Dublin Mayor Horace Wyatt and fellow Shriner Mike Aycock will be cooking up a thousand pounds of fish tomorrow in the parking lot of the Food Lion.
FISHING FOR MIRACLES
ELIZABETHTOWN – The Shriners Spring fish fry will take place tomorrow beginning at 11 a.m. in Elizabethtown and are once again hoping to pack the parking lot of the Food Lion area.
You will most likely want to get there early as per past experience cars line the Broad Street in Elizabethtown and the temporary drive-thru fashioned in the parking lot of the Elizabethtown Food Lion.
Many workers from the Shriner’s along with students from Tarheel Challenge Military Academy will working feverishly to keep up with the demand for a fresh fried Whiting filet, sweet potato fries, hushpuppies, coleslaw and southern sweet tea.
People that wait in line are always patient as they know the cause is a good one and the meal is not only delicious, but offered at a fair price.
According to fishfrychronicles.com, “While the fish fry is primarily an American tradition, its roots can be found in the Germanic culture of the Midwest. The tradition is strongest in Wisconsin, where there are many German Catholics who enjoy fishing”
Not to mention, eating the fish. Growing up in Wisconsin, fish fries and slaw were part of the weekly family ritual and is still a popular event today.
According to Shriner organizer Phillip Little, the boys are from a military academy out of Salemburg, North Carolina, that is operated by the United States National Guard.
Putting together an event of this magnitude can be challenging and through the years, the Shriners have had to continue to find different spots to accommodate all the traffic and the people who came to help support this cause.
“I see getting enough help as the biggest challenge,” Little said. “To help keep things moving. We were hoping to sell 2,000 dinners this year and match our total from last October, and it will take a few days to get it all tallied and to find out how much was raised.”
According to lovetotherescue.org, “In 1922, construction began on the first Shriners Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana. It was the perfect location; an underserved city surrounded by farming communities. To address the needs of patients during construction, the hospital’s first physician saw patients at an office in town. You might know The Shriners as simply the men in red hats, but there’s a fascinating, 150-year history behind those fancy red fezzes. The story begins in 1870, when a group of fellows created an organization to serve their communities and help build a better world. Today, Shriners Hospitals for Children has served more than 1.5 million children, regardless of the families’ ability to pay.”
It’s not just the history that is amazing, but each year a child benefits from the care and funding, the story is continuing to be written. The Shriners motto is: “The next chapter of Shriners Hospitals for Children will be written by YOU! The patients, parents, donors and friends who support our mission.”
Tomorrow the people of Bladen County will help write a chapter and became warriors – engaged in the battle to defeat childhood diseases.