Parish serves spaghetti to Magna and points beyond

Intermountain Catholic

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Lester Archuletta and Jerry Martinez get ready to taste the spaghetti and Colosimo sausage meat balls. IC photos by Barbara S. Lee

MAGNA — Mountains of meatballs and swirls of spaghetti were the fare for the annual spaghetti dinner Oct. 14, at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Magna. Pastor father Andrzej Skrzypiec isn’t exactly certain how many years the fund raising event has been going on, but he estimates the 2007 dinner "is probably about the 76th. There may have been a few years the parish didn’t hold one," he told the Intermountain Catholic. "We make about $12,000 a year, but what is more important is the tradition."

Members of the Magna community and Catholics from as far away as Ogden and American Fork also value the spaghetti dinner tradition, bringing friends and family members every year. Patrick Dean and his father, Charles Dean of St. Olaf Parish in Bountiful are long-time dinner fans. "You just can’t get any better meatballs than here," Patrick said.

"At first, I’m sure the dinner was held mainly for the survival of the parish," Fr. Skrzypiec said. "Now the funds are used mostly to pay parish assessments. But it’s also a social event. Politicians like Peter Carroon (Mayor of South Salt Lake) and Congressman Jim Matheson always come, especially in election years."

Joyce Christensen remembers when her mother, Louise, and all the other Italian women in the parish made the spaghetti sauce at home and carried it to church in huge pots. "Of course, we make the sauce here now, but it’s just as good," she said.