Brunswick stew, other Oktoc traditions set to return for 52nd year

Brunswick stew is about to be bubbling at the Oktoc Community Clubhouse once again.

The Oktoc Garden and Oktoc Community clubs are preparing for the 52nd iteration of the Oktoc County Store, complete with all of its annual traditions, including Brunswick stew.

“Come out and enjoy some Brunswick stew and listen to the live music,” Robin Blocker, president of both clubs, said. “It will be fantastic, and there’ll be a chance to get together with people from the community and to have a good time.”

The Oktoc Country Store will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 9 at the clubhouse on the corner of Oktoc and Robinson roads. The store will include a baked goods sale, a photo booth, an attic yard sale, live music, two raffles – including its annual quilt raffle and a 15-gallon sprayer raffle – and the stew, Blocker said.

Florence Box, a long-time member of both clubs, has lived in Oktoc her whole life. She helped to start the Oktoc Country Store in the early 1970s, as a fundraiser for a school bus.

Over the years, the country store also helped the clubs to make necessary repairs to the community clubhouse, like repainting the building and replacing the heater.

Now, Blocker said, the money raised primarily goes to the Volunteer Fire Department in District 5, helping the volunteer firefighters with projects throughout the year.

From the beginning, Box said, the country store included the men from the Oktoc Community Club getting together to cook Brunswick stew, following a recipe from long-time Oktoc resident Preacher White. Though White passed away years ago, she said, the club members still draw from an adapted version of his original recipe.

“A lot of the families had more garden vegetables then than they do now, so we do purchase much of the foodstuffs that go into the stew,” Box said. “We switched from venison to pork and beef and chicken, just because not as many people hunt, probably, or they want to keep their venison for themselves. So it’s evolved through the years, but it’s basically the same.”

Members of the Volunteer Fire Department and Oktoc Community Club get together on Friday night, Box said, to start browning the meat and preparing the ingredients for the stew. Volunteers take shifts to cook the stew overnight.

At about 4 a.m. the next morning, Box said, the rest of the ingredients for the stew are added, and the mixture is stirred continuously until it is well combined, or “sanctified,” as White used to say, and it is ready to be served after the country store opens.

This year, Blocker said, the group is expecting to prepare about 150 gallons of Brunswick stew.

Box said once the country store is open, the stew and traditional items from the bake sale tend to go fast.

“If you are planning on getting a cake or stew or cookies, just get there early, because we’re usually sold out by early afternoon,” Box said. “If you want something, you need to be there as soon as you can.”

While the Oktoc Community Club has always handled the stew, the Oktoc Garden Club also typically puts in year-round effort to piece together the annual quilt for the raffle, Blocker said.

Though this year, Box worked to piece the quilt together on a shorter timeline, she said pulling together with other members of the community is always her favorite part of the event.

“We’ve got a strong community, strong community spirit, and people just don’t turn you down,” Box said. “They will help however they can. And it takes a lot of different people doing small things to bring it all together. And it is work, but we enjoy working together, too.”

While there are other things to keep attendees occupied during the country store, like live folk music, antique tractors and cars on display, the raffles and other activities, Blocker also said one of her favorite parts of the event is how it brings the Oktoc community together.

She emphasized that the country store gives Oktoc residents a time to check in with each other, work alongside each other, and share a meal together when they may not get otherwise.

“The experience alone is inspiration, seeing so many people come together and have a meal together and listen to music,” Blocker said. “It’s special to me, anyway.”