Here are a few pictures from the 1979, 50th Year barbecue. See how many people you can name!

–June 2009

Once the day of the annual barbecue was set for the 4th Thursday in October, it did not take the politicians long to figure out it was one of the last informal gatherings of the masses prior to Election Day in November. They soon began showing up with their pamphlets and handshakes in hopes of securing a vote. Both Republicans and Democrats work hard but it is doubtful if either party makes much headway. Hands are barely released by one politician before being grabbed by a representative of the other party!

Over the years the barbecue workers have learned that the politicians bring the good with the not-so-good. The good means that in years of national elections, a larger crowd can be expected to attend. The barbecue has seen everyone from a Vice-President nominee to the local dog catcher, with every office in between. The not-so-good includes roadside political signs and loose pamphlets on tables and cars. Finally, it was decided that if you can’t beat them, might as well include them. A make-shift political gauntlet has been set aside for the politicians to meet and greet voters. However not everyone who comes to the barbecue wants to bother with meeting the candidates for mayor or governor. They are only there for the food, fresh air and seeing old friends. A ticket line to bypass them is just as busy, along with a trash can for the political junk!

Forty years had seen a whole generation born into the barbecue. The original workers were turning some of their duties over to the “young folks”. These young people had grown up learning the art of cooking barbecue and stew by watching their parents and elders. As soon as they were tall and strong enough, they were cutting wood, stoking the fires, carrying buckets, picking up trash and anything else they were asked to do. The teachers at Newell and Derita knew there was no serious work to be expected from the Mallard Creek kids on Barbecue Day. They could not wait for school to be over so they could hurry to the barbecue. And forget about giving any homework!

As we approach the 80th year in 2009, another generation or two has grown up with the barbecue being an important event in their lives. The older folks are slowing down as their children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren are carrying on the jobs it takes to get things done to undertake such a large endeavor as the annual barbecue.

The youth of Mallard Creek have been very active in helping with the preparations. They have washed buckets, set out chairs and tables, and then put them away afterwards. They carry supplies from one location to another. They check to see if school will be out the week of the barbecue because they know there is no skipping class like their parents once did!

Remember, you do not have to be connected to any long-time family of Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church to become a part of the barbecue tradition. All it requires is for you to come, join the fellowship, and bring your children with you. It is an experience that will last a lifetime. Just ask anyone who was there last year!

–May 2009

The barbecue had become an annual ritual of harvest time. It was known far and wide for the excellent barbecue, but with the addition of the Brunswick stew, it became an equal draw for the customers. It is not noted when the first year the Brunswick stew was added to the menu, but it soon became a favorite side dish. As with the hogs, in the beginning the chickens, tomatoes and butter were donated by the church families. The Brunswick stew started cooking in the early morning hours of Barbecue Day. The line of pots went from the back of the chopping shed towards the road. The women prepared the ingredients as the men built the wood fires beneath the cast iron pots. It was reported that the smoke was so great you could hardly see the men as they stirred the stew. The pots were also donated for use on Barbecue Day by various members. In the book of newspaper clippings there is an article relating the story of one such pot. It was given to Mallard Creek by Mr. Osmond Barringer of Poplar Tent. It was over 100 years old and had belonged to his uncle, General Paul Barringer (USC). The pot was nearly four feet in diameter, had a 60 gallon capacity, and weighed at least 200 pounds. One year on the night before the barbecue, all of the pots and gas lines were stolen. When the theft was discovered, it was a miracle that enough pots were located and installed in time to get the stew going. That is the reason why a guard is on duty at the community house during barbecue week.

The stew began as more of a thick soup with lima beans and potatoes added to the chicken and tomatoes. Jennie Foster and Mary Oehler oversaw the preparations and cooking for the first 20 years or so. In the late forties, Beck McLaughlin took over and history was made! Beck had attended the very first barbecue in 1929 with her fiancée, Smiley McLaughlin and quickly found her spot in the stew department. She became stew chairperson and perfected the recipe into the one that is used today. The beans and potatoes were deleted as rice, chicken, beef, pork, tomatoes, and butter became the main ingredients. Someone once asked how she knew when the stew was done and the reply was “when it is seasoned till it tastes right, and cooked till it looks right”. There are probably a few secret ingredients but rest assured, squirrel is not one of them!

Over the years the Brunswick stew recipe has been tweaked a bit but the way it is cooked has changed little. The men were the first stirrers of pots over the open ditches. Then several brick fire ovens were built using gas for the heat source. After construction of a new “stew house” the cooking was moved inside. It requires constant stirring to keep the stew from sticking to the iron pots so it was decided to hire help to free up the men to do other jobs on Barbecue Day. The ladies from the surrounding area were asked if they would be willing to do this work for pay. They agreed and, like many other positions around the barbecue, their paddles have been passed down thru the generations.

It was not long before the patrons of the barbecue wanted to “take some home” with them. Brunswick stew was a great meal to eat on a cold winter night. It is one church family’s tradition to have Brunswick stew for their Thanksgiving Dinner meal. The demand for the stew soon made it impossible to cook it all on the day of the barbecue. Beck McLaughlin’s nephew Richard Wallace, along with his wife Linda, took over as co-chairmen of the stew department. They start the process early in the week by doing several “batches” to have on hand for the take home requests. There are many church members who help with making the stew, from washing buckets, cutting up chickens, setting up the gas lines to stirring the big pots. It is hard work but the reward is a cup of stew on Barbecue Day which makes it all worthwhile.

–April 2009

Church families continued to raise and donate hogs for the barbecue during the 1940’s. Each year piglets were purchased and placed with a family to be fattened up for the big day. The barbecue committee used proceeds from the previous year to provide the pigs, along with corn for feed and to have the hogs vaccinated. On the day before the barbecue, the men went around to the various farms to collect the hogs. They were taken to the home of Mr. H.Y. Galloway (husband of Mary Galloway, father of Karen Hambright) to be killed and dressed out. The hogs were then taken to the community house to be cooked through the night. Several long ditches were dug in the ground that stretched from the ticket stand almost down to the woods. The racks were placed on the dirt banks and hickory coals were shoved underneath to slow cook the whole hogs. The aroma was so strong that people from miles around came to watch and take in that special smell only barbecue has! That smell has had the same effect on people ever since as they often stop by to see what is going on at the community house on the cook days!

Starting in 1946, the hogs were taken to the abattoir in Charlotte to be prepared for cooking. The long ditches were no longer used as a new block building was built to cook the meat in. Once the meat was done, the pits were closed over and serving lines were set up inside the building. The meat was chopped in a shed and served directly to the plates and sandwiches. A time came when it was necessary to cook the meat inside a screened building. The cooking was moved to the home of J.W. “June” Oehler, Jr. The meat was cooked the day or so before and stored in coolers and transported to the community house on the day of the barbecue. When the long screened-in building was built, the cooking was moved back to the community house. The tradition of families providing the hogs also come to a close and the meat was purchased from suppliers, first as whole hogs and now butts, hams and shoulders. Because of the growth of the annual barbecue, the meat is cooked the Thursday and Friday before the big day. The use of metal cookers has replaced the dirt pits. Some of the meat is still cooked on the open pits inside the screened-in building. One thing is certain though, the barbecue is the same because it is cooked with a tradition of knowledge and fellowship as from the beginning.

Mr. J.W. Oehler, Sr. was the barbecue master/committee head from 1929 until his death in 1943. Mr. J.A. Kirk took over as the head of the barbecue committee and served from 1944 through 1965. After years serving as the barbecue master, Mr. J.W. “June” Oehler, Jr. became the chairman of the barbecue committee in 1966 and continued until 1978. In the 50th year 1979, his sons, Donnie Oehler was appointed Chairman with Craven Oehler as Co-chairman. These two men, who had grown up with barbecue in their veins, guided the annual barbecue for the next 29 years. In 2008, Charles Kimrey and Bill Wood took over as Co-chairmen. They are supported by experienced members who have been working many years and will be sure to advise them on how it is done! We look forward to the new leadership for at least 20 years!

–March 2009

To understand the importance of The Community House is to know the history of the Mallard Creek community. Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church was founded in 1829. That was only 32 years before the start of the Civil War. The local children were schooled in several small one room buildings; the Mallard Creek School, Oehler School and Union School (located near where Concord Mills Mall is today.)

Mecklenburg County experienced an economic boom in the years following the end of the war that would last in large part until the Great Depression. Cotton was King. The majority of the families in the Mallard Creek community were cotton farmers. This area became an important part of the textile manufacturing industry and cotton crops equaled prosperity. These people understood the importance of a good education and in August of 1920 the Mecklenburg County Board of Education accepted a donation of land for a new school by the Crenshaw and Cochrane families. The State Department of Education provided $1500.00 towards construction cost and the old Mallard Creek and Oehler Schools were sold for the additional funds needed. As was the long standing tradition of rural communities, the new building was constructed entirely through the volunteer efforts of MCPC. Men from nine families were able to build this new school in time for classes to start that fall.

The Mallard Creek School became a focal point of activity from its opening. Community and church social events, such as church picnics and baseball games were often held on the school grounds. Community plays, recitals, and other programs were held inside the large building. The Mallard Creek School held classes for children through the tenth grade for eleven years. In 1931 the School Board opened two new and larger schools in nearby Derita and Newell. It was only logical that the Mallard Creek Presbyterian congregation, whose families had built the building and supported the school during its eleven years of service, was able to purchase the structure for $250.00 when it was offered for sale by the State.

It was renamed The Mallard Creek Community House. Since 1932 it has been the home of the annual barbecue. Through the years it has served as a meeting place for the youth groups of the church, the 4-H club, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. The annual Halloween Carnival was held there until the church built the Activities Building in the 1970’s. The YMCA used the grounds for programs for several years in the mid 1990’s. Since The Optimist Club built new fields, baseball and soccer games are played there again.

From its construction in 1920 to the present day, the Mallard Creek School has remained an integral part of the Mallard Creek community. It is a tangible reminder of life in rural America, as it provides a common place where the community can come together for many different activities. It is the Mallard Creek “Community House”.

–February 2009

The church leaders of 1929 faced similar difficulties that many of us have in 2009. They had built a building to house the Sunday School rooms here at the church in the good times and were unsure how they were going to be able to pay off the debit. They needed to raise the funds and what better way to reach people than thru food. In early 1929, Pastor Dr. W.H. Frazer and his brother, Ben Frazer held a men’s meeting that included a barbecued pig. Everyone enjoyed the food and good fellowship, thus the ideal of having a fall barbecue for the entire church and surrounding community was agreed upon and hopefully the church debit would be retired.

That first year the proceeds after expenses were $89.50 which was enough to pay off the debit with a small amount left over. The Annual Mallard Creek Barbecue had been born.

Our forebears were a resourcefully group of men and women. They could fix anything, make anything, and grow almost everything their families needed. There was no Harris Teeter, Food Lion or Wal-Mart where you could buy whatever, in season or not. They realized that to make the barbecue an annual success for the church they would have to do a lot of preliminary work. Their summer gardens had to produce extra vegetables to be canned for the Brunswick stew. They pledged to raise a pig or two to donate for the meat along with a few chickens which meant extra work providing food and care for the animals. They spent time cutting extra wood for the fires that would be used to cook the meat. They baked pies and cakes, even when sugar was considered a luxury. They gave of their time and talent even as their monies were limited.

As you have been reading along, are you thinking what does this have to do with me? I can’t have a pig or two in the backyard and I can’t even get one tomato to grow on my patio plant much less enough to make 2000 gallons of Brunswick stew. It is all relative if you stop and think about it. We are living in 2009, not 1929. The world has changed but our needs are the same. The 80th Annual Mallard Creek Barbecue is now only 9 months away. Ask yourself what you can do to help out over the next months. Take the day off from work, or several if you are able. Plan to be there on the work days to help clean up the community house and equipment, cut wood for the fires, cook the meat, stir stew or bring a meal.

If it had not been for the dedication and determination of church members for the past 80 years, we would not be getting ready to celebrate this exciting event in the life of Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church. If you have been involved already, we are looking forward to seeing you again. If you have not volunteered yet, this year would be a great time to become a part of something where both the body and soul will be richly blessed.

–January 2009

September is here and how many have already thought that it’s almost barbecue time! The days are getting cooler and the leaves are beginning to change color. Fall is coming and so is our biggest event here at Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church. The date this year seems early, Thursday, October 22.
Remember, it is always the 4th Thursday in October and this year the month starts on a Thursday. We have a lot to do in the next 2 months to get ready for the big day. You will be seeing and hearing about the many opportunities that are available as we get started. There will be wood to cut, cleaning up around the community house, cooking the meat and Brunswick stew plus a lot more. Don’t wait to be asked – ask what you can do!

The Barbecue Committee hopes that you have enjoyed and learned from the monthly “Barbecue News” articles. They have covered just about everything there is to know about the annual barbecue, from humble beginnings to where we are today, 80 years later.

Since it is September, there are several upcoming ways you can get started with your barbecue preparations. The Barbecue Committee will have a booth at the “Day in The Park” on September 13 where you can sign up for any or all of the following.

Barbecue “Pig Tag”. It is time to find where you stored your pig tag from last year! And if you couldn’t find it last year maybe you should order a new one! If you don’t have one – get one! Orders will be taken until September 30. COST: $6.00 per tag.

80th Annual Mallard Creek Barbecue T-Shirts: There will be samples available for you to choose from.

80th Annual Mallard Creek Barbecue Hats: The hats will be color coordinated with the shirts.

The t-shirts and hats sell out fast so please be sure to sign up so we will be able to order enough for everyone. The prices will be reasonable. (At press time prices are TBD)

There are so many “jobs” that have to be done around barbecue time that they are too numerous to mention here. Over the next 2 months, there will more information coming out about when, where and what. Check on those last few vacation days you saved and mark down when you will be able to help out. Contact any of the barbecue committee members about anything – we do not turn down volunteer help!

The 80th Annual Mallard Creek Barbecue is coming. Be sure you’re there!

–August 2009