DUMMERSTON-It takes an almost incalculable amount of community volunteer work to bake nearly 1,000 apple pies in around 70 hours spread out over 10 days, but the volunteers who report to the basement kitchen of Dummerston Congregational Church during the two week run-up to its annual Apple Pie Festival specialize in doing the impossible.
Volunteers began preparing and baking pies on Sept. 30 for the 56th annual edition of the church's pie fest. On the morning of Oct. 2 - Day 4 of the baking operation - the sign on the kitchen door read "Welcome! 312 pies."
By the end of the 9 a.m.–to–noon shift that morning, 48 additional pies were baked, and pie crusts and fixings for the start of the 5–to–9 p.m. evening session were ready.
The process of assembling and baking the apple pies that have made Dummerston famous is well-organized. Volunteers run the apple peelers, core and slice the fruit, roll the pie dough, fill pie plates with apples, keep up with the peelings and cores, and place the pies in the church's three pizza ovens, each holding a dozen 9-inch pies at a time.
With four crates of Cortlands from Dwight Miller Orchards and the steady hands of volunteers old and new, there will be plenty of apple pies for sale at this year's pie fest, which begins at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12.
"Apple Pie Sunday" begins with an abbreviated Sunday church service, followed by the laying out of whole or sliced pies on long tables under a big canopy beside the sanctuary.
The bell will ring at 10 a.m., the signal that the festival has begun. Pies will be available (whole pies for $25 and slices for $7) until 2 p.m. or until they sell out, whichever comes first.
People from all over the Northeast descend upon Dummerston Center to line up to buy a pie - and then, perhaps, sit under the canopy and have a slice - plain, or maybe with some Grafton Village cheddar or a scoop of ice cream on top. You can wash down your pie with fresh apple cider or pick up some cider doughnuts for a snack later on.
Beyond the pie
• Pancake breakfast: Whether you have room for a slice of pie on site will depend on whether you have already stopped at the Dummerston Fire Department's all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at the station in Dummerston Center from 7 to 11 a.m.
The firefighters will have pancakes (plain, apple, blueberry, or raspberry) and sausage with Vermont maple syrup, homemade biscuits with sausage gravy, and fresh applesauce. They will have plenty of coffee, cocoa, fresh cider (hot or cold), orange juice, and milk to wash it all down. The cost is $13 for adults, or $7 for kids 5–12. All proceeds benefit the fire department.
• Craft fair and cookout: At the Evening Star Grange's craft fair and cookout from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., more than 20 crafters will sell goods such as alpaca products, jewelry, pickles, jams and jellies, wool knit creations, and wooden crafts.
A food area will offer hamburgers, hot dogs, homemade baked beans, and corn chowder.
• Fire Department open house: At the Dummerston Historical Society from 1 to 3 p.m., you can check out a new exhibit celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the West Dummerston Volunteer Fire Department, the predecessor of today's Dummerston Fire Department.
The festival is a major fundraiser for both the Church and Grange.
For more information about the pie festival and craft fair, call the church office at 802-257-0544, the Grange at 802-254-1138, or Grange Master Larry Lynch at 802-310-0799.
This News item by Randolph T. Holhut was written for The Commons.