A sweet project: Jackson 4-H Club bakes more than 100 pies for Salvation Army's Thanksgiving meal

For the fun they seemed to be having, the flour-dusted kids of the Progressive 4-H Club in Jackson were a surprisingly efficient pie-baking machine.

Several dozen club members and their families gathered at Emanuel United Church of Christ to prepare more than 100 pies to be donated to the Salvation Army's Thanksgiving meal.

Club member Riley Russell, 13, took a break from rolling dough balls on the assembly line to reflect on what it means to do volunteer work.

"This is my eighth year doing this," he said. "And every year it makes me feel good, because we're doing it so people who don't have a place to go on Thanksgiving can still have a good Thanksgiving."

His mother, Erika Russell, is the club's community leader and said the club's service tradition goes back further than she can recall. She's been in charge of it, however, for the past eight years.

Ty Wright helps make pie crusts on Tuesday at Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson. Youth members of Jackson's Progressive 4-H Club made more than 100 pies for the Salvation Army Thanksgiving dinner.Laura Simon

"I kind of got -- how do I say this -- someone nominated me," she explained. "So now I've been a part of baking more than 800 pies."

By now, she said, they've got the process worked out so that everyone has a job, from the 5- to 8-year-old "clover kids" with their tiny rolling pins to the adults working the ovens.

"It's amazing," Russell said. "When I started out helping with this, we weren't quite up to the 100-pie mark."

Now, though, she has to make sure to pay attention once the process gets going to make sure they don't go overboard and make more pie crusts than they have filling for.

The club does other volunteer work throughout the year, singing at veterans' homes or building birdfeeders. They also work with the Jackson school district to "adopt" a family for the holidays.

But Russell said they look forward to the pie making especially.

"As you can see, the kids just love it," she said.

And not just the little ones. Julia Todt, 18, was just as covered in flour and pie crust as the youngsters, but said one of her responsibilities as an older club member is to help those kids remember they're not just there to play around. In addition to values like leadership and kindness, generosity is something the club seeks to foster in its members.

"Me, personally, when things are going good, I don't necessarily think about people who are less fortunate than I am," Todt said. "But this gives you a chance, before Thanksgiving, to really remember that."

Wanda Aufdenberg, the club's co-leader, said the pie-baking is a good opportunity to get kids enthused about helping others.

"I think it's a good way for the kids to interact with each other, while they realize that they're doing something for someone else," she said. "And they learn to work together."

Plus, they learn how to make pie.

tgraef@semissourian.com (573) 388-3627