Home Products Dinner: A True Community Affair

Managing Editor/Publisher

Grant County is the home of an annual dinner that has proven the old adage that "it takes a village", and not just to raise children.

The 61st Annual Home Products Dinner is only a few days away and the countdown has begun.

Grant County Chamber Director Marieta Hauser says it is "going".

"It's going like it always does at this point," Hauser said. "We are in panic mode, but still  knowing that it will all come together."

Hauser said everyone has their "assignments".

"Everybody has got their chores to do," she said. "We have a committee of eight: four women and four men. They all have their marching orders. There is a to-do list and the closer the dinner gets, the more there is for them to do."

The heavy prep day for organizers and volunteers will begin Friday.

"We have the Chamber Coffee and then after that I will gather my committee together and we will start going over the placemats to make sure we have thanked everyone who has donated - whether that is in the form of money, time, or in kind donations. Some will go to the grocery store and move corn from the freezer in to the refrigerators - everybody has these little duties. Guys are busy working on the smoker making sure it is in good working order so we can get all the meat cooked  Saturday morning. We will  meet to pick the produce up and some of the decor is started at the Civic Center."

Sunday will be a day of "rest".

"It's a kick back day," Hauser said. "I'm not saying some of them won't be working on things for the dinner, but we aren't meeting as a committee

Monday, September 16, it will be rise and shine.

"We will start early," Hauser said. "We will start probably around 7 Monday morning. Hopefully we will have a lot of volunteers show up. Our businesses - a lot of folks will send some of their workers early to help get all the tables and chairs set up. They get it done in a remarkably quick fashion."

Once the tables are set up, they are checked.

"The committee will go back through - they have a measuring stick to make sure  the tables are the right width apart. They get them all nice and straight. When you have that many tables it's nice to keep them orderly."

Hauser said students from Kepley Middle School will come out once the tables and chairs are all set up.

"The students come and help wipe down tables and chairs and put all of the table paper on," Hauser said. "They are there throughout the day. After that the decorator's come - there is some extensive decoration that goes on at home products. They will have a piece in the back, a piece on the stage and then where the public enters that's decorated as well."

They have a freshman who has been working on the table decor.

"She's in charge of decorating and has been putting together center pieces," Hauser said. "We have already moved them out to the civic center. The decorating will get done on Monday. The committee will be busy all day long. We will go over the schedule Friday, so we will know what all needs to be done, when and where they need to be, and that kind of thing."

Hauser said everything is spelled out.

"This is a very detailed schedule," she said. "It tells what we are going to pick up from the different farmers. How many. What we need -  all of that."

Hauser said there is a lot of "cleanup" to do before they get started.

"The decor Saturday - we wash all of the decorative items," she said. "We line the bottom of the refrigerator with foil, so if there are spills it won't make a big mess that we have to clean up later. The thermoses for coffee and water pitchers are all gotten out and washed. All the tubs we use that have beeen in storage - they are washed. Gloves used for the meat shredding are also washed and dried prior to use."

Workers also make sure the head table is set up with everything needed. A rolloff is brought in for trash.

Volunteers from different churches will show up to cut up watermelon. Supplies will need to be picked up from Lowe's. Doors have to be removed. And the list goes on.

"It's about 700 volunteers who get this pulled off," Hauser said. "I haven't done an official count, but that is probably pretty accurate. I was on the committee years ago, when my youngest son who is in his late 30s was a toddler - so it's been a long time ago. We didn't have this many volunteers, so it's grown."

It was after one of those long ago dinners that the critique afterwards resulted in a decision.

"We decided we needed to get some of this done ahead of time," Hauser said.  "Now we get these students who volunteer and hopefully they are recipients of scholarship dollars - which is what this raises money for."

Hauser said there is just a lot to do.

"They will be taking supplies up to the high school because they cook the beans for us," she said. "They will take the containers, supplies and recipe for them. It's a full day."

Hauser said it is "intense".

"It's just an intense few days of on your feet, on the go, non-stop, but we have it organized," she added. "I don't know how they managed it before we had the notebook that we have now. It's a big, thick notebook. The schedule is very detailed - what time we will start decorating, what time church volunteers are going to arrive to help cut watermelon... We will have a meeting as a committee to see where we are on the list of everything, which we try to do several times througout."

Hauser said they check several times:  has this been done, has that been done ...

"We make sure we are all on the same page," she said. "We are going different decorations all the time. We all have things we are doing, but we want to make sure everything on that list gets checked off."

Remembering from the past, Hauser gives an example of why it is important.

"I remember my senior year of the dinner," she said. "We were all dressed up and then we look and, where's the butter? Well it was still at the grocery store. That is one of the things put on the list - pick up the butter. Those little things can kind of throw you into a tizzy at the last minute. We are hoping to make sure that doesn't happen by getting as organized as we can."

They can't stop.

"It's non-stop really from Monday morning to Wednesday afternoon until we get the last thing in the kitchen cleaned up and out of there," Hauser said.

If you haven't yet purchased a button, which is the ticket to get in the door, several businesses and the chamber have them on hand for sale. The Lions club will be selling buttons at the door the night of the event. And this year, you can purchase them at the door using your debit or credit card.

"For senior citizens who don't want to stand in the line they can come in the south door on the south side and go sit down early," Hauser said. "We have 4H members and Kepley Middle School students who come and help serve our senior citizens - they will actually bring the plate to them. We are really good about getting people through. Usually in 20 minutes we can feed about 1,000 people once we open the doors to the general public."

Doors for senior citizens open at 6:30, and at 7 for the general public.

There will be entertainment for those who are seated and waiting to eat.

Each year the committee invites  politicians. Those wishing to visit with them can do so in the commercial building at 6 p.m. The dinner itself, according to Hauser is not political.

"It is a celebration dinner for the diversity of agriculture in Grant County," Hauser said. "It's been going on for 61 years - I think that is something to hang our hat on."

The event would not be possible without the donors.

"We couldn't do it without them," Hauser said. "People have been very generous. The committee has worked tirelessly all year to get this going - they do a phenomenal job. My administrative assistant, Robin, does a phenomenal job of keeping track of the donors."

The event is a true "community" event.

"It takes the full community to pull this off," Hauser said. "The ones who help sell tickets, serve  the food... It's a massive undertaking of volunteers. I appreciate what this community does to help pull this off."