Chief of a divine fish fry

They park for blocks down the road to get to Divine Savior Catholic School’s famous Fredonia fish fry.

The crowds are huge, but what could be chaos is a well-oiled machine thanks to a crowd of volunteers.

Seventy-five of them make each of Divine Savior’s three fish fries go, and this season Kim Knetter is their leader.

Knetter had volunteered to run the fish fries, knowing it would be a daunting organizational challenge.

“There’s no way you could do it and come in cold turkey. It’s a full-time job,” Knetter said. “It’s overwhelming when you start because there’s so much going on.”

There’s even a special book with a name similar to that famous one that the school and church live by.

“We have a fish fry bible that has been passed down from chair to chair,” Knetter said. “It’s a big binder. We update it as we go along.”

After two years of shadowing Lisa Fellenz and Andy Paulus, her inaugural fish fry as its leader was Feb. 28. Lent hadn’t started, but 527 people came through.

That first fry went off without any major mishaps. Knetter was relieved.

“I just wanted to get past that first one. You worry about it. You want to make sure it goes well. There’s a lot of pressure to make money for the PTA and for the school,” she said.

“There were some hiccups for sure, just in general being the first one of the year.”

Those got ironed out by the time last Friday night rolled around. But Knetter’s work started the day before.

“We get the food shipment in and we have a volunteer shift Thursday night to start prepping the food and the fish. We get as much done Thursday night as we can,” she said.

Knetter’s Friday starts at 7:30 a.m. She had to get the liquor license — the event sells beer — pick up cash from the bank to make change, pick up food from Sysco that didn’t make it on the truck on Thursday and get extra items from Walmart and area stores.

The next shift starts at 1 p.m. for setup.

“We have to wait until after lunch. School is still in session,” Knetter said.

A group preps the cafeteria, sets up tables, chairs, raffles and the bar and dessert tables. Signs with the menu and prices are taped up.

Then comes Knetter’s favorite part: fellowship over fish and discourse over homemade desserts.

“I like the fact that we’re bringing the community together,” she said. “This is open to the community. It’s fun. You get to bring all these different parents and family members who go to the school you might not know.”

Carryout orders and curbside service — volunteers take down the license plate numbers, color and type of vehicle so they can run orders out — take up a portion of the early orders, likely those stopping on their way home from work, but later in the evening the sit-down crew picks up.

That’s where another vital element of the event kicks in: youth.

“There are so many alumni kids and current students who come and help during the fish fry. Their energy — they can last all night,” Knetter said.

Children and teens help on nearly every station, from breading the fish to doing the dishes.

“We try to make it fun and teach them the value of volunteering and service for your community,” Knetter said. “It’s good to see them learn that at a young age and see their parents and family members doing it along with them.”

Knetter’s seventh-grade son, who attended Divine Savior from 3-year-old kindergarten through fifth grade, and her first-grade daughter both help on Thursday and her son also works at the fish fry.

“We couldn’t do it without grandma. She takes the young one on Friday,” Knetter said.

The all-you-can-eat fried fish are the star of the show, but Knetter said they added baked fish to the menu for a healthier option a few years ago. Grilled cheese meals are also available.

Families that work at the event are asked to bring desserts, which are also big hits.

“You bring in a good torte of something, that always goes well. Dirt cake with a shovel and a spoon, the kids just love that,” Knetter said.

While the fish fries are one of the biggest fundraisers for the school, they also serve as marketing opportunities.

“It touches so many people out there. Once they’re in, we can talk to them about the school and tell them what it’s all about,” Knetter said.

Three shifts work the Friday event: setup, then two during dinner.

“We rely solely on the volunteers of the school — the parents, the family members and friends — to make it happen,” Knetter said.

The second dinner shift does cleanup.

“It’s kind of funny. You work hard in the beginning of the day to set up, you do the fish fry and then you have to take it all down,” Knetter said.

The school custodians, she said, are helpful. “They’re great about working with us, showing us where things go,” she said.

Once a year, the Catholic Foresters match the proceeds from the fish fry and send volunteers to help.

Knetter, who is an interior designer for Aurora Health Care, pulls on her experience working at the Pasta Shoppe in Port Washington when she was younger, and some of the committee members have restaurant expertise.

Despite the work, Knetter loves the event. “It’s my favorite fundraiser for the PTA,” she said.

The next PTA fundraiser is a nine-pin tap bowling tournament at Globe Lanes in Random Lake this weekend. Knetter will be there too.

Only as a participant, not the organizer.