“We’ve been doing caramel sales for over 50 years,” said preschool director Carol Lehman. “The recipe came right out of Better Homes and Gardens.”
The church is located on Stonemill Road in Dayton. Back in 1955, the women’s group at the church decided to raise money with a caramel sale before the holidays. The project was such a success, it became an annual ritual.
Church members and volunteers start cooking around Columbus Day and are usually done by Halloween. A project of this size has to get any early start. Organizers are currently receiving pre-orders for around 4,200 boxes of candy for holiday gifts. At $12 per box less expenses, the sale becomes a known vehicle to raise funds for outreach programs.
“We all get together for a few weeks in October to make and wrap the candy. We usually have anywhere from 50 to 100 University of Dayton students who come over to help us,” said Tom Miller, who has co-pastored the church the past year with his wife, Lori Reiber.
“Over the years, the money has been used for many different items, but it is primarily used for our global missions,” he said.
South Park member George Liston coordinated the caramel sales for several years. He and his wife, Jane, attended Oak Street Church. That church merged with South Park in 1995.
Jo Anne Rueger had also attended the Oak Street Church since the age of 3. She has been coordinating the caramel sales for the past 12 years.
“I start in May ordering the papers for wrapping, and ordering the boxes. Then June 1, we start taking orders for the candy,” said Rueger, 76. “This September I’ll start looking around at places to give us a good price on ingredients. I’ll order 1,500 of this and 1,500 of that. Usually Aldi’s is the best.”
Rueger said each pot of the gooey mixture yields 5.5 boxes of caramels. A whole pound of butter goes into each pot. Eleven burners are kept going constantly. Rueger’s team has the production down to an exact science.
“The mixture is heated to 243 degrees; if it’s raining, 244 degrees. Someone has to stir constantly,” said Rueger. “A few years ago UD engineering students did a time study on our project. They said there’s not a thing we can do to fine tune our system.”
Besides the UD students, South Park gets a lot of help from volunteers. Catholics and the Baptists from nearby churches come over to aid the Methodists. A retired dentist, now in his 90s, comes over when it’s time to cut the caramel. Of course, several South Park members are in the kitchen, along with the church’s Boy Scouts.
Dorothy Lane Market donates the paper bags for the boxes.
Orders come in from all across the country. A woman in California orders several boxes, and then ships them to England, Scotland and Norway.
A portion of the profits are given to support a monthly community dinner at South Park. The third Saturday night of the month, they feed the neighborhood, and have anywhere from 50 to 150 hungry diners.
Also, some of the funds go to the United Methodist Women of South Park. They support a 12-grade school and dormitory at Red Bird, Ky. It is a settlement in the mountains near Pikeville. The UMW will be going on a mission trip there this September.
“Our net profit was $35,000 last year. Our church can’t do what they need to do without it. Our caramels are better than any you can buy in the store because they were made with love.”
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