Greetings, fellow Oak Lawnians!
St. Gerald-based Boy Scout Troop 619 and Cub Scout Pack 3619 are hosting their annual spaghetti dinner from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday at St. Gerald Parish, 9310 S. 55th Court in Oak Lawn.
This will be the 43rd year for the Scouts hosting the spaghetti dinner there.
This is Maria Arteaga’s first year as the event chair, but she has been actively involved in these dinners for the past six years. Her son, Trinidad, is a member of Troop 619.
“It’s an honor for me to help put this event together. These dinners are a St. Gerald tradition,” Arteaga said.
The dinner is the largest fundraiser for the Scouts.
“We’re hoping to raise between $6,000 to $7,000 from the dinner. We have about 600 to 800 people that go through our doors. Some of them are families we recognize that come every year,” Arteaga said.
Proceeds vary from year to year due to the economy and the weather, but fortunately, the worse the weather, the larger the turnout.
“Proceeds will be split 50/50 between the pack and the troop,” Arteaga said. “Before the split, the Scouts make a donation back to the parish to use the funds at its discretion or delegate funds for a specific project or repairs.”
The Scouts will use their proceeds to fund their Rain Gutter Regatta and the Pinewood Derby and for other supplies they need.
Planning for the dinner starts five to six months earlier.
“It takes every Cub Scout — we have about 25 — and all 35 of our Boy Scouts to plan, host, serve and clean up,” Arteaga said. “We have a wonderful size pack, and the parents are helping throughout those months. It takes about 100 people. There are about half a dozen families that have been doing it for years.”
In addition to spaghetti, there will be salad, bread, soft drinks and a dessert table available.
Prepping for the actual meal starts the Friday night before the dinner.
“We probably have about six to eight guys that start on Friday night and do all the kitchen prep work,” Arteaga said. “We’ll have all different types of desserts, many of them home-baked and many from local bakeries, and we want to thank those bakeries for their donations.”
St. Gerald Pastor the Rev. Lawrence Malcolm is scheduled to say grace before the first dinner is served.
The event also will feature hourly drawings, raffle items and split-the-pot.
“We’ll be raffling off 50 to 60 items per hour, like gift certificates and other items donated. There’s a high probability you can buy a ticket and win something,” Arteaga said. “We are forever grateful to every local business that donated to our event and the wonderful establishments that make this dinner possible by their donations and place mat ads.”
Tickets are $7 per person for ages 12 and over and $5 for senior citizens and children ages 6 to 11.
For more information, call St. Gerald at (708) 422-0234.
More Top Picks Best Alto Saxophones
Celebrity announcements
Here are this week’s celebrity announcements: Happy birthday to Emily Kaktis, who’s turning 4, from her godmother, Aunt Jamie, Uncle Jeff and cousins Jack, Luke and Ellie. Joan and Mike Fahey send happy 10th birthday wishes to their grandson, Jimmy McQuaid. Happy 12th birthday to Brooke Arundel, from her parents and Damien, Raven and grandparents.
Carrie and Tony Szambelan wish their son, Nicolas, a happy 14th birthday, and their daughter, Brianna, a happy sweet 16th birthday. Happy 15th birthday to Mallory Byrd and to her mom, Melissa, from their great-uncle Rob Turek, Brandy and Nemo. Joseph Tomacic’s parents, Laura and Boris, and brother, Anton, wish him a happy 15th birthday.
Cathy and John Crivellone send birthday wishes to their sons, Alex, who is turning 16, and Tom, who is turning 24. Happy birthday to Andrew Mays, who’s turning 16, and to his brother David, who’s turning 19, from their parents, Kristi and Mike. Happy birthday to Tyler Prostka and Haley Casper, both turning 17, from their parents.
Happy 22nd birthday to Nora Dunne from her parents and Sean. Dayna Johnson’s family send her birthday wishes. Happy birthday to A.J. Naponiello, who’s turning 30, from his parents, Karen and Tony, Dan and family. Debbie Paluch’s sons and family wish her a happy birthday.
Happy birthday to Eddie Brooks from his family and Meaner. Birthday wishes go out to Glen Rylko, from Alicia, their children and Jackson. Jim Roupas’s family and friends wish him a happy birthday.
Keep your fellow Oak Lawnians informed about birthdays, special events or special “stuff” going on with your family or within the community. Call me at (708) 899-9544.
Until next time …
Cheryl Petzel is a freelance columnist.