Every year, for the past seven years, a neighborhood in Hutchinson has been canning cucumbers for themselves, and they just finished canning 330 quarts of pickles (16 crashed and 314 survived) in the garage of Pam and Mike Woods. The four neighbors include their daughter, Nesha, and her husband, Bob Withers, Reza and Jodie Nassirzadeh, Mary and Tom Helland and Barb Anderson. Also pitching in are the children of Nesha and Bob (also the grandchildren of Pam and Mike), Sophia and Livia Withers. The organizers, Pam and Mike Woods, are owners of a painting business. Their daughter, Nesha, teaches a fourth- grade class in Hutchinson, and her husband, Bob, works as a probation officer for Anoka County. Barb Anderson is a paraprofessional for a local elementary school. Mary and Tom Helland are the senior citizens of this neighborhood party. Mary is kept busy taking care of Tom, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few years ago.
The group has canned pickles for the past seven years to socialize with their neighbors. Their pickles are not for sale. They are given to families who help with the canning process and friends. “People like our pickles because of all the love we put in it,” said Reza. During the week, Reza works for Best Buy at their corporate office in Bloomington. His wife, Jodie, is a hairstylist.
The “pickle party” is well organized and synchronized. Everyone has a place and purpose to get the job done. In the garage there is an area for packing the jars with dill, garlic and onion; another area to pack in cucumbers; and an area to put the lids on, boil the jar and set the finished jars aside to cool. The garage has two double doors that are raised up, and the opening is covered with a cloth screen to keep their working area in the garage cool and bug free.
The process, or as one put it … the dirty work, starts the night before. The cucumbers are from the Kokesh Farms in Winthrop, and all the flowers on the tips of the cucumbers are removed. Then they are put in a washing machine, removed and packed on ice.
The recipe for dill pickles is a Windscitl recipe handed down from Pam’s parents.
At 7 a.m. the next day, they all get together to start the canning process. Coffee and treats are provided, but there is no break for dinner ,and they accomplish their task of canning over 300 quarts of pickles about 4 p.m., that’s almost 40 quarts per hour.
There are many more pictures from the pickle party in the photo gallery.