The Impact of a Tiny Country Church Fish Fry Is Immeasurable

If someone told you they knew of a tiny country church located in a town with maybe 30 houses in it that had recruited volunteers who showed up every week, hand-dipped 1,500 fish fillets in egg wash, flour and breading, and fried them, as well as made homemade macaroni and cheese and coleslaw -- and did that for eight successive weeks -- you'd likely think they were spinning a tall tale.

Cowden just smiled; they sell out every week.

The town of Prosperity, for many people, is a place that serves as a gateway between one destination or another. It was founded in 1848 by a gentleman named Robert Wallace who had dreams of grandeur that never materialized for the plots of land he purchased. Most of the homes sitting along state Route 18 that cuts through the center of the village are well over 100 years old, well-loved and worth slowing the car down just to take in their simple beauty.

Come Friday, this village will be hopping with people lining up to either sit a spell and have their beloved fish fry dinners or taking stacks of take-outs back home or to the office. License plates here will hail from as far away as Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia and Ohio and even from across the state.

Yes, it's that good.

Cowden said they pick the fish up frozen on Tuesdays and begin the preparations on Thursday. By Friday, all hands are on deck. By Friday evening, an entire crew comes in to break things down so they can start all over again on Tuesday.

How popular are fish fries in Appalachia and the Great Lakes region? Well, put it this way: There is an app or two for that. There are also detailed Google searchable maps for Lenten fish fries as well. In short, it's pretty serious stuff out here in the middle of somewhere.

"People literally turn their entire social calendar over for the several weeks of Lent to which fish fry they are going to go to," Cowden said. "For us, it is more than a fantastic meal. It is a way for people to have a meaningful impact in our mission work; Americans love to be part of something bigger than themselves, and they also love creating and joining communities. This does all of that."

========

Salena Zito is a CNN political analyst, and a staff reporter and columnist for the Washington Examiner. She reaches the Everyman and Everywoman through shoe-leather journalism, traveling from Main Street to the beltway and all places in between. To find out more about Salena and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

----