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Volunteers Becky Bierlein and Gina Darlak display some of the treats on sale at last year's Holy Ghost Election Day sale.
Volunteers Becky Bierlein and Gina Darlak display some of the treats on sale at last year's Holy Ghost Election Day sale.

Biggest bake sale in Bergholz gets even bigger

by jmaloni
Thu, Nov 1st 2012 11:00 am

Holy Ghost Lutheran School's annual Election Day fundraiser has grown.

This year, a satellite bake sale site at the Shawnee Volunteer Fire Co. Firehall, 3747 Lockport Road, Wheatfield, will be offering all the tempting treats that have been available for years at the polling place at Holy Ghost School, 6630 Luther St., Bergholz.

Both locations will be open from 6 a.m. until sold out. Enjoy the reasonably priced homemade selection of baked goods made by more than 50 volunteers under the leadership of Louise Schildhauer.

Fifteen half bushels of apples will be peeled to make the variety of apple products while 75 pounds of carrots will be peeled and shredded to ensure freshness of more than 240 plates of carrot cakes. Other assorted fruit pies, filled turnovers, walnut and raisin butter tarts, zucchini and pumpkin breads, soft ginger snap and pumpkin cookies, etc., including professional decorated cutouts will be available for purchase. Single items will be available to customers who want smaller portions.

Schildhauer said the decision to add the Shawnee firehall satellite site is the result of polling place changes made in 2008. Some residents of Lockport Road, Hoover Road, Brent Drive, Milleville Circle had mentioned they didn't like having to go to vote at Shawnee, then drive to Holy Ghost to get their sweets. Schildhauer sought and won permission from the fire department to set up two banquet tables of Holy Ghost's homemade sweets. She expects to be there at 4:45 a.m. Election Day to set up.

Schildhauer, who has chaired the Holy Ghost fundraiser since 1996, is expecting an especially successful sale this year, since in presidential election years, voter turnout can be as high as 75 to 80 percent. Last year, only about 25 to 27 percent voted, she said.

It's not an easy job to deal with the sheer volume of the sale. Schildhauer organizes the parents and volunteers to get the baking done and the results wrapped, and to set up the sale. Plus she has to deal with rising food prices this year.

"There is so much running around to get the best baking prices - example, eggs last year were 89 cents," Schildhauer said. "I found a restaurant here in town to get 60 dozen for $1.20 a dozen. We use over 400 pounds of flour alone."

According to Schildhauer, it's not necessary to be a voter assigned to Holy Ghost School or Shawnee firehall to attend the sale. "Everybody is welcome to make the difficult decision of which baked goods to take home."

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