Ellendale fundraiser is no small fry

Rick Johnson could hardly complete a sentence without interrupting himself.

“Hey, Diane, how ya doing?”

“Take care, Delbert!”

“Thanks for coming, you guys!”

“It’s been a long time – still living over by New Richland?”

Johnson, a nearly 40-year member of the Ellendale Fire Department, is the first and last face diners see when they attend the department’s twice-annual Lenten fish fries.

He is also the keeper of the numbers: of dollars raised and people fed, though the two don’t necessarily correlate.

Operating on a freewill donation, the fundraisers began in 2013 and continue to grow, as the hosts continue to adapt.

“We bought 450 pounds of fish, because the last thing we want to do is run out,” said EFD Chief Logan Busho. “We only had 390 pounds for the big one last year,” and ran out before everyone was full.

On the menu are fish – or chicken strips for those who aren’t fish-eaters; firehouse baked beans; cole slaw, homemade tartar sauce and a beverage.

This year’s first dinner was March 7, advertised to run from 5 p.m.-gone, but like most of the years, those were just suggestions.

“We started serving at 4:25,” Busho said, “because there were enough people (waiting) outside – and it’s been pretty much wide open ever since.”

Indeed, at 5:20, the line still snaked out the door of the Ellendale Community Building and halfway down the block.

“They keep getting bigger every year,” Johnson said. “Right now, the way it’s going, this might be the biggest one.”

It was.

By the time all was said and done, 452 people were served and 92 orders were dished up to go, for a total of 544.

“The last couple years we’ve been getting 66 pounds of cole slaw – and we ran out of that about a half hour ago,” Johnson said around 5:50 p.m.

“But you don’t know how much to plan for, so when it’s gone, it’s gone,” he said. “We shouldn’t run out of fish – and we can keep it in the freezer until our next party on the 11^th. We’ve been pretty lucky – we’ve run out of everything” in the past.

“You just never know; we have people coming from all over the place,” Johnson said, again between greetings and farewell. “It’s a big deal.”

Travis and Krystle Johnson, of Owatonna, attended the fundraiser with their two children.

“This is the first time we’ve been to this,” Krystle said. “It’s really good. They didn’t have any chicken ready when we went through, so I don’t think he knows that it’s fish, but he’s eating it,” she said of Jax, 3, who was decked out in a fireman’s coat and hat.

“It’s firefighter food,” Travis said.

The fish has been ordered from the same supplier since the fundraisers started more than a decade ago, Busho said.

“We’ve talked about switching, but what if it’s not as good?” he said. “The price has gone up on a lot of what we use,” but they want to stick with what they know the people like.

Twelve deep fryers are set up on tables in the fire hall garage; Pat Kruger and Tyler McGowan each watch six.

“I’d say it’s more of a prestigious role – everybody wants to do it,” Kruger said, moments after he pulled his arm back from a splatter of hot oil.

It’s a bit of a ballet: He and McGowan add a bag of the battered cod to each fryer basket, watch it, shake it, lift it, shake it and eventually dump it into a pan for Busho to check the interior temperature.

Do they have a sense of the timing of each batch?

Not at all, Kruger said.

“I don’t remember – I just look,” he said. “I’m just looking at every single (fryer). When the fish starts to float, and get golden brown, then I check them.”

New to the routine this year were sturdy canvas Carharrt aprons for Kruger and McGowan.

Though other firefighters said Johnson makes the beans, he disagreed.

“We all make the beans,” he said. “We all have our own jobs. We start with Bush’s baked beans – Jim, thanks for coming, appreciate it!”

Johnson chatted for a bit, then returned to the recipe.

“We start with Bush’s baked beans, then three pounds of hot dogs, three pounds of bacon, one big onion, a little brown sugar and a little smoke,” he said. “That’s 16 gallons of beans, four roasters full – and it turns out pretty good.”

By 6 p.m., there was about 90 pounds of fish left; serving wrapped up about a half hour later.

Though a total dollar amount wasn’t provided, all profits go to the Ellendale Fire Relief Association to purchase tools and equipment needed for the department.

Even folks who don’t eat make donations, said Josh Otto, another firefighter.

“When we were cooking earlier today, somebody came in and gave us a check and said, ‘hey, we can’t be here tonight,’” he said.

Last year’s two fish fries raised about $12,000.

“The state of Minnesota only allows you to spend it on certain things,” Johnson said. “We do a lot of trainings, so it goes to that, too. We’ve got a good thing going; we have a lot of young people.”

The city and EFD are in the process of completing paperwork for the planning and building of a new fire hall.

“With any luck, that will be coming next year,” Johnson said, possibly allowing for even larger fundraising capabilities.

“I have a good time here,” he said, “because – thanks, Al! – I know just about everybody. It’s a lot of fun.”