Yet another fall church dinner. The Dadio is overwhelmed with inexpensive, homemade, and good eats this time of year.
Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Janesville is a big old structure. Their grade school building flanks the presentation. Situated down on Ringold Street in Janesville, the complex sits in an older part of town not far from the old down town. It is just above the hill down into the Rock River valley.
The night I snuck by, I was interested in good eats more than geography, urban studies, and architecture. Their annual fall dinner was advertised as just that - "Dinner." The seating was in the church basement in the consummate church dinner family style arrangement.
This gig I was instructed to pick out some dessert and then head to the kitchen window and get in the chow line. But, things moved fast and I got right up to the eats immediately. The main entre was some thoughtfully prepared boneless chicken breast. Some thick tasty gravy came with the deal. There was a big heap of mashed potatoes too. Mixed vegetables headed up the...vegetable offering. Of course cranberry jelly was on scene; and, pickle spears. A good soft roll was tossed on my plate. I finished my meal off with a big piece of carrot cake and fresh coffee.
I got to chat with some people at my table about other pending dinners in the area. To keep up with all these events, you got to keep your head up and your ears to the ground and...your eyes on the "Food and Drink" section of your local paper. Or, do a noun/verb search for your local church dinners on "Google." These events are often on a weeknight. You snooze - you lose.
As I headed out the door I chatted with a church member who said the annual dinner had been a ritual for many years. She indicated the women's group sets up the event to get funds to facilitate their mission to help the adjacent school and other church needs.
For the record, this particular post is in regards to the meal that was held on Thusday, September 30, 2010. Find
Saint Paul Lutheran Church at 210 South Ringold Street in Janesville, Wisconsin. Call (608) 754 - 3811 to get details of any future events.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Army Private Evan Abraham Bixler, 21, of Racine, Wisconsin, died on Friday, December 2006, from wounds received in Hit, Iraq while participating in security operations. He was in Company A, 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, out of Baumholder, Germany. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted that at the time of his death he was the fourth military service person from Racine County to have died in Iraq. And, he was the third Wisconsin military service person to die in that particular month. The paper went on to say Bixler was a 2003 graduate of Washington Park High School in Racine. He was known to have had a passion for joining the military; at earlier attempts he was denied entry into the Army for medical reasons. He later received a medical waiver to enlist. Private Bixler was sent to Iraq on November 1st, 2006. Evan was said to have had a good sense of humor and was an inspiration to his comrades. In a subsequent article, the Journal Sentinel mentioned Bixler was best friends with Army Specialist Eric Poelman, 21, who grew up in Mount Pleasant and was killed in June 2005 in Iraq. Wisconsin 2007 Senate Joint Resolution 18 notes that at the time of his death Evan Bixler was survived by his parents, Kevin and Lisa Bixler; his sister, Amy Theresa Bixler; grandparents, John and Carol Neufeld; and, his girlfriend Naomi Jacob. Evan Bixler was the 66th Wisconsin military service person to be killed in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
98,171 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,722 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,427 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1311 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
823 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,964 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
8,394 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
102 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
22 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
144 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
