By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Military veterans from across the state will gather on Veterans Day at St. John Nepomucene Catholic Church, Holy Family Parish, in Pilsen to honor the late Chaplain Emil Kapaun.

The ladies of St. Anne’s Altar Society will be responsible for providing a noon meal after an 11 a.m. Mass.

Leader Terry Klenda said preparing a meal for 200 people or more has become routine for her and five other women who regularly help her.

“We don’t even think about it anymore,” she said. “And we always have food left over.”

About 800 pounds of pork roast and 12 large bags of mixed au gratin potatoes have been ordered from Carlsons’ Grocery. The meat will be cooked and shredded Thursday and stored in refrigerated roasters.

The potatoes can be prepared in 2½ hours, so they will be done Monday morning. Six gallons each of corn and green beans will be prepared that morning, as well.

Canned vegetables and paper supplies will be purchased from Sam’s Club.

Klenda’s regular helpers, five or six women, will be baking rohliky, or Czech dinner rolls, on Friday and kolaches, fruit-centered dough pastries, on Saturday. She purchases flour in 25-pound bags, two or three at a time.

Some fruit centers for the kolaches are purchased as fruit fillings, but prune, poppy seed, apricot fillings are made from scratch, and canned pineapple is thickened.

Klenda said the women serve so many meals during the year, including for funerals, bus tours, and special events, that they bake large batches at a time, and extras are frozen.

“I have the best bunch of ladies to work with,” she said. “It’s routine for them.”

Klenda plans to bake frozen cookies Sunday evening in the church kitchen’s convection oven.

Klenda is a secretary at Centre schools, so she won’t be there Monday, but Kathy Svitak will oversee the actual meal preparation and serving.

“Kathy is experienced,” she said. “She keeps track of things and knows what we need.”