If you didn’t have any dinner plans, or dessert plans for that matter, on Saturday, then Escalon was the place to be.
Serving up a third Saturday of the month dinner at the Escalon American Legion on Aug. 16, the members of the local post put on a pork loin and ribs dinner, open to the community. Nearby, the Escalon United Methodist Church was the site for the annual ice cream social, a staple at summer’s end for many years.
At the Legion rooms on Second Street, it was a big crowd that turned out and Post Commander Mike Christensen said it’s a way for Legion members to thank the community.
“I would like to have them every month but the same three or four guys have to do all the cooking,” Christensen said of offering the meals several times during the year as opposed to each month. “They all work so hard.”
He noted that there are some favorites during the year, such as the popular fish fry and the annual chili cook off, that always draw big crowds. The Aug. 16 dinner was also well attended, with a number of side dishes including salads, beans, rolls and more adding to the main meat course.
“What we need is more members,” Christensen shared, explaining that they do have a couple of new Post members but are always looking for more.
“The most important thing we do is we honor the passing of fellow veterans,” he added.
He said the Saturday night dinner was “a great success” and he’s hoping the upcoming dinners will be well attended as well, along with the Veterans’ Day ceremonies and luncheon in November.
Several of the people that attended the Legion dinner – which ran from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. – then made their way from the Second Street location to the Methodist Church on Jackson Avenue. There, a number of homemade varieties of ice cream were available, along with brownies, slices of pie, and more, for the end-of-the-summer annual ice cream social, hosted from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Started many years ago by Annabelle Martin, the social has been taken over by her grandson, Klint Turner, though Annabelle still attends to do some quality control checks on the ice cream.
“We used to have the ice cream social outside,” Turner remembered, noting that he was pretty young when he first started helping his grandmother put on the event. “I remember carrying all the ice creams and tables out, those big heavy tables.”
Moved inside several years ago to escape the summer heat, Turner said it has remained a well-attended event.
“It’s a small community, you want to come and talk to each other, hang out,” he said of attendees.
The ice cream makers have also changed over the years, but one thing remains constant, the variety that is offered. This year, for example, dessert enthusiasts could choose from peach, old fashioned vanilla, mocha, mint chip and blackberry, just to name a few options.
“We’ve had some that can’t do it anymore and we had a few where it was their first year making it this year,” Turner explained of the ice cream crew. “My family kind of fills in the gaps where it needs to.”
Pastor Mark Buenafe, new to the United Methodist Church in Escalon, was attending his first ice cream social there.
“The blessing of meeting the members of the community and also blessed by the Turner family and their tradition of doing this year after year,” Buenafe said of what he was enjoying about the evening. “Just delighted that it’s a good day for ice cream.”
He serves as pastor for both the Escalon and Oakdale United Methodist churches, and is settling in to the communities.
“I’m planning to become a member of the Escalon Rotary Club and the Oakdale Lions Club,” the pastor said. “And I have my first meeting with the (Escalon) Ministerial Association later this month too, so just being involved with both communities and even though I am home-based in Oakdale, coming here (to Escalon) is not a problem, it has been a blessing.”
