A Harvest Celebration

Oct 12, 2016

Our September/October issue includes a story on Bemis Holland Presbyterian Church. Members and friends of the Deuel County parish have been celebrating fall harvest with an oyster stew supper for more than 130 years. This year’s is this Saturday (October 15). The meal starts at 4 p.m. and continues until the last customer is full. Tickets are sold at the door.

Laura Johnson Andrews photographed last year’s event, and tried the stew, too. Here are some of her shots that didn’t make the magazine.

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The church community was established in 1881 by Dutch families from Wisconsin. Many of their early records are lost, but the first harvest dinner is believed to have been held just two years later.
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Oyster stew is not a Dutch tradition, but an early luxury made possible by railroads.
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Oysters couldn’t be shipped to the Dakotas in the hottest months without spoiling, so they became a cold-weather treat often served in milky, buttery broth and paired with crunchy little crackers.
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Folks in Bemis like to follow it up with a generous hunk of cake.
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Many volunteers make this treasured tradition possible. “It’s been kind of a life sentence for any and all related,” says LuAnn Strait of Watertown.
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Anyone with ties to the church is recruited to help serve.
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But they volunteer cheerfully, sharing warm smiles and easy laughter.
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And pranks are likely. “Certain individuals get a rock or shell in their bowl of soup. I think they’d be disappointed if we didn’t do it,” a busy server told Andrews.
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Pastor Terry Drew doubles as greeter and performer on oyster stew night. He plays guitar for those waiting their turn to eat.

Comments

02:16 pm - Wed, October 12 2016

Laura Andrews said:

I never knew oyster stew came with oysters until I went to Bemis' dinner. When my Grandpa Johnson used to serve oyster stew, the oysters all ended up in his bowl — the rest of us got oyster milk.

The people of this little church are generous, kind-hearted, and a delight to be around. If you have a chance to go to their harvest meal, do it!