By Conrad Dudderar
Staff Writer
Some 900 meals were served to hungry, appreciative diners as Yukon’s Ground Hog Dinner returned after a COVID break.
The 65th annual community feed was Saturday, March 19 at the First United Methodist Church-Yukon, 400 Elm.
“We had a great audience,” dinner coordinator Russell Kline said. “Many of them came up to tell us, ‘We’re so glad you’re doing this again’.
“We served about 900, so attendance was down a little bit from years past. We’ll never, never, ever do our Ground Hog Dinner during spring break again. We learned our lesson.”
Attendees converged on the church’s Christian Life Center (CLC) to devour a traditional “all-you-can-eat” meal served family-style throughout the day.
The menu, unchanged since this meal began, featured seasoned kraut with Czech-style pork ribs, sausage patties, sausage gravy, new potatoes, biscuits, and apple butter.
Norma and Garry Shuffield came to Yukon to savor the Ground Hog Dinner with family and friends. This was their second time – the last was in 2017.
“We thoroughly enjoyed it,” Norma Shuffield said. “The food and service were excellent! We will definitely be back next year.”
This marked the first time the United Methodist Men’s group presented the dinner since February 2020. The event was cancelled in 2021 due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The 2022 Yukon Ground Hog Dinner was supposed to be Jan. 29, but organizers pushed it back six weeks due to a rise in COVID cases.
It was an “all-church event” with about 100 volunteer crew members working in three shifts to make sure nobody left hungry, according to Kline.
“We’re already looking ahead to 2023, when we’ll celebrate the dinner’s 66th year,” he said. “We’ll promote it as ’66 on 66’ because our church is right off Route 66.
“The date for next year’s dinner is undetermined. One thing for sure, it will not be around spring break.”
‘BACK ON TRACK’
FUMC-Yukon member Mike McEachern has eaten – and volunteered – at the Ground Hog Dinner since joining the church in 1970.
“People have been waiting two years for this,” McEachern said. “It was a real pleasure to bring the dinner back – and get it ‘back on track’ again. It was successful and we’re more than grateful to everyone who came out and supported the church.
“I’m pleased that we had really good participation considering we usually have this in late January or early February and had to move it to spring break this year because of COVID.”
For many years, McEachern helped prepare and cook the sausage.
“I usually work the 2-to-5 shift,” he said. “This year I was the ‘drink dude’ and helped fill people’s water, coffee and tea.
“I’ve participated heavily and only missed a couple of years. We used to cook off-site, including in Bob Schwaninger’s garage. We now have large ovens and large refrigerators in the church kitchen. It’s a lot more efficient.”
While McEachern and other volunteers served the free drinks, the Yukon Kids First preschool again sold canned pop and desserts for $1 each.
Funds raised at Yukon’s Ground Hog Dinner will benefit local and worldwide missions and outreach.
FUMC members started the dinner in 1956 to support the church building fund.
