The North West Territory Alliance (NWTA) re-enactors coming to Vicksburg on Friday and Saturday, June 25 and 26 will be provided one dinner meal at no charge as part of the participation contract. It will be served at 4 p.m. at the pavilion only to those who have come from the Alliance to take part in the Battle of Sunset Lake.
Because the cost to feed over 200 re-enactors would be monumental to the organizing committee, Robin Maple and Marian Steffens were asked to put together a meal plan with old fashioned recipes as much as possible. But where to get the food and prepare it in a Health Department approved kitchen, all at little or no cost, was theirs to figure out.
The process was reminiscent of 2013, when the community came together to feed over 2,000 meals to the members of the Timber Framers Guild when they were here to build the pavilion. Church groups and individuals stepped up to help with food donations and cooking for breakfast, lunch and dinner at that time.
This year, the Cub Scouts had a connection with H & H Farms. Renee Hawkins contacted Ryan Hunter to ask him donate two hogs for roasting for the dinner. He said yes without hesitation.
Then the local church groups were asked to make one or two specialty dishes. Once the ingredients were decided upon, Maple and Steffens went to work begging for ingredients that could be donated. Following is a menu and the list of those donating:
1. H & H Farms – for the Hog Roast with Tim Hardy, FDA inspector, helping to butcher and transport the hogs to the pavilion, where the Scouts and their leaders will prepare the meat for the late afternoon meal.
2. St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church Women’s group was asked to fix their specialties of baked beans and apple crisp. They readily agreed and will provide the ingredients.
3. The Lakeland Reformed Church volunteers will make the coleslaw.
4. The Vicksburg United Methodist Church kitchen volunteers will bake cornbread.
5. The Chapman Memorial Church of the Nazarene will fix potatoes furnished by Walther Farms in Schoolcraft.
6. Apple Knockers is providing ice cream to go on the apple crisp.
7. A local company is supplying the paper products and utensils for re-enactors even though such items were certainly not available in the 18th Century. It was deemed too costly and impractical to furnish pewter plates and silver knives and forks.
“This is emblematic of how this community steps in to make an event such as this successful,” said Kevin Borden, Troop 251’s scoutmaster.