Production of West Ferris Legion Branch 599’s famous meat pies is well underway.
Volunteers have been hard at work making the popular homemade pies for the past few weeks.
“We were a little late because we also host a major ball tournament in town, so a lot of our volunteers were tired up with that,” grinned Branch secretary Tod Russell.
This important Legion fundraiser began nearly 40 years ago.
“I believe 1986 was the first year, and they made 300 pies to raise funds to send the Branch’s Colour Party to its first Provincial Convention.”
Volunteers now make close to that amount in a single day.
On baking days volunteers turn out 252 pies. The last pie comes out of the oven around the noon hour, seven hours after the first volunteers began their day.
“We bake twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays,” Russell said.
“The last couple of years we made roughly 55-hundred pies. So, at the end of this year, our total will be 110 thousand, baked and sold. We would like to gross about $50,000 this year,” Russell added.
None of it would be possible without the commitment of an army of volunteers.
“There are people who are here from 5 in the morning to at least 3in the afternoon making, boxing, putting them away, and making up the orders. And we’re grateful that we have the team of volunteers that we have. We’ve got volunteers from throughout the community. A lot of them aren’t even Branch members and we’re really thankful for their assistance,” Russell shared.
One volunteer who has given his time extensively over the years is Oliver Brookes.
“He’s a Korean war vet. He’s 94 years old, and he drives up here every Monday and Wednesday. He spends an hour to an hour and a half here. He makes his share of the boxes and then he goes on about his business,” Russell grinned.
Another long-time volunteer is Lea Bale who has been volunteering with the pie fundraiser for a quarter of a century.
“I wasn’t a Legion member at the time, but I wanted to volunteer. It is just knowing that it is for a good cause, it’s our big money maker for the Legion, and I enjoy being with people doing it,” Bale explained.
“There is the social part of it too, that I have with the ones making pies. It is a fun thing to do.”
Marie Kerr is another enthusiastic volunteer.
“I like to help the Legion out. I have been doing this for 15 years. I started after somebody asked me to come out, and so I stayed. I really enjoy the camaraderie. Everybody is just so nice,” Kerr shared.
Over the years technology has made the art of pie somewhat easier.
“We have a professional-grade mixer that we use over here, and the actual machine my wife is running in the kitchen is a commercial unit. It is a two-sheet dough machine,” explained Russell.
“At one point they used to roll all the pies by hand and then quality control became an issue, because of the weight people would put on the rollers, one pie would be thick, one would be thin.”
Over the years people have tried to figure out the recipe’s secret blend of spices but to no avail.
“Some have tried but we don’t release it,” laughed Russell.
Like everything else, the cost of making the pies has gone up.
Everyone has seen their grocery bills skyrocket in recent months. Organizations trying to raise funds by selling baked goods have been hit just as hard.
So, with the cost of supplies going through the roof, the Legion regrettably has had to raise the cost by a dollar per pie.
“They’re up to $16 a pie now. The Bisto that we use as part of the mix in the meat process has gone from just over $3 a box to as much as $8 a box and we’re having to search all through town to keep up with it.”
The Legion promotes buying locally.
“We buy all our product that goes into these pies, locally. We don’t outsource,” explained Russell.
The pies are made with an equal blend of ground beef and pork.
“We make one with no garlic, one with a hint of garlic, and one with extra garlic, but it’s not a lot of garlic, it’s not overpowering,” shared Russell.
The Branch relies on the proceeds from the sales to cover essential in-house needs.
“Money raised helps support activities within the Branch, as well as the upkeep, really just whatever need the Branch has at the time.”
One of the last major projects the fundraiser helped cover was the cost of a new roof.
“That roof cost us about $40,000,” said Russell.
It is definitely a win-win.
Once you’ve tasted one of their pies, you will quickly discover why they are so popular.
Unfortunately, without fail, people wait until the last minute to purchase their pies and are disappointed that they miss out.
The meat pies find their way into freezers and on dinner tables for occasions like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“Their best bet for getting a pie is to pre-order and they can do that Monday through Saturday by calling the branch. During the week we’re opening at 1 p.m. now, and we’re open until 8 p.m. They can call 705-476-0566 to place their order,” said Russell who went on to explain their popularity.
“I just think it’s the care and the effort that’s put into them and the track record of course. The pies have a really good reputation. We have pies that go from North Bay as far north as Timmins and as far south as Toronto.”
The bottom line is, they’re delicious no matter where you eat them.