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Members of the Effinger Ruritan Club are finalizing their many months of planning for the 34th annual ice cream supper to be held this Saturday, Aug. 17, on the grounds of the Palmer Community Center. The ice cream supper always takes place on the third Saturday of every year.
The event always draws a crowd, with as many as 1,250 people coming out to enjoy the music and the culinary fare consisting of hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, roasted corn on the cob, homemade vegetarian chili, and locally made pork barbecue topped with Granny Shirley’s recipe for coleslaw.
But what the event is best known for is the homemade ice cream prepared by the Ruritans. The production of the ice cream begins each year on the Wednesday before the supper. Club members churn out ice cream all day from early morning to late in the evening. They make nine different flavors in all – banana, chocolate, strawberry, chocolate chip, vanilla, Oreo, peach and coffee. Last year the club began making a non-dairy option, coconut-almond chocolate chip.
Making the ice cream used to require two days of manual labor. Then Grigg Mullens Jr. and son Grigg Mullens III designed a cart capable of carrying five-gallon cylinders, which can be powered by electric or gas. Instead of a hand crank, the churns are operated by high powered pulleys. After the ice cream goes into quart containers, it is immediately put into a flash freezer to keep it fresh.
Volunteers count the people in the cars as they drive up to the event. This ensures that the club is able to have enough food and ice cream on hand for the next year if everything sells out this year.
Funds raised from the supper are divided between the Effinger Ruritans and the Palmer Community Center. This allows the community center to remain open for people to use. Donations are also accepted, as the Effinger Ruritan Club gives back to the community through scholarships for high school and middle school students in Rockbridge County. They also donate to Hunters for the Hungry, support the Mealson- Wheels program, provide snacks and drinks for the volunteers at the Rockbridge Christmas Packing event, provide funds for area food banks, donate dictionaries to local elementary schools, and many other causes.
Music by three bands will play from start until closing at 8 p.m. The bands this year are Betty & the Hot Flashes, New Plank Road String Band and Barry Templeton. It costs nothing to come and hear the music, but people are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs and blankets.
Bands used to play until dark, but the time has been shortened so that the volunteers can go home at a reasonable time and enjoy their ice cream. Many volunteers have worked hard for weeks and months to put this event on and they still have many hours of work ahead of them on the day of the supper.
To become a volunteer, call Lynda Miller at (540) 797-0126.
