Members of the Amery Knights of Columbus (event organizers are in the front, to the left) finished their three-dinner Lenten fish fry season with a record crowd. (Submitted photo)
The Apple River Knights of Columbus Council 16298, Amery, was reestablished and ratified on Sept. 15, 2015, after the original council disbanded in the 1980s. Leader Jim Mitchell reorganized and led 12 newly exemplified members in mid-2015, with some original members returning. The council currently has 55 brother Knights.
To exemplify the “charity, unity and fraternity” envisioned by KC founder Fr. Michael J McGiveny, the Amery group visited the Hudson and Stillwater, Minnesota, KCs in 2015 to learn how they prepared for Lenten fish fries and other parish events.
After a few group meetings, several parishioners and newly established Knights organized the first Amery Lenten fish fry in 2016. Ten years later, the KCs have just ended their Lenten dinner season on March 13, only having had three years disrupted due to the pandemic.
“Our dinner guests have increased from 10-24% over the years, with this year’s record of serving 307 on our last dinner, with a total of 833 for all three dinners,” said KC council member Tom Hemauer.
