Greenford Ruritan members ready for 59th chicken sale at Canfield Fair
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CANFIELD -- Greenford Ruritan Club members met at the club's Canfield Fair dining hall Monday night to complete preparations for its 59th chicken barbecue dinner concession at the fair.
Members, many spouses and friends of the club join forces every year to run the grills, cut up potatoes for fries, make milkshakes, serve dinner foods, make salads and cole slaw from scratch and meet thousands of customers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Up to 25 people at a time are needed to staff the operation during peak hours. The club's dedicated pit crew barbecues chicken halves and breasts in a time-honored fashion over charcoal in long pits immediately behind the dining hall.
The chicken barbecue effort netted the club $25,000 in 2018 to support its many community service projects. The Greenford Ruritans have given $132,000 in high school scholarships since 2000.
Many customers have made enjoying a Ruritan chicken dinner an annual fair highlight for decades. Club members frequently get thanks from scholarship recipients with some student families volunteering to show their gratitude. For the first time, club president Dwayne McGeHee announced Monday the club had received a "pay back" from a 1967 scholarship recipient in the amount of $1,000.
The Greenford Ruritan Dining Hall at the Canfield Fairgrounds is located on Boardman Drive just west of the Commercial Building. Breakfast is served from 8 to 11 a.m., with chicken dinners coming to the line at 11 a.m. and continuing as long as the day's supply lasts. New this year are kielbasa sandwiches and payment by credit card.