HORTONVILLE (NBC 26) — It's officially fish fry season for thousands of Wisconsinites, especially for those who are Catholic. But some congregations that rely on the fundraiser have been forced to cancel their yearly tradition of serving and congregating with fellow parishioners.
In Hortonville, at the S.S. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, they have made the difficult decision to cancel their seasonal fish fry for the first time in over 20 years. Organizers say typically they serve about a thousand fillets a week during the seven-week Lenten season. But this year, organizers say it just didn't seem like the right decision considering the potential risks associated with bringing hundreds of volunteers together, and thousands of parishioners as well, for their weekly gatherings.
"If we lost just one of those people because of this that would take away everything we've done in 20 plus years. All of them are that special to us and they didn't feel comfortable and if they don't feel comfortable then there is no way we are going to put them in that position," says Tom Banker a long-time volunteer at SS Peter and Paul Catholic Parish.
A post on the SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church's Facebook page announced the difficult decision on Friday morning: "We are sad to share with you that we have canceled our world famous fish fry for this year. Thank you for all your support over the years. We look forward to serving you again in 2022."
Over the course of 20 plus years, volunteers at the SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church have served more than 130,000 people during their fish fry gatherings.
