As area families sit down to enjoy their Thanksgiving meal together this Thursday, chances are they’ll be savoring a pie made by Wessington Springs High School (WSHS) and middle school students, as part of a long-standing local tradition.
“Get aprons on and report to this table,” directed WSHS Family and Consumer Sciences/ Technology Skills teacher Charlotte Mohling Tuesday morning. “We’re on pecan pies now; I will go through each step. With the recipe here on the table and Riley (Roduner) to help, you’ll continue making pie filling for the rest of this period.”
Under the guidance of Mohling, students make pies in a wide variety of flavors, baking the pie crusts Monday and finishing the huge undertaking the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
Holiday pie baking action was in full swing with a whopping more than 260 pies sold through the annual Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) pie sale. The yearly pie sale is the group’s biggest fundraiser and helps fund student FCCLA projects throughout the year.
The service-oriented effort kicks off a series of projects FCCLA students will undertake over the next month, focused on giving back during the holidays including an Angel Tree, Hunger Project, Holly Jolly Mall booth, Christmas Carnival, Poppin’ with Spirit Spartan Pride project and a project dedicated toward area veterans being able to take the Honor Flight.
Mohling said it wasn’t always the well-oiled production it is today. “When we started doing this in the 1980s or 90s, I had each student bring two cans of pie filling,” she laughed. “Then we would make pies and have sort of a bake sale.”
The pie baking project has evolved into a sophisticated operation that includes purchasing ingredients in bulk, taking community-wide pie preorders and a two-day baking bonanza — that much like previous years, went well into the night on Tuesday.
Mohling said that pies may be picked up in her room, located on the main floor of the high school on Wednesday November 23 from noon - 3 p.m.
If unable to pick up pies at that time, please contact Mohling at 539-9391.