The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by David Grimes for the Quill
The Gladstone Homecoming has been going strong for 77 years now and last weekend's crowds were proof that the local festival is as popular as it ever was.
But what is it that the faithful come back again and again to experience?
There's always been entertainment-country and rock and roll performers, midway rides, carnival concessions and competition events.
But while those attractions change in personality with the times, there has been one constant year in and year out-the Gladstone United Methodist church food stand.
It's not uncommon to drive through town at supper time and see a long line of hungry folks waiting to place their order at the window.
Friday night fish dinners are popular, as is the fried chicken dinners on Saturday evening.
Who can resist those homemade side dishes of potato salad and baked beans or the generous portions of homemade pie (for under $2 a slice...can that be right?)?
But it gets even better.
How about breakfast for a donation?
And serving started at 6 a.m. each day.
"We ran out of everything this morning," church volunteer Betty Lewis said Friday before correcting herself.
"Bacon, eggs, sausage, gravy and biscuits. Everything but pancakes."
Lewis said it's impossible to count all those who contribute in countless hours served working and in donations to make the church stand a success each summer at the homecoming.
"It takes volunteers," she pointed out. "There are probably hundreds."
Lewis said the breakfast crew consists of five volunteer church workers.
Early arrivals for Friday's breakfast rush might have been a tip off to a steady stream of business as the morning progressed.
"We had workers from Twomey's over here waiting for us to open at five after five (a.m.)," Lewis explained.
What creates a stir like that early in the day when many restaurants and cafes choose to abandon the first meal of the day in order to plan for lunch and dinner business?
The proof could be in the pudding.
"Bill Smith does all the cooking. He has for years," Lewis said of the church chef who not only prepares the breakfast fare but oversees fish and chicken preparation for the Friday and Saturday night meals when 200 servings are prepared for each evening as well.
Receipts generated by this labor of love by church members go toward the church's general fund.
No tally was readily available for Friday's booming breakfast business, but Lewis guessed the church probably did a little better than usual.
"I saw several five dollar bills in there," she explained.
Gladstone Homecoming-Gladstone United Methodist Church members Betty Lewis, Oquawka; Pat Russell, and Diana Law both of Gladstone, are just three of the many volunteers and donors who make the church food stand an annual favorite and a success.