Can do: Mobile meat canner visits Lowville

This year, volunteers canned pork, whereas chicken or turkey has been processed in the past, said committee chair Jeremy A. Kelly, noting that pork was chosen since it can be sent to Ukraine.

Having traveled to Ukraine to distribute canned meat in 2015, Kelly was among the people instrumental in bringing the mobile canner to Lewis County. This year knowing the canned pork may be sent to the war-torn country makes it close to his heart, he said.

“It’s a good cause, feeding the hungry,” Kelly said.

At about 11 a.m. Monday, Kelly said they were ahead of schedule partly because butchers came from Miller’s Meat Market to help.

Committee member Ken Landis pointed out that the Lowville meat canner visit was unique due to the diversity of volunteers since many locations are only crewed by members of the Mennonite Church.

“We are very diverse,” he said. “It’s not just churches, not just the Mennonite Church, but reaching far beyond that — a true community effort.”

Volunteers also came from the Board of Cooperative Educational Services culinary arts, carpentry and transitions classes.

According to the MCC website, the “cannery on wheels” with four canner operators travels to 34 locations across the U.S. and Canada to aid more than 30,000 volunteers in processing meat to help ensure communities around the world have a reliable source of protein.

Dawn and Paul Widrick of Copenhagen have volunteered all six years of the Lowville visit. An added bonus this year is a visit with their son, Andrew, who is traveling with the canner for two years.

“It was God’s calling for him to work with the canner,” Paul said.

Their younger son, Nathan, also came to volunteer Monday.

Joseph and Patricia Baer of Alden learned of the Lowville program through the Beaver Camp newsletter and brought their camper to stay and work for both days.

Midmorning the two teamed up on the meat chunker to cut the pork into cubes, the last step prior to canning. Earlier, Patricia had helped with labeling and Joseph had helped with the actual canning.

“We saw it as an opportunity to help with a great cause and meet new people,” Joseph said. “I’m retired and enjoy serving others.”

Patricia added, “It’s delivered to the needy throughout the world. We have what we need so it’s good to help others.”

Overseeing sanitary measures, Jennifer LaFlesh of Lowville, made sure everyone who had direct contact with the meat was properly “suited up” with an apron, gloves and hairnets.

This was her second year volunteering.

“It’s important since the meat goes locally and afar,” she said, noting the abundance of workers. “Many hands make light work.”

Longtime volunteers Elizabeth Woods of Tug Hill, Lila Ovanvo of Beaver Falls and Virginia Zehr of Lowville visited while affixing address labels to the labels for the cans.

Ovanvo said she has volunteered since the program began here and previously at Seneca Falls.

“It’s one way to help someone else,” she said. She has worked in different positions including helping with the quilts.

“It keeps us young,” Woods added.

“You get to visit with people you don’t often see,” Zehr said. “It’s fun.”

Zehr said she has also helped cut meat and dry cans.

Besides being sent overseas, 10% of the canned pork will remain locally to be distributed to food pantries in Lewis County and the Urban Mission in Watertown.

According to the Meat Canner of Lewis County website, there are serval jobs to be done including building prep and setup, tear down and cleanup; cutting or cubing meat, filling cans, sealing cans, cleaning cans, labeling cans and boxing cans. The event also included a quilt tying to finish assembling blankets that are provided to people after a disaster, such as a fire.

Up at the manor house, volunteers gathered to finish the blankets.

Alana Roes, 13, of Glenfield, said she came to help and spend time with her grandmother and had learned quilting at a sewing circle.

“It’s a wonderful thing to do,” said Eunice Gingerich of Lowville. “Help some else with a blanket to put on.”

Judy Eberly of Tug Hill, who has experienced losing everything in a house fire, pointed out, “You don’t appreciate it until you don’t have anything.”

Yvonne “Bonnie” Bender of Castorland has volunteered at the event for years.

“It’s something I can do here at home to help out,” she said. “I can’t go overseas.”