Almost 50 years of annual fundraiser for MLC has cemented that recognition
The annual Mountain Lake Christian (MLC) Borscht Supper – a fundraising event for the school since March 1966, has cemented Mountain Lake’s recognition as “Borscht Belt”leader – which makes sense as Mountain Lake has a history steeped in immigrants who settled the area approximately 200-years-ago came from the Ukraine where borscht was a staple dish.
This year’s event was held at the school on Friday, October 24, and again, 34 kettles of borscht simmered on the stoves in the MLC kitchen. Of course, the prep work began the previous day, with young-and-old, student, alumni, parents, grandparents and friends of the school chipping in to prepare the ingredients for cooking (based on an original recipe from Mrs. Ted Klassen, president of the Mountain Lake Hospital Auxiliary).
The first borscht supper used as a fundraiser for the school was held more than 48 years ago – on March 29, 1966.
But, the tradition of a borscht supper began many years prior. The original borscht supper by the Mountain Lake Christian School was a fundraiser for the Mountain Lake Hospital Auxiliary.The soup was cooked in the hold hospital kitchen and served in the nursing home located next door. When the Eventide Home was built, the cooking was moved into the basement of that building – over two gas-heated cauldrons. (One cauldron held four canners – or recipes – of borscht. Eventually, the hospital auxiliary turned the project over to the Christian School Auxiliary.
That auxiliary continued the precedent of cooking the soup in the basement of the Eventide Home and transported to the Mennonite Brethren Church (Community Bible Church) for serving. The cooks were Mrs. A. P. Quiring and Mrs. Henry A. Stoesz, assisted by Adeline Friesen. Both Quiring and Stoesz were borscht-cooking veterans from the hospital auxiliary.
Four four years, the borscht was transported from its Eventide Home cooking locations to four different churches for serving.
In January 1969, the new school building was dedicated, and that prompted the first serving of the borscht supper at the school. The soup was still cooked at the Eventide, but transported to the school.
It was in 1975 that the borscht was first cooked at the school; the meat cooked at the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Church (Cornerstone Bible Church).
In 1989, the daughters of Mrs. Quiring, Adeline Friesen and Geneva Stoesz were placed in full charge of the cooking. This year notes the 25th year that Geneva Stoesz has served as a borscht cook. Joining Stoesz as cooks in the kitchen have been Marsha Espenson and Gladys Friesen, along with Miranda Stoesz, and this year, Pastor Merwin Dick.
The menu has varied little over the years – and that is just fine for the ethnic soup’s connoisseurs – all-you-can-eat bowls of borscht (homemade vegetable/beef soup) and slices of homemade bread, along with homemade pie and a beverage.
A sidebar bonus is that the borscht can also be purchased to take home and savor – in three sizes – quart, three-quart pail and gallon pail.
The fundraising from the event is used for MLC’s annual fund and opportunities to support the school’s students on spring trips. As well, the sixth-grade class held its annual Bake Sale, and the senior class promoted Butterbraids, the proceeds from which will help fund the annual senior trip.
In the photo gallery below are photographs of the volunteers prepping the ingredients for the vegetable/beef soup, along with some of the event itself.
