VINTON WAR MEMORIAL COOKS FEED THE MULTITUDES

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 20, 1992                   TAG: 9202200514
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: E1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON EAST CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
VINTON WAR MEMORIAL COOKS FEED THE MULTITUDES
After Catherine Gunter drops the last spoonful of coconut pie filling into its crust, she pops her pie into the oven and sets to washing her pots and pans.
She doesn't even lick the spoon.
"You wouldn't either if you stood here and did this all day!"
For a total of 21 1/2 years, Gunter and Sue Campbell have been the bread-bakers, fruit salad-gellers, chicken dinner-preparers and potato-fixers of the Vinton War Memorial.
And while it would be simple to lick the bowl, eat the crumbs or even cook a dish for themselves, frankly, the thought of going home to fix supper is something akin to taking your work home with you. "You just get tired of it after a while," laments Gunter.
Nevertheless, cooking is their job, and they admit they love it.
The two cooked for and served close to 21,000 people last year. Their busiest month was December, when they cooked three meals a day almost daily.
This year they already have served 23 meetings, prepared nine meals and catered two showers and parties each. January is the slowest month of the year.
Gunter, 60, came to the memorial as a part-time maid nearly 30 years ago when the last of her four children started school. About seven years and three cooks later, Gunter stepped into the kitchen as the cook until a new one could be found.
After several months of cooking king-sized lunches not unlike those she made as a child for her family of 12, she asked her boss when they would hire the new cook.
"We're not," was all that was said.
For the past year and a half she has shared the kitchen with Campbell, who arrived at the memorial as a maid also, about 15 years ago.
Like anybody, both have their bad days at work: Faulty yeast or flour makes the homemade rolls flop; cookies burn or "just don't turn out right," says Gunter.
Or they could run out of Idaho-in-a-can potatoes - the only thing they serve that's instant.
They even get stuck making the dishes they least like to prepare: butterscotch pie for Gunter - "I just don't like butterscotch," and chicken and dumplings for Campbell.
Cooking for the War Memorial, whether pleasant or not, does lend itself to some rather unusual gatherings. A few years ago a large family, mostly out-of-towners, gathered in Vinton for a wake. They asked the memorial to play host. "I asked them, `You're not going to bring a casket here, are you?' " laughs Gunter. No casket came.
The groups that come to the memorial include clubs and bridal parties. The largest gathering they've cooked for was a group of 150 people from Reed Street Baptist Church. It took them eight hours - each - to prepare the buffet-style meal, serve it and do the dishes.
One observation Gunter has made recently is that meeting and party planners are leaning toward healthier foods when they plan their affairs at the memorial.
"People are watching that cholesterol more than they used too," Gunter explains, noting that the ham isn't as popular as the less fatty turkey and baked chicken.
However, visitors aren't cutting back on dessert. The coconut pies are in highest demand, though Gunter doesn't understand why.
She says incredulously, "It's just a coconut cream pie." Gunter willingly shared her recipe. Try it out for yourself. (You may lick the spoon.) [Recipe for coconut cream pie included.]

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB