The pandemic has pushed events online or even cancelled them altogether, but it hasn’t stopped the Knights of Columbus from frying fish.
On Friday, the local Knights of Columbus Council hosted the first of five fish fries in Columbia. The events are a staple for practicing Catholics who don't eat meat on Fridays during Lent, which started this week on Ash Wednesday and continues until Easter, April 4.
While fish fries in the past have been mass social gatherings featuring sit-down dining with customers of all faiths, the Catholic fraternal organization decided that carry-out was the safest way to hold the event this year.
“That was one of the tough decisions we had to make,” said Tim Vargesko, leader of the local chapter. “We're a charitable organization, and just like other organizations right now, it’s tough times. So we made the decision that we were going to do the fish fry, and to take the mitigation techniques for COVID-19. And working with the City of Columbia and the Health Department, we were able to devise a plan and it worked out.”
While carry-out has not been the preferred method for the fish fry over the past 26 years, it was still an important part of the fish fry. Paulette Fick, who’s been in charge of take-out orders for around 15 years, said the transition to only drive-through pickup was easy for the Knights.
“We’ve always had a great carry-out following," Fick said, and this year's sales were "about one-third of the total number of orders in years past.
"We’re lucky we had that in our background so we could elaborate on it,” she said.
Fick said they met their goal of serving 1,000 meals by the end of the night.
While most of the side dishes and desserts were made in the kitchens or in people’s homes, the fish were all fried in the Knights' fry shack, which was led by Scott Snow. Even with the COVID-19 restrictions, Snow said, the guys in the fry shack outside the Knights Hall still were all willing to come together to help a good cause.
“They really do form together and there’s a lot of camaraderie, lots of laughing, and lots of cheering,” Snow said. “They were all willing to make a sacrifice to make it happen. These guys aren’t my best friends in real life, but they’re real good guys to be here and we work well together.”
The proceeds of the fish fries will be used to help fund the service organizations and will be donated to local charities around Columbia. And while the fish fries may not be as busy as they’ve been in years past, Vargesko is still thankful for the people who do turn out.
“We’re just so incredibly grateful to the city of Columbia, the Community of Columbia that comes out to support the fish fry,” Vargesko said. “We’re very grateful for them, and I couldn’t be more proud of all our volunteers.”
At each Friday event, selling will begin at 4:30 p.m. and end around 7:30 p.m. — or when the fish runs out. The next fish fry will be held at the St. Thomas More Newman Center on the MU campus, and the following two will be held at Tolton Regional Catholic High School, 3351 E. Gans Road. The final fish fry of the year will be held at the Knight of Columbus Hall, 2525 N. Stadium Blvd.
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February 21, 2021 at 04:30AM
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Knights of Columbus mark the start of Lent with first fish fry - Columbia Missourian
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