No Leftovers: Local 'Paczki Day' a Huge Hit

Beth Noyh showed up to Good Samaritan in Ambridge ready to carry away a dozen or so paczki doughnuts Tuesday morning, but the Beaver resident had no such luck.

“Sold Out” read the sign at  the church’s Jericho Hall. Still wishful, Noyh followed the sweet, sugary smell and the polka music inside the hall where boxes of paczki were being picked up. Still no luck. Only about a dozen pre-ordered boxes of the sugar-dusted treat remained.

For Noyh and plenty of others locals on this "Paczki Day," there was no hope -- not even for a dozen. And it was only 11 a.m.

Paczki Day has become such a popular annual event at Good Samaritan Parish that it takes an army of volunteers to make the 900 dozen doughnuts that are sold each year.

Paczki, (pronounced poonch-key) is a Polish tradition typically celebrated on Fat Thursday, a week ahead of Ash Wednesday. In the United States, the celebration begins on Fat Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras, the last day to indulge before Lenten fasting in the 40 days before Easter.

Brother Ambrose, who organizes the parish effort, said it takes approximately 300 people, working in three-hour shifts, to make up about five 50-pound batches of the dough – and add bourbon and sugar.

Commercial-size  equipment -- mixers, deep fryers and other equipment – is a huge help in running a smoother process, he said.  While some bakeries stuff paczki with fruit flavors, Good Samaritan doesn’t stuff the heavy doughnuts but instead coats them in sugar.

Ambrose said Poles made paczki to use up all of the goodies -- lard, sugar, dairy, fruit -- in the house to prepare for fasting.

“The whole idea was Lent was a severe time of fasting and prayer, so in order to avoid any temptation, they would get rid of all the liquor, cream and butter,” Ambrose said.

Volunteers at Good Samaritan began making the treats on Monday. By 4 a.m. Tuesday, the treats were flying out the door.

Volunteer Carol Kon said many people like to pick them up on their way to work or to take home. One elderly woman travels from Mt. Lebanon each year, taking a combination of buses to get her paczki.

When Ambrose arrived at 4 a.m. he said a line was out the door. The high-calorie treats sold out by 9:30 a.m.

Marge Detorakis, another volunteer, said usually there were a few boxes left to sell to parishioners after today’s Ash Wednesday services. Not this year.

The doughnut is so popular that given the chance, people would eat it most any day.

Ambrose gave Noyh a paczki to taste, and she was delighted to at least get to try one.

 “This is so good,” Noyh said after taking a bite.  

 Three men who drove from work at Bayer Corp. in Robinson Township also were disappointed to find the treats sold out. They too were given a doughnut to taste – along with some nutrolls and pierogies.

“They’re great,” said Tom Szulborski of Shaler, who said he grew up in Lawrenceville and remembers eating paczki. “I haven’t had these since I was a kid,” he said.

Those who left empty-handed promised to return next year. Others promised to return for Friday's fish fry and an upcoming Easter bake sale.

What is now Good Samaritan parish covers a community once served by five ethnic churches in Ambridge. The congregation now includes Polish, Italian, Slovak, Irish, and Croatian members, all of whose ethnic traditions are celebrated.

“We maintain our ethnic traditions,” Ambrose said. “Our motto is ‘One church, many traditions.’”

“I think it’s important to know where you came from,” Kon said.

Ambrose, who grew up in Pittsburgh’s Polish Hill neighborhood, said he brought the idea to begin making paczki to Good Samaritan. For 23 years, the Catholic parish has carried on the tradition, a day that grows more popular each year.