150th Oyster and Pork Supper

One Hundred and Fifty Years of Oysters and Pork
Each fall, in October, the Carversville United Church of Christ opens its doors to serve a feast to the community. This year the feast begins at 3pm on Saturday October, 11th and lasts until sold out or 8pm. While the menu may have changed slightly over the years, the experience of eating a family style homemade meal with friends, neighbors and new acquaintances remains.

The CCC has been a part of the local community since 1837, enduring many ups and downs. Today many village churches are closing, eliminating not just places to worship but places to build community, to bring neighbors together that might not otherwise meet. The Oyster and Pork Supper, celebrating its 150th anniversary, is a celebration of community and the church's major fundraiser. Monies raised at the supper contribute to operating expenses, helping the Church to stay open, to support its members, the community, and mission-related activities.

The supper, which began in 1871, originally featured just oysters and local sides. At that time oysters were plentiful and inexpensive, not the luxury they are today. The price for the supper was just 50 cents a meal! The menu eventually expanded to include pork, for the shellfish adverse, a variety of locally sourced sides, and desserts made by the community. On the Thursday before the supper, a pie making session is held, warming up the church ovens for the big event on Saturday. The pie crust is a recipe handed down from Margery Livezey, the grandmother of this year's lead organizer, Brad Livezey. By the end of the night racks of apple, cherry, and pumpkin pie are waiting to be eaten. But preparations for the supper begin much earlier than that with planning sessions, and the processing of local crops, such as the corn, donated by Nonesuch Farms. Generations of families and friends gather in the church kitchen to ensure that this tradition and the CCC continue into the future.

In the early days of the supper church members prepared most of the food at home but today most of the work is done on the Church premises. The congregation built an addition to the Fellowship Hall in 1950 to install a commercial kitchen. This kitchen has also been used as an incubator for local businesses looking for a place to get started. In 1986 the church purchased an acre of adjacent property for the purpose of parking so that the prior parking lot could be used to create an education/administrative wing. These spaces support the activities of other local entities including Boy Scout Troop 64, the Carversville Historical Society, and even the Carversville Inn.

On Friday 400 pounds of potatoes are prepped, and the gravy is started, pork scraps, bones, carrots, celery, and herbs which cook overnight. Then in the wee hours of Saturday morning the oysters arrive, direct from Washington State, purchased from E. Frank Hopkins and Co. Inc. Stored in a refrigerated truck, each oyster will be triple dipped in a secret recipe of dipping sauce and bread crumbs, then stored for frying when the dinner begins. Pork roasts from Haring Bros. in Doylestown are prepped and put in the ovens to slowly roast. Handwritten recipes on index cards are carefully passed along from lead organizer to lead organizer. A small army of volunteers that makes the supper happen comes and goes throughout the day. This year the 5th generation of Livezey descendants will be old enough to start pushing dessert carts under the watchful eye of their grandfather, Brad.

In addition to the supper, you can purchase chances on a king size quilt, hand appliqued and quilted by the CCC Quilt Squad. Or visit the Craft Room for local crafts and baked goods. Or simply chat with the people sharing your table or waiting for pickup.

The 150 years of the Oyster and Pork Supper has seen hiccups, cancellations due to fires and pandemics, and struggles due to an aging church membership. This year the feast continues, made possible by many volunteers from the Church and the wider community. Their support and the assistance of Troop 64 is greatly appreciated. Come, enjoy the food, watch the next generation of kids learn to maneuver the dessert carts, see your neighbors, and support the Church!

Category: Community | Local / Community