Ham & Oyster Dinner

 More Than 120 Years of Tradition

2018  ~  Ham & Oyster Dinner

Saturday, November 3  ~  5:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Menu:
ham or oysters
St. James' homemade potato salad
green beans ~  apple sauce  ~ pepper cabbage
rolls & butter  ~ beverage
apple, pumpkin or coconut custard pie
all sides served family style in the dining room  ~  takeout available
Cost:  adults - $15.00/ children 5 -12 & - $7.50/ free for children under 5

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Ham & Oyster Dinner  -  A Bit of St. James' History

* Firstly, it is ham or oysters although both can be had for a small extra charge.

* Secondly, it is the major fund raiser held annually by the ECW (Episcopal Church Women).

* Thirdly, it has been going on at St. James' since the late 19th century…a long, long time.

A bit of history – It all started as an Oyster Supper.  The ladies of the St. James' Guild (forerunner of the ECW) needed a means to further their work for the parish.  Ergo a fund raising supper was initiated. Why oysters…perhaps because at the time Philadelphia was a major oyster market.  Oysters were plentiful, lower in price than meat, and available for consumption at all economic levels.

We don’t know exactly when baked ham was added to the menu but it seems likely that it occurred at one of those times in ensuing years when oyster prices soared.  Today's menu has remained virtually unchanged for as long as those of us who were girls in the 1940s can remember.  In those days only the aforementioned oysters were purchased; most other ingredients being donated by parish members right down to the butter for the rolls and milk for the salad dressing. Then too we began making our now famous potato salad using a parishioner's recipe.  Proceeds over the years have supported a wide variety of parish needs.  In days gone by the then Guild funded the Altar Guild, paid the organist's salary, purchased choir robes, paid for coal to heat the parish hall, and carpeted the sanctuary.  More recently, the ECW purchased the dishwasher and refrigerator for the kitchen and assisted with installation of air conditioning in the parish hall.  ECW continues to provide support to the Vestry and the church through various means including provision of supplies and equipment for the kitchen, hosting various parish functions, and assisting with specific parish needs as they arise.