Spaghetti Dinner
The pasta, salad and garlic bread streamed out of the kitchen and into the hands of hungry “Waldonians” eager to eat and learn about the long and storied history of the now-shrinking town.
Young and old gathered at the First Baptist Church of Waldo community center for the Waldo Area Historical Society’s annual spaghetti dinner and silent auction on a cool Friday evening in mid-March. |
The event – one of the hottest tickets in town – has been a mainstay of the community since 2007 and serves as a fundraiser for the small-yet-mighty team attempting to preserve the memories of the once bustling city.
The team, clad in yellow shirts and known as the Busy Bees, is led by Penny Dodd, a 43-year resident and founder of the historical society. The event served as a gathering for guests to chat about the latest town news, converse about grandkids and reminisce about the days when the train would stop just off Highway 301 bringing fresh faces and much needed economic support. |
Only freight moves on rails today, passing by the train station-turned Amtrak bus stop near Randy’s Rib Shack. Still, the allure of the train dots the city from the large red Seaboard Air Line Railroad car greeting drivers passing through the old downtown to the logo found on the city’s work vehicles.
The rumbling of the freight train has also been a high point for Allen and Cheryl Shultzaberger, a retired couple who moved to the city six months ago for a change of pace. “We really enjoy it here,” said Cheryl Shultzaberger. |
The dinner was also as a chance to market the historical society’s latest work “Waldo, Florida: An Illustrated History,” 300-plus page book that was assembled from research and citizen submissions.
The silent auction, complete will trinkets and art work, was another fundraising effort for the group who are attempting to secure a museum to house their growing collection. |
The crowd went through 12 pounds of pasta in the first hour, according to Sharron Eudailey, the volunteer in charge of the spaghetti station. Keith Mauldin, another volunteer and attendee of the church, worked alongside two or three others in the kitchen pumping out orders to the basketball court-turned-dining room.
From the 9-month-old to 96-year-old and everyone in between, the dinner provided a chance for a renewed sense of optimism in the dwindling town. “It gets better and better every year,” Dodd said of the dinner. |
Story and photos by John Lievonen
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