OREGON, Ohio — Hundreds of volunteers were hard at work peeling, mixing and pouring through potatoes to prepare the German-American Festival's staple dish ahead of the weekend's celebration.
The three-day event, in its 58th year, will be at Oak Shade Grove in Oregon and volunteers said it will be filled with fun, food and a lot of festivities as usual.
Elaine Gladieux has happily been a part of the German American Society for nearly 20 years and said she's always happy to peel potatoes. After all these years, she still doesn't see it as a chore.
"I'm here to peel potatoes and meet other people. It's a wonderful place," Gladieux said. "This is fun. This isn't work. This is fun."
While Gladieux's hands are full, so are Ben Krieger's, the German American Society president.
"Just to see the smile on their face makes me feel good. That I'm doing my part to keep the festival going every year," said Krieger, who has been part of the society for the last 29 years. "This is like one giant class reunion because usually, that's where you'll see friends every year."
To the untrained eye, a large group of people peeling potatoes is just that. But really, it's a tradition, one best friends Regina Wandscher and Marita Perkins have taken part in for over 50 years.
"We've been dancing together. We've been singing together. We've been peeling potatoes together. We're having a good time together," Perkins said.
Wandscher recalled how the German-American Festival started as just a humble picnic in the early 1960s. She said she's proud of how it's grown and evolved over the years to what it is now at Oak Shade Grove.
"Groups coming in from different societies, choruses and bands and everything. Yeah, it's fantastic," she said.
There are more than 2,500 pounds of potatoes needed to make the perfect German potato salad, according to Kristine Able, the festival's potato salad chairwoman.
Able, the queen of the spuds for the last 15 years, is constantly up to her elbows in potatoes and gives each 65-pound tub a once-over before it goes into the refrigerator. She said she's overjoyed the volunteers make the event more than potato work.
"Really appreciate everybody's help. All their help to come out and do this, because it is a big task. Some of them haven't seen each other since last year, so, they sit together and peel and slice and just have a good time," Able said.
The festival will be held during the following times at 3624 Seaman Road in Oregon, just a half-mile east of Coy Road:
- Friday: 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.
- Saturday: 2 p.m. to 1 a.m.
- Sunday: Noon to 8 p.m.