SOCIAL A YEARLY TREAT; ICE CREAM EVENT DRAWS FAITHFUL.

Byline: Greg Botonis Staff Writer

It's a daunting shopping list: 1,200 pounds of ice, 153 quarts of half-and-half, 60 half-gallons of milk, 40 dozen eggs, 100 pounds of sugar, 45 pounds of salt, three flats of strawberries and 98 pounds of peaches.

And that's just to make the 130 gallons of ice cream that will be at the center of the Lancaster United Methodist Church's 53rd annual ice cream social. There are also the supplies for the 80 pies, 60 cakes and six dozen brownies being baked by a dozen or so church members for their Wednesday night fund-raiser.

``Everything is homemade, the pies, the cakes, all of it,'' said Cathy Swords, who chairs the social.

``We gather in the church kitchen or make the desserts at home and we just have a good time with it. Some of us gather in the morning and make the custard and then others will freeze and pack the ice cream that evening and we bake everything else at the same time. It's just a lot of fun. It can't get much better.''

The tradition began in the late 1920s, when a few church members gathered in someone's back yard to visit and eat homemade ice cream. More and more people joined in over the years, and it became a regularly scheduled event held at the church.

The social eventually outgrew the church's two five-gallon freezers, and after World War II, church member Arthur Pickus was able to obtain two 10-gallon surplus freezers. He replaced the electric motors with gasoline-fueled engines, and the freezers are still in use at the event.

``The freezers were a great addition to the church but they're a bit finicky,'' Swords said. ``It's great to have members of the church who are of the engineering type.''

Although the event had to be stopped for three years during World War II because of sugar rationing, it came back even stronger afterward.

The social now draws more than 1,200 people, who relish the gallons and gallons of homemade chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, peppermint and peach ice cream.

``We get the strawberries and pick the peaches when they are perfect and then freeze them so the flavor stays perfect,'' Swords said. ``It's a lot of work for everyone but it's fun.''

In 1960, the money raised by the social began being used for mission projects supported by the United Methodist Women, and the funds continue to be used for that purpose.

Ice cream will be 50 cents a scoop, take-home containers will be sold for $2 a pint and $4 a quart. Pie will be $1.25 a slice; cake, 75 cents a slice; and brownies, 50 cents each.

``We raised about $2,100 last year but that's not what it's about,'' Swords said. ``The funds go to good use but this is really about the people and the community.''

Swords said the social is a great opportunity to meet new neighbors and catch up with old friends.

``This is really a community affair,'' she said. ``We have a lot of people who look forward to this to socialize and see people they don't get to see except for at the social.''

The Lancaster United Methodist Church's 53rd annual ice cream social will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at 918 W. Ave. J. For more information, call [phone].

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PHOTO (Color) Lancaster Methodist Church members Fitz Fulton, left, Bill Baer and Stan Kindig prepare ice cream.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer