Plymouth VFW Post Thanks Community For Successful Lenten Fish Fry's

The folks at the Plymouth VFW Post just finished up a very successful Lenten Fish Fry season, and it might just be the most important Lenten Fish Fry season in their history. First and foremost, they truly needed this important fundraiser, but of more importance, they longed to be able to reconnect with our community.

It has been two, very long years, since the Lenten Fish Fry's were suddenly canceled in 2020, after just one Fish Fry, due to Covid. Two years of an empty banquet room at the VFW Post. Two
years of almost no community engagement. Two years of no St. Paddy's day events, no car shows, and the list goes on.

Plymouth is a tight knit, Midwest community, and our veterans, and the VFW Post are tightly woven into the fabric of this community. They sponsor a Boy Scout, and Girl Scout Troop, they clean their stretch of the roads, they have US Flag Retirement Ceremonies, they speak at our local schools, participate in the Plymouth Fall Festival, the Ice Festival, host a Chili Cookoff, Soup & Salad Dinners, and again, the list goes on.

Plymouth VFW Commander, Ron King, and Plymouth VFW Auxiliary, member, Patti Brothers spearheaded the Lenten Fish Fry's for the VFW Post this season, and they were confident that
it would be a successful season, despite a lot of concerns about Covid, and about whether folks would show up for events like these. That was a legitimate concern, especially since most organizations were only doing carry-outs.

When asked, Patti Brothers said, “We are just grateful for our community's overwhelming support. We wanted our community to be able to come in, and enjoy this dinner with their
family, friends, and just the whole community.” She made a point of adding, “We wanted to do more, than ask our community members to just drive up, and get a fish dinner handed to them through their car window, so we made the decision to make this a sit down dinner, or a
carryout dinner. Whatever people felt comfortable with.”

Commander Ron King, said “ I am very thankful, not only to all of the volunteers who make this great event happen, but most grateful to our community members, who came out to show their love, and support for our local veterans.”

All in all, over the course of six Fish Fry's, the folks at the Plymouth VFW Post averaged 295 dinners every week. That number is amazing, considering that these are mostly Vietnam Veterans, wives, and family members doing all the work. The kitchen crew consisted of approximately about ten people, and for that many people to push out close to 300 amazing dinners in less than three hours, just astounds me.

Of course there are many other people involved, and that includes the prep crew on Thursdays, who cut and filet fish, who make the cole slaw, prepare the condiments, set tables, and make the famous beer batter. There are also the men & women who make over 200 amazing desserts every week, the folks who serve the dinners, Mark, who is at the sink washing dishes on Friday
night, the bartenders, ande the folks who bus the tables. Then there is Bob Lamoureaux, who does the spinning wheel, and heads up the Saturday morning cleaning crew. It is truly a team effort.

I spoke with Bob Lamoureaux, who by the way, served our nation in Vietnam, and considers the Rolling Stones to be the best band that ever lived, and when I asked about the Saturday morning clean-up crew, he simply said, “It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it!” Then he just started laughing... And he kept on laughing.

I have witnessed his 8:00 AM cleaning crew in action. It's not an easy task. There are forks & knives for 300 people, there are trays, and dishes, and all sorts of stuff that need to be washed and sanitized. The truly hard part, is the ovens, the fryers, changing the cooking oil, and all of that stuff. That is where Mr. Lamoureaux comes in, and makes things happen. There is also the cleaning of the banquet hall, and only when all of that is done, does the floor get mopped, and returned to it's pristine condition. Bob Lamoureaux and his crew take no shortcuts, not in the kitchen, and not in the banquet hall.

The great thing, is Commander Ron King, is generally the first person there on Saturday mornings, and he always shows up with donuts. Coffee is made, donuts are munched on,
jokes are told, and then they get to work. Someone new on the cleanup crew told me this, “If you are having fun, it really isn't work, so this cleanup thing, is just a few folks having fun on a Saturday morning.”

On this particular Saturday, there was extra work to do, and that was a good thing, because there is another community event on tap, that they needed to set up to accommodate 200 people. This event is on Saturday, April 23rd, and it is A Night At The Races, hosted by the VFW Auxiliary. They are hoping to get our community back to the VFW Post for another fun community event.

In the end, this Lenten Fish Fry season, signaled that things are finally getting back to normal, and our veterans are grateful. Grateful to be able to get back to having fun, and really grateful to welcome our community back to their home...