November 4, 2008
"It's not Election Day without spaghetti," said Jacques Zenner as he waited in the line wrapped around the cafeteria at Our Lady of Pompei's annual spaghetti supper this afternoon. Zenner has attended for years, but said this year had the best turnout yet. It could be because the students and volunteers working, the politicians mingling, and the community members gathering all have something more than a plateful of spaghetti to gain from this fundraiser.
Charging seven dollars per person and drawing in more than 2,500 people, Fundraiser Chairman Lucy Paris expected to raise at least 15 thousand dollars to benefit the parish and its school. Church members, school faculty and students volunteered as cooks, servers, and ticket collectors among other jobs.
Two Italian musicians were barely heard over the noisy crowd as local politicians shook hands with voters, supporters and even competitors from today's election.
"This is the fun part of the election," said state Assemblyman Al Stirpe D-Cicero, coming off a "grueling" re-election campaign. He said politicians can talk as friends and connect with the community at this event.
"Down here you're not a Democrat or Republican, you're a Pompeian," said Father Paul Angelicchio, the pastor of the church. Looking around the crowded room, he said the "magnificent" turnout was due to the highly publicized Presidential election.
The national election brought in first time visitors like Trish Pompei, 64, of North Syracuse. "I [came to the spaghetti supper] because I want to be a part of something," she said. "I think the election is wonderful. It's what America is all about."
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