Waves of diners get crabby with each other at Legion feed

BREWSTER – The annual Columbia Post 97 American Legion Crab Feed drew so many crustacean lovers that the dining room ran two shifts to handle the waves of diners who purchased advance tickets for the high-demand dinner.
The Legion began selling limited tickets at $35 per late last year to match the carrying capacity of its dining room and capped sales at 150 tickets that would accommodate two sessions of patrons, one in the late afternoon and the other in early evening. Last year 114 tickets were sold.
“We went through 660 pounds of Dungeness crab,” said Bill Shenyer, chairman of the Legion’s Executive Committee.
Before the event was over, the last crab had been consumed in what has become one of the more popular dining events of the season. The Post has hosted the crab feed for several years and Shenyer said the challenge is still to calculate the proper quantity to have on hand to meet the demand.
Last Friday, Feb. 16, Shenyer and fellow Legionnaire Roger Johnson jumped into Johnson’s three-quarter-ton, long-box pickup and headed to Ellensburg to meet their crab supplier. They returned with the delicacy cracked, on ice and ready to consume. The load was transferred to the Post’s walk-in cooler and made ready for the next day’s crowd.
Students from Pateros High School volunteered again this year to help carry trays to the tables of diners and cart away the discards. Donation jugs at each table collected proceeds that went back to the school when it was all over.
“We about break even,” said Shenyer of expenses and profits from the popular event. “We do this for the community.”
Shenyer did say that the ticket price may increase a bit next year to keep pace with the rising price of Dungeness crab.