Fryin' up great food and great times for Future Farmers of America groups

Community members from Peetz, Sidney and Sterling gathered en masse at Peetz High School Thursday night from 5 to 8 p.m. for the annual Peetz FFA Oyster Fry.

There were two seemingly never-ending lines that lead hungry community members to the gym where FFA members served them Rocky Mountain Oysters, chicken strips, onion rings, rolls, baked beans, coleslaw, chips, drinks and desserts.

Prepaid tickets for the event were $8 for adults and $5 for seniors and kids 12-yrs-old and under. At the door they were $10 for adults.

The night included the dinner, a luck-of-the-draw type raffle, and a FFA member auction at 7 p.m.

As the National Blue and Corn Gold tables in the school of 62 students filled with guests, Peetz Ag. Teacher and overseeing FFA advisor, Michael Forster, said that the support the school’s program has seen over the years is amazing.

“We broke the 600 mark in attendance last year and we’re hoping we break 700 tonight,” he said. “I’ll know we broke 700 if we run out of food. I buy 320 pounds of oysters, 200 pounds of chicken strips and 150 pounds of onion rings, plus all the coleslaw and things of that nature. If you figure at most a quarter or a half a pound per person, if we hit 700 we’re going to run out of food, and I’d be okay with that.”

Forster said that he has been teaching at Peetz for eight years and that the oyster fry has been a tradition in the community even before he brought it back into the program the year he joined the Peetz staff.

“They hadn’t had it for about eight years prior to when I was hired and the community wanted it back,” said Forster. “That was one of my first questions when they hired me. ‘Will you be willing to do an oyster fry?’”

The Peetz FFA Chapter has 54 members, which accounts for 98 percent of Peetz’s total high school students.

Forster said that the school helps support the program, just as the community does, with covering the cost for approximately 80 percent of the oyster meal, leaving the chapter with only 20 percent of the funds to raise.

A group of parents also help every year and cook the meal for guests.

“I have a group of die-hard dads that have been my fryers every year,” said Forster. “As a matter of fact, I even have one non-dad. They have a 4-yr-old and a 6-month-old but he’s still out here cooking. That really just shows how some community members support the program who don’t even have any kids in the program. It’s pretty awesome.”

“My dads completely pitch in and I’ve got moms that are in the kitchen cutting deserts and making sure some of the cold stuff is ready to go,” he continued.

The FFA members however are the ones who serve the food to the community to show their appreciationof the overwhelming support and to meet the faces of the citizens, he said.

“What I want to make sure is that my kids are out here and that every kid is making eye contact and having a conversation with every person that comes through this line,” said the Ag. Teacher. “That’s why we put so many kids on the server line and so many kids with the drinks because I want them to have that opportunity and exposure. It’s worth so much to me to have those kids exposed and have conversations and meet with those people that are supporting us because it makes a difference in our lives having those outside influences and support.”

The FFA members collected donated raffle items from businesses around the area weeks prior to the event, and every tray of food that was served had a chance of having a colored dot on the bottom of it.

There were three colors of dots, green (which meant the higher priced items), and orange and pink.

If someone had a colored dot on the bottom of their tray they could go over to the prize table and pick out what they wanted among the prizes that had the same colored dot on them as the one under their tray.

“Area businesses from Sterling, Peetz and Sidney donated items,” said Forster. “We are really fortunate that three different communities come out to support us.”

Among items with a green dot on them were an auto-darkening helmet priced between $300 and $400 donated by Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc. in Sterling, and a $300 wrench set - among other items.

“It’s their choice of what they want to pick, which is nice because nobody gets stuck with something they don’t want,” said the agriculture instructor.

“Sidney is just awesome, and I appreciate it greatly,” said Forster of the donations. “My kids go to Sidney right before the oyster fry and those businesses say, ‘Absolutely. Whatever you need. When is it? Put that sign in my window.’ It’s been pretty phenomenal.”

“We are really fortunate that these communities see the value in our program, and this is also one of the best opportunities that my kids get to learn how to serve and really give back,” he said. “Our community has always come out and done us a good job, and when I say ‘our’ I mean Sidney, Peetz and Sterling – all three.”

For the FFA members’ auction, two FFA members are auctioned off together as “a set” to buyers.

The members are to give the buyers eight hours of their time, be it working for them or assisting them with tasks.

“It’s nice for community members to get two kids for the same money, and for my freshmen because they’re so much more at ease being able to go with somebody else,” said Forster. “We’re fortunate because our community is small enough where we know everybody but we’ve had some buyers out of city too.”

Forster brought the member auction back during his second year of hosting the oyster fry, and said he had been approached once again by the community asking if he would start it up again.

On average the Ag. Teacher said that the member pairs usually go for $200 a set.

“The support is absolutely huge,” he said. “A lot of the time the agriculture program or FFA program is the bread and butter of the school because it is those Ag. kids that are hard working, honest and natural in the things that they do.”

Forster said that the kids are real leaders, and that it’s nice that the community sees that.

“This one single event allows us to go to national convention, state convention, district and state judging events, and allows us to essentially take these kids and not always have to ask parents to pay for everything,” he said.

“It allows us to take our kids and get them out there and exposed to contests and conventions and also supply them locally with things that they need.”

Next year Forster said that the chapter plans on taking approximately 15 members to the FFA National Convention and that it will cost between $6,000 to $7,000.

“But this one event will cover all of next year’s expenses,” he said. “And when I say expenses I should say opportunities.”

Three FFA members working the event said that they enjoy the event and appreciate the year-after-year support they receive from the community.

“It’s fun watching how many people come and how many more come each year,” said Morgan Burns, a Peetz junior and third-year FFA member.

“It’s cool to see all the new buyers and to work for them,” said Melissa Schumacher, a junior and Peetz FFA member.

Troy Clevenger, a senior at Peetz High School and President of the Peetz FFA Chapter, said, “It’s great to see all the support that the community has for us, and to show the role that we play in the school as well as the community.”