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Hungry pie lovers swarm Citizens Center

By DIANE TURBYFILL, LTN Staff Writer

Jan. 30, 2002 - Pecan praline, coconut pineapple, chocolate chess, sweet potato and peppermint were among the more than 30 varieties of pies served Tuesday at the National Pie Day celebration in Lincolnton.

Pie lovers came in droves to the Citizens Center to enjoy the tantalizing treats prepared by members of the Lincoln County Extension and Community Association.

“I love the raisin pie,” said Ann Digh as she tasted a bite. “It is out of this world.”

Digh said she and her friends came to pie day in Lincolnton last year, and learned that the early bird got the worm.

“We were late last year, and there wasn’t much left. But we came back this year early.”

The pies are served free of charge at the annual event, but everything is first come first serve. This year’s event, scheduled to last from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed at 1 because all the pies were gone. But 172 pie lovers were served before the pie plates were empty.

Styrofoam plates were filled to capacity with as many samples of the pies as would fit.

As the ladies served their guests, they answered questions about their recipes — preparation techniques, ingredients and “how did you get the crust so light.”

Some of the women had interesting stories to tell about where they learned about their pie recipes.

“I got my pineapple-coconut recipe from the bread man who used to come to our store,” said Rachel Rhyne, owner of Rhyne’s Grocery.

“Mine came from an old recipe book that my mom had in the ’50s,” said Beth Terres who remembers eating the pie at family gatherings as a child.

Rebecca Kaylor said she thinks of her sister-in-law whenever she makes her pecan praline pie.

“This is my sister-in-law’s recipe. She made it up herself and won first place in the WBTV cooking contest,” said Kaylor. “Mickie passed away seven years ago, but her recipe lives on.”

Members from the six community extension groups in Lincoln County participated in this year’s event. Their recipes were sold for $2 each in bound copies. State Rep. Dan Barefoot, who stopped in for some pie, made sure to pick up a couple of recipe books for his wife.

Herb Bryant also sat at a table with a clean plate in front of him and a cookbook at his side.

“It’s really good,” he said.

Bryant says he is not much of a baker but hopes his wife will put the book to use.

Helen Turner, coordinator of the event, said the pie day celebration has more than one purpose — to share their recipes and to show the public what their organizations do in the community.

“I think it creates interest,” she said. “We hope that people will ask and get interested in it.”

A table display at Tuesday’s event showed how the women devote their time to several organizations, topping 22,000 hours in 2001.

Volunteerism continues to be the foundation of the Extension Homemakers Association. Each year, members volunteer over 600,000 hours to their communities, counties and state.

Extension and Community Clubs are found throughout the country and in 65 other countries. It has a total of 8 million members worldwide. In North Carolina, there are 100 counties and the Cherokee Indian Reservation that have clubs with a total membership of 10,000.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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