022820...R PIEROGI 1...Campbell...Dorothy Stellmar of Struthers, member of St. Joseph the Provider Chruch, rolls potatos into balls for the pierogies...by R. Michael Semple

CAMPBELL — The aroma of dough and potatoes instantly filled the air Friday, upon walking into Christ the Good Shepherd, St. Joseph the Provider site.

A low hum of chatter with bursts of giggles also could be heard, as voluteers worked together for the last time.

“I think we’re all ready for a vacation,” said Michele Jenoff of Campbell, laughing as she helped make pierogi inside the church.

The decision to stop making them is due to an aging population making the food each week, and not enough young people, many of the volunteers said.

Jenoff said some of the group of about 30 core volunteers may trickle to other locations in a few weeks — other churches have been asking.

The oldest volunteer, Mary Malys, 91, of Campbell, spent her last day at St. Joe’s pinching pierogi. She’s enjoyed socializing for the 30-some years she’s volunteered.

“All the people, the camaraderie” is what she’s looked forward to.

Now that her Fridays will be free, Malys said she looks forward to spending time with four generations of family.

COMMUNITY

One of the youngest volunteers — in his early 40s — said he’s sad to see this chapter close, but not necessarily for himself.

Erik Forni and his wife Leah decided to relocate to Campbell from Long Island after spending a year traveling around the country.

Choosing Campbell because of “the real sense of community,” Forni said he’s learned a lot from his friends.

“Something Leah and I can say — we’re 40 — (is) we’ve never been a part of something that’s been around for 100 years,” he said.

“Talking with these ladies, they’re really cool. They have great stories,” Forni said, adding that the volunteers have adopted him and his family.

“It’s going to be really sad when it ends,” as many have lost spouses through the years and children have moved away.

The weekly routine of making pierogi, year-round, has given the volunteers something to look forward to, Forni said.

As Mary Therese Driscoll of Canfield put it, laughing with her group of friends: “I came once and fell in love with the old ladies.”

A group of the ladies even threw Driscoll a shower when her first grandchild was born — gifting her with things a new grandma needs.

TRADITION

Pierogi are a filled dumpling of Eastern and Central European culture.

Keeping the same recipe over the last several decades, pierogi at St. Joe’s have cost $6 a dozen for a while.

When a group rolling potato filling was asked which task they felt is the most tedious, several responded: “pinching!”

Since the 1950s, and even unofficially earlier, volunteers have assembled potato, lekvar (prune) and sauerkraut pierogi, previously benefiting the school that was once housed at the church, located at 633 Porter Ave., explained Betty Simchick.

Once the school moved to Youngstown about a decade ago, Simchick said the proceeds have gone toward Christ the Good Shepherd, which includes St. Joe’s, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, St. Lucy / St. Rosa.

BUSY COOKS

Dorothy Stellmar, of Struthers, explained that at least 160 dozen of the potato pierogi are sold weekly, with 25 of lekvar and sauerkraut each.

Volunteers met on Thursdays to prepare to prep for the weekly event.

Everything generally was made by hand except dough, mixed in a large mixer.

Stellmar said that one piece of machinery, an old rolling machine, is so old that a bearing has gone bad and can’t be found.

“I’m surprised we’ve made it this far,” she said, chuckling.

The pierogi have made it around the country, the volunteers said. When folks make it back to Campbell for a visit, they’ll buy some and take them home or on a trip.

Assembling the treats is fairly easy for the group, most of whom have volunteered together for 30 to 40 years.

Orders are taken, and dough and fillings are made.

Then, once everything is proportioned, the assembly happens, and the pierogi are boiled.

Depending on the order volume, some are frozen for future festivities and others are sold fresh, “dressed” with butter and onions or plain.

“We float around, helping each other,” said Stellmar — with other volunteers agreeing tha teamwork is why the group lasted so many years.

afox@tribtoday.com