More than just another cooking appliance, it is everything that goes with a smoker -- the aroma, the flavor, the indulgence -- that makes this new kitchen accessory at the Missouri Veterans Home in Cape Girardeau such a wonderful addition.

The Veterans Home acquired the smoker through a fund raiser that ended Monday. The fund raiser used a raffle for a 1987 Ford Mustang to raise $12,000 for various veterans' interests throughout Southeast Missouri.

Bernie Mueller of Jackson initiated the idea of a raffle to purchase a large smoker for the home. Tickets have been sold for months. The drawing for the car followed a drawing for the raffle's third prize Remington shotgun and second prize five-carat diamond bracelet.

The smoker greatly enhances the tenderness and flavor of meats and poultry cooked at the Veterans Home, according to consultant dietitian Raina Childers. Senses such as taste and smell diminish as people grow older. The aroma and flavors from cooking with a smoker should be enticing and may even stimulate some dwindling appetites, Childers said.

"This cooker is a tremendous asset to the home," said Ken Lipps, spokesman for the Veterans Home. "We can cook with lower salt and less fat, and it gives the guys something more to look forward to. This is something that will be used almost every day. We are revising our entire menu schedule."

Winning tickets were drawn out of the barrel by World War II veteran Harold Henderson. Henderson was a rifleman who earned a Purple Heart with two clusters, which means he was wounded three times. He is also a retired Methodist minister.

From raffle profits, a check for $8,000 was presented to the Veterans Home for the cooker, a check for $2,000 was presented to the Missouri Veterans Cemetery, which is under construction at Bloomfield, Mo., and a check for $2,000 was presented to the Brookside Veterans Memorial at Jackson.

Veterans and groups from throughout the region participated in sales efforts. Pete Rhodes of Cape Girardeau's Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3838 sold the most tickets.

David Knight of Ole Hickory Pits in Cape Girardeau provided the smoker at a special discount price for the Veterans Home. The Mustang was restored and donated by Randy Eggimann, who owns and operates Kosmetic Kar Doctor of Jackson.

jgosche@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133