St. John's picnic serves homemade food in efficient way

LEOPOLD, Mo. — Lorie Graham had a lot on her plate Saturday — 113 bags of dumplings, 1,500 pounds of beef, 1,100 pounds of chicken and 300 pounds of potatoes, to be exact.

It was her first year as kitchen supervisor at the annual St. John’s Church Picnic without Joan McWilliams, who held the job for 20 years and spent the last two picnics preparing Graham to take over.

“They say I’m in charge, but I really just help order everything,” Graham said. “I just get the stuff here, and they take over.”

Graham had a reputation to uphold, as a line for food began forming three hours before a meal was served. Graham compared the kitchen’s operation to that of a well-oiled machine.

Paul and Billie Obermann stood at the front of the line. They came from Wappapello, Missouri, for the meal, as they had done for more than 60 years.

Paxton Essner, right, enjoys homemade ice cream with his grandmother, Tammy Van Gennip, his sister, Finley Essner, and his aunt, Maryssa Essner, on Saturday at the St. John's Church Picnic in Leopold, Missouri.Fred Lynch

Starting at 4:30 a.m., Wayne Thiele worked the same station as he had the past 35 years — preparing chicken and dumplings.

“When you get out of high school, you pretty much get a station and stay there, working your way up,” Thiele said.

This year marked the first picnic his aging father, Stan Thiele, was absent from his post at the nearby ice-cream stand he had managed for more than 50 years.

Ernie Thiele filled his father’s role Saturday, serving more than 90 gallons of homemade ice cream he and his father spent seven hours making from scratch the day before.

While many have attended the picnic for years, it marked Sue Carlton’s first time.

Originally from Jordan, Sue Carlton met her future husband, Steve, in New York City. When he told her he was from Missouri, she thought it was a part of Venezuela.

After visiting Steve in Missouri, Sue Carlton came to prefer it to New York and moved to Zalma.

“It’s heaven to me,” Sue Carlton said. “I love the people here. They’re just so friendly.”

bmatthews@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652

Pertinent address:

103 Main St., Leopold, Mo.