitchen and get all the items that are used in cooking the supper in operation.
None of the cooking infrastructure, burners, piping, etc. remains in the kitchen for normal day-to-day operation, so this requires a lot of effort and know-how about how and where burners are placed and connected to gas or electricity lines. Much of the knowing how this goes comes from knowing how it was done last year, the year before that, and the year before that, and on and on.
You could almost think of this in Biblical terms, many of the Ground Hog Supper’s operations and traditions are passed down verbally from year to year, or maybe even generation to generation, from one person to another, nothing to my knowledge, except for some duty assignment lists is written down. If you wanted to know how something was done, you’d have to talk to someone who has done it. Many of the procedures relate to the way food was processed, prepared and cooked in generations gone by and could soon be lost. This is part of what makes the Ground Hog Supper a special event.
The “Dishwashers” are obviously an important committee as well and critical as their name implies. The meals for several years have been served on paper/Styrofoam plates with Styrofoam boxes for take-outs. But the rest of the meal preparation involves dishes, pans, skillets, etc that all require washing. It is a large and thankless job.
There is the “Liver and Onions” committee, headed for many years by Loren Rapp. There is a “Gravy” committee. The Gravy Committee is famous for doing its mysterious work in a small, dimly lit closet. It is said that Justin Rose and Rick Wayman are the only ones who know the recipe for the gravy and are sworn not to reveal it to anyone else.
There is an “Ice Cream” committee for the serving of the traditional dessert. And of course, there are always the homemade pies and cakes. It’s always interesting to watch some diners look at the large table of desserts trying to make their choice. I have observed over the years, certain diners casting a glance around and then taking two or maybe just coming back for what was their second choice.
One of the writer’s favorite committees is the “Biscuit Committee” most recently headed up by Ruthie Boyles and helped in the past by Eldena Martens and others. I’ve never made biscuits, but I do mightily enjoy this committee’s work. There is no better eatin’ than a homemade biscuit fresh out of the oven sliced open with a freshly cooked sausage patty resting between the biscuit halves. Its just one of the advantages of working in the kitchen!
Of course, the tables have to be set up and taken down and there is a committee for that, and there is a committee for the “Oleo, Crisco, and Jelly,” one for “Applesauce” which is still made by hand. Additional committees include, “Sauerkraut and Ribs,” “Potatoes,” and of course the more mundane things such as “Finance,” “Publicity,” and in recent years, “Takeout and Delivery,” and we cannot forget “Cleanup.”
This bill of committees, or modifications of it, and work assignments have worked well for many decades and I’m certain it will work for several more. There are always the unsung heroes whose names may not appear on any of the lists, but they just show up and work whenever and wherever they are needed. Many times, those who are done with their assignment pitch in and help in other areas. This is very much an equal opportunity event.
One of the big changes over the years is, as alluded to earlier, is that in the beginning the meal and its preparation required most of a week and was done in a time that was not busy for most of the local farmers and their families who made up the church’s congregation. As times have changed, there are fewer and fewer farmers and the ones that remain are usually busy year-round. The remaining men of the congregation work at eight to five jobs which do not easily lend themselves to consecutive days off to work at or manage a church charity supper. But the tradition manages to still go on.
Another change is the number of takeout meals. You maybe wouldn’t realize it, but it requires a lot of effort to manage and fill the call-in requests. The phone needs to be answered, plates need to be filled as ordered, and they need to be delivered to the correct homes. Initially, I’m sure; the takeout concept was conceived for shut-ins, those who were unable to come to the church and down the stairs to the basement. But the take-out service has become increasingly popular with many calling in orders for their family’s evening meal and stopping to pick them up on their way home. Some have come to dine-in and enjoy the fellowship, then take a to-go dinner for someone who can’t make it.
The youth of the church find themselves busy working in the takeout line and helping with deliveries.
I’m sure the success of the Ground Hog Supper and its evolution could be a study for a business school somewhere. Using a largely untrained and volunteer work force and sometimes looking like no one is in charge, it all seems to work exceedingly well.
I wonder what Mr. Blackwelder and the folks at the Isabel Church would think of what they started.
HOOKER HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETING
1.25.24
Sheila Blankenship, Secretary The Hooker Historical Society
Members of the Hooker Historical Society met Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024 at the Senior Citizens’ Center in downtown Hooker to hear the history of the Hooker Methodist/Wesleyan Church Ground Hog Supper from Don Ukens. Present were Jim Rapp, Janet Eggleston, Janelle Eggleston, Beverly Beeman, Don Ukens, Joyce Ukens Patsy Fischer, Austin Roybal and Sheila Blankenship.
With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, Don opened the discussion by talking about how he and Joyce met and about their wedding which started other stories about how couples met and married. He also offered entertaining information about Robert Burns’ birthday, Jan. 25 and the main dish of his annual memorial meal, haggis. Don noted that while we were talking about the Ground Hog Supper, thousands of miles away, people in Scotland were sitting down to a different traditional supper.
He admitted that when he had publicized that the local supper is the oldest one in the area, he didn’t really believe it but that after researching, he believes Hooker does have the oldest Ground Hog Supper in the area. Earl and Gertrude Blackwelder brought the tradition from Isabel, Kan. where their church held the real “farm to table” feast and it started here as just a church meal in 1928 and soon after, later in 1928 or in 1929, it became a community event. It is uncertain but some believe there were years during World War II when the supper was not held.
Memories of home butchering were shared as the Methodist men would meet at a farm or even behind the Ideal Grocery to process the hogs. Those present shared memories and Don told what he had heard from Bob Fowler and Gail Phelps. He admitted that once the processing was delegated to commercial entities, the sausage was just not as good as when Gene Martens and others were adding spices and mixing the sausage by hand.
Dorothea Kerr was also remembered for her cinnamon rolls that seemed to be what kept volunteers coming back year after year for the hard work of making sausage.
The many changes over the decades were reviewed and listeners were reminded that it was once all served family-style with heaping platters and bowls of food on the tables but now workers fill the plates although it is still “all-you-can-eat” and the current price is $10 per plate for adults.
Don noted that the supper is a great time of fellowship, both for the workers and for the guests as they get to visit with people they haven’t really talked with since the previous year’s supper. He briefly reviewed all the work that is needed to transform the church fellowship hall into an efficient unit with several gas burners in the kitchen and gravy mixed up in a closet. “It is disorganized but it works,” he added.
Don was presented with a 2024 membership as a thank you. Everyone enjoyed the discussion very much and look forward to the Feb. 4 Ground Hog Supper. Sheila reminded members that a business meeting will be held Thursday, Feb. 1 at 12 noon in the society office.