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Church dinner continues tradition going back 138 years
Two members trace fall festival to at least 1871
Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by JASON BABCOCK
Christ Episcopal Church as seen from a nearby hill in Chaptico. Its members will be holding the church's annual dinner this Saturday to raise funds for the parish to maintain the church and church hall. The church's festivals date back to at least 1871.
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As best Julie Burch and Sharon Montillo can tell from their research, the annual fall festival at Christ Episcopal Church in Chaptico has been held just about every year since at least 1871.
The next one is on Saturday, Oct. 10.
In addition, Our Lady of the Wayside Church nearby is holding its apple festival on Oct. 11.
"We've kind of made it a Chaptico weekend," Burch said, unofficial historian of Christ Church. Her parents live at the corner of Zach Fowler Road and Hurry Road where the Chaptico Post Office used to be inside the general store.
Burch had already done plenty of work on her family's history. Montillo got interested to know how far back the church dinners went and what was written about them.
Together, they got down to work.
The first mention of the Christ Church dinner they found so far was in the Sept. 7, 1871, edition of the St. Mary's Beacon, giving notice of the event on the 14th. The price of the dinner was 75 cents. This year's dinner is $20.
"As the Festival is to be held for a praise-worthy object, the dinner likely to be all the most fastidious appetite could demand, the attention and courtesy of the managers all that could be asked, we hope and believe a general public attendance will result, particularly from the Leonard Town section of our county," the notice read.
"I was just impressed with the different kind of language they used," Montillo said.
"The art of language is lost" today, Burch said, with the prominence of quick e-mails and abbreviated text messages.
In those decades after the Civil War, the church's festivals were held at different locations — homes and farms of its members. Now they are held at the church hall on Zach Fowler Road.
The festival in July 1876 also celebrated the nation's 100th birthday and was held at Oscar Hayden's property, called Bashford.
On Aug. 7, 1878, the festival was held at Mill Point on the Wicomico River, the home of Samuel Hayden. The next year the festival and a jousting tournament was held at the home of John Lyon Jr. near Chaptico Wharf.
The Beacon often relied on residents to regularly write in to tell the editors what was happening.
The Sept. 7, 1882, edition contained such correspondence from Chaptico.
The festival that year was held at the home of John Lyon with about 200 people present, "including many beautiful young ladies, some of them from the adjoining congregations of different denominations."
The food from both land and water was "prepared and served in the nicest manner and could not fail to please the most fastidious taste." The festival took in $151, which was used to purchase a bell for the church.
The bell was installed April 11, 1883, and it was said at the time to be the church's first, but a member of the Key family, which has many members buried in the cemetery, wrote in there was a bell long before that.
Later that year the festival went off well again.
The Aug. 30, 1883, edition of the Beacon said, "There was a festival at the elegant and beautiful residence of Mrs. George F. Maddox, Green Springs, last Tuesday evening, given for the benefit of Christ Church, Chaptico, which was well attended by members of the Parish and a few others from a distance, and for the members present, was quite a success. An elegant supper was set, composed of the most choice edibles of the season, supplemented by a splendid confectionary table, where ice cream and the best of confectionaries were dispensed by fair hands; lemonade was also in abundance.
"Soon after supper all so disposed engaged in the merry dance, for which two splendid rooms were at the disposal of the company, while others strolled over the beautiful grounds in the yard. The entertainment was kept up until quite a late hour, and the dance was ended by the Virginia reel, in which all who had not previously left, participated. We never saw a company enjoy themselves more and we have no doubt all derived much pleasure from the entertainment. The net amount realized was, we learn, about $115."
"It's just all so neat," Burch said as she went through the files she's collected so far. "I think there's plenty out there we haven't found."
Today's congregation is made up of about 100 families and the fall festival is the year's only fundraiser for the church itself.
"It's our big fundraiser," Montillo said.
The spring strawberry festival is to collect money for local charities.
Christ Church dates back to 1736. The tower was added to the building in 1913.
If you go
The Christ Church Fall Festival is on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 12:30 to 5 p.m. The traditional dinner items include country ham, baked ham, fried oysters, parslied potatoes, cole slaw, sweet potatoes, green beans, Bertie's relish and rolls.
Adults and carryouts are $20, children between 6 and 12 eat for $7 and children 5 and younger eat free. Call 301-884-3451.
