Fire department fish fry a staple of Lent
Loaf by loaf and container by container, the Nemacolin Volunteer Fire Department’s Ash Wednesday fish fry was taking shape Tuesday night.
Several members of the department assembled the night before the dinner around the kitchen table at the fish hall to prepare for the first night of the annual fish fry. Chief Harvey Knestrick doesn’t know how long it’s been going on, but estimates it’s at least 50 years old.
After the Ash Wednesday dinner, they take place every Friday until Good Friday.
For the Friday dinners, they’ll prepare about 200 orders from a time-tested menu: fish or chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, shrimp, and meal orders that throw in coleslaw, fries or onion rings and a drink. Hot pepper cheese balls, desserts and more are also available on the side.
Some local businesses will also order meals for delivery, Knestrick said.
Sales have been “picking up every year,” Knestrick said, as people come in from Nemacolin, Carmichaels and beyond.
Firefighter John Bregan initially joined the department in 1978, and rejoined when he recently moved back to the area. He enjoys the camaraderie between members and with the community.
“We have regulars that have been coming in for years, and it’s always nice to see them when they show up,” he said. “Some people, when they travel, they’ll come by. It’s like ‘We drove an hour and a half because we heard about your fish fry.’ And that kind of makes it nice. I think last year we had someone drive all the way from Westmoreland County because they heard about the fish fry.”
Firefighter Eugene Trump — “no relation,” he said — likes being able to give people another dining option.
“People locally don’t have to go to Uniontown or Waynesburg to eat,” he said. “They can’t drive a half-hour down the road or come across the street.”
Preparations take about an hour Thursday, then most of the day Friday. Department members contribute as much as they can, Knestrick said; Tuesday’s turnout was lower, but absent members had good reasons, whether training or other classes.
Max Brozik, assistant ambulance commander for the department, has been with the department since 1981. His job is to stand ready to put the fish in the buns as soon as it comes off the grill.
“I enjoy just helping people, and I like helping here,” he said. “You don’t get paid, but it’s the self-satisfaction of helping the community.”
The dinners raise funds for the departments for everything from fire hoses to fuel for the fire trucks.
Insurance took care of most of the repairs to the fire hall after high winds knocked trees into the building in 2022. But there’s still the matter of the higher insurance costs the department has had ever since.
“It costs a lot of money to keep these doors open, you wouldn’t believe, and you don’t get the money from hardly anyone anymore,” Knestrick said.
They also build community spirit.
“They’re trying to back us, and they have our back,” Knestrick said. “Everything they buy, a little bit of that money goes to keep the place open.”
Community outreach efforts like the dinner have also helped recruitment, Knestrick said. The department has about 25 active members, eight of whom joined in the past years.
“It looks fun,” firefighter Jen Morris, who joined the department in September, said of the preparations.
“Ask her again tomorrow after we close, when you can’t remember your name,” said Wanda Miller, the department’s financial secretary. Miller’s in her third year of the fish fry.
With the fire hall dinner and the deliveries to businesses, “I work harder than I worked when I was working,” Miller said.
It may be a lot of work, but it’s worth it, Miller said. It’s a chance to provide for the friends and neighbors that come out every week in support.
“A lot of people like to come and sit and talk to other people,” she said. “It’s good for the community.”