In praise of SAUSAGE

Meaty fund-raiser helps school make ends meet

By KARL SCHWEIZER

Herald Writer

EVERETT — The people who guzzled beer and wolfed down sausages at the Sausage Festival Saturday may not have known it, but they were doing the Lord’s work.

With every mouthful of sauerkraut eaten, with every cup of beer downed, the thousands of visitors who wandered onto the grounds of Our Lady of Perpetual Help brought the Catholic school a bit closer to meeting its budget needs for the school year.

An estimated 20,000 visitors were expected to show up for the festival, which began Friday and continues through today, said organizer Amy Hoglund. By buying food and raffle tickets, and playing bingo, the visitors are helping raise more than $50,000 to keep tuition rates low for students of the private school, Hoglund said.

But charitable motivation didn’t bring Doug McCoy to the festival. It was the sauerkraut.

"The sausage was good, but the sauerkraut is excellent," said the Marysville man, chewing a mouthful of the tangy cabbage. "I don’t usually eat sauerkraut, but I like this."

A lot of people like it, apparently, said Frauna Hoglund, one of the original organizers of the Sausage Festival and Amy Hoglund’s mother-in-law. Workers baked 42 cases of the stuff, she said. The secret is a special sauerkraut recipe provided by a now-deceased parishioner of the church, Hoglund said.

Visitors were also expected to consume 60 kegs of beer and a cholesterol-boosting 2,500 pounds of sausage.

It’s all in the interest of good fun, and keeping the school doors open.

Clear skies and warm weather were a real help to the festival, said Amy Hoglund.

"We’re already up in attendance from last year, which was our best year," she said.

The Sausage Festival also includes music and a carnival and is held at the church grounds, 2619 Cedar St., near Everett Avenue.