Concession Stands & Doughnuts

Ahh, Friday. So nice to be looking at the weekend.......even not working, the weekend is a nice break in the routine! The only thing we have staring at us this weekend is mowing the yard. Other than that – there's really nothing on our agenda. I like that!

Fridays during the school year in my youth meant softball games. We may have had them other evenings, but I remember Fridays.......both boys and girls in high school played softball in the fall. Almost as soon as school started, so did the softball games. (We didn't have high enough school enrollment to have a football team.)

If we were playing at home, that meant “homemade” doughnuts. At all home sports events, we had a concession stand that was manned by the juniors and seniors. The proceeds from that concession stand went toward our annual senior trips. Our school was especially known for our doughnuts – a treat not replicated by any other school in our conference.

The Home Ec students were in charge of the doughnuts. The freshman (and later freshman/sophomore) class put the recipe together. The dough would be left to rise overnight. Depending on what the class schedule was, sometimes students would come in before school to roll out the dough and cut out the doughnuts. (If there was an early Home Ec class, they would take on this roll.) Later in the day, Home Ec classes would deep fry and glaze the doughnuts. They were wonderfully fresh for each home game. Occasionally we would get to fry some doughnut holes to enjoy before class ended.

Making those doughnuts was a team effort. The teacher would divide us into teams, and each team had a particular job. The big thing I remember about that doughnut recipe was that it used hot mashed potatoes. That made the dough so light and fluffy. Yes, we used instant potatoes. But they were so yummy and good. I think our concession stand always sold out of the doughnuts.

As a junior, I may have worked the concession stand once or twice during the softball season. I can't remember if I worked the girls' game or the boys', but I wasn't playing softball and could be flexible. When basketball season came, I was equipment manager for the girls' team and therefore was only available to work the concession stand during the boys' games.

My senior year, though, brought a personal change. I played softball that year, since we had moved to town (prior to that, I lived the farthest out on our bus route and wasn't able to play softball due to the practice schedule). I enjoyed so much being a part of the team that year. So I would've worked the concession stand during the boys' softball games. But when basketball season rolled around, I was just about the only girl available to work the concession stand before and during the girls' game......athletic, I really was NOT! :) I had done some waitressing by then, and I actually enjoyed working the concession stand.

By senior year, Mrs. Leakey was our sponsor, and I always enjoyed opportunities to be with her. She was a wonderful teacher for history and business, and she was just generally a great person. I had also visited her in her home during the summer, since she lived just down the street from my grandma. So to me, working the concession stand wasn't “work”.

I know there were things I missed out on by going to a smaller school – but the comraderie of working the concession stand was something students in a larger school might not enjoy. To me, it was a valuable experience and also a point of helping us “own” our senior trip!