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ROTARY CHICKEN BARBECUE AND FALL FESTIVAL 2012
Page 15
Street playground. That year, the
Rotary members prepared and served
500 chickens. The barbecued chicken,
corn-on-the-cob, potato chips and cof-
fee were $2 for adults and $1.25 for
children. The club showed a $505 prof-
it, according to their old records.
The third event took place at
Plymouth High School, now Central
Middle School, on the athletic field.
This year, the price for the dinner was
reduced to $1.50 for adults and $1 for
children.
In 1959, the club skipped the event,
but in 1960, the event was named the
Fall Festival and moved to Kellogg
Park, which has been the hub of the
event and the site of the chicken bar-
beque ever since. Some of the same
blocks used to build the pits all those
years ago are still in service.
Before long, the Three Cities Art
Club had signed up to display paint-
ings and other sources of art; the
Plymouth Theater Guild presented a
one-act play and The Plymouth
Historical Society displayed artifacts
and photographs depicting the history
of the town beneath parachute silk
tents to protect the precious docu-
ments from theweather. The Plymouth
High School band gave a concert and
the Penn Theatre showed old-time
comedies for 10 cents.
The festival has changed through
the years, as new groups have become
involved and old groups honed their
efforts.
It remains, true, though, to its origi-
nal, community-minded intent, to gen-
erate funds that staywithin local chari-
ties and benefit the Plymouth commu-
nity.
The task of directing and oversee-
ing the crew of volunteers at the bar-
beque falls to a committee made up of
RotaryClubmembers.
The menu remains the same,
although the coffee has been replaced
with a soft drink or water and a cookie
added to themeal.
This year, the price is $10 for a pre-
sale ticket or $12 the day of the event.
The club has tickets available in two
booths downtown, one at Ann Arbor
Trail and Main Street and another on
Penniman Avenue and Main Street,
where tickets can be purchased at the
advance price on both Friday and
Saturday.
While the pits are constructed
Saturday night, volunteers start the
charcoal as early as 6 a.m. to begin
cooking the 11,000 chickendinners, the
pit crews have the first meals ready to
be boxed up just before 11 a.m. and the
meals just keep coming until 5 p.m. or
until they run out of chicken.
“That's happened a few times,” Kay
Linville, the chairman of the Rotary
Barbeque committee last year said.
“People really love this chicken.”
Pick-ups of carry out dinners can be
obtained at West Middle School on
Sheldon Road at Ann Arbor Trail at
the same price and during the same
times. Dinners are sold until supplies
run out.