All-you-can-eat smelt, take 65

Port Legion’s weekend fish fry celebrates tradition that keeps crowds coming back for more

Lent may be over, but the Friday fish fry continues with a Port Washington tradition this week.

The Van Ells-Schanen American Legion Post 82 is hosting its 65th annual smelt fry Friday and Saturday at its hall on Lake Street in Port.

The all-you-can-eat event runs from 4 to 9 p.m. both days, although Legion members have been known to extend the hours as needed.

“We have a group of farmers from Washington County who come every year. They have to get their chores done first, so they usually get here near the end, so we go a little longer,” said longtime Legion member Paul “Butch” Tutas, who has been working at the smelt fry since 1954. “We keep it open for them.”

And on Friday, there’s a group of businessmen who come in after closing shop, he said. 

“We accommodate them,” Tutas said, even if that means staying open a little longer.

This local tradition dates back to 1951, when a couple of Legion members decided to hold a fish fry to benefit their drum and bugle corps, the Marauders of Post 82.

Smelt was plentiful back then, and members walked across the street to the lakefront to dip their nets, filling them almost effortlessly, Tutas said.

They dragged their nets to the hall, where they cleaned the silver fish. After breading and frying them, they were ready for serving.

“They had a secret breading,” Tutas said, and it kept the crowds coming back for more year after year.

In its heyday, the smelt fry drew a couple thousand people over the two days. Shaw’s Crab House in Chicago would fill buses with patrons and bring them to the smelt fry, and the eatery even asked Legion members for their recipe, Tutas said.

“We had five buses coming from Shaw’s at one point,” he said.

For the past five years, the restaurant hasn’t sent a bus up, Tutas noted. But some of the people who used to hop on the bus now drive up on their own.

“I guess they’re hooked,” Tutas said.

In recent years, the number of patrons has declined a bit — whether that’s due to the recession or the fact that restaurants now serve smelt regularly is something Tutas isn’t sure.

Last year, the Legion members served almost 1,000 hungry diners, and they’re preparing to serve the same number this year.

That means preparing roughly 1,000 pounds of smelt, although the Legion members no longer catch the fish on their own. They’ve been ordering it from Susie Q Fish Market in Two Rivers for the past 10 years, Tutas said.

In addition to the fish, those attending the event get French fries, coleslaw, bread and beverages for the $10 admission fee.

While the food is the main event, the smelt fry wouldn’t be what it is without the crowd. After all, the smelt fry is a collegial event, where people mingle as they enjoy the lake’s bounty.

“There are some people who have birthdays and bring in a cake,” Tutas said. “You have the eat-the-tails people. If someone in their group didn’t eat the tails, they’d chant ‘Eat those tails.’”

And just as the smelt fry is a tradition for many diners, it’s also a tradition for Legion members. A core group has been working the annual event for decades, and they don’t need to be assigned a duty.

“They just come in and go to their station,” Tutas said. 

The Legion crew is helped at the smelt fry by members of the Legion Auxiliary, as well as the Sons of the American Legion, Tutas said.

Family members, too, pitch in.

“We have a good time,” Tutas said. “You work, but you have fun.”

Money from the smelt fry no longer goes to the drum and bugle corps — it disbanded years ago. Instead, it helps fund community projects and scholarships offered by the Legion.

And to remind people every year of the smelt fry, patrons are offered a postcard to address as they leave. The cards, which announce the annual event, are mailed each spring.

“People like it,” Tutas said. “They leave with a smile and as they go out, they raise their thumbs up and say, ‘Nice job. We’ll be back next year.’”

Image information: 

MEMBERS OF THE Van Ells-Schanen American Legion Post 82 in Port Washington will take familiar places in the food prep line during the group’s 65th annual smelt fry Friday and Saturday, April 1 and 2.  Preparing the smelt during the 2014 fry were (from left) Al Tankovich, Dennis McGuire and Scott Bowman.                      Press file photo