by John Mooney

It started with 200 pounds of chop meat for meatballs, 170 pounds of hamburger meat, and 1,200 pounds of sausage... and that was just a small portion of the food ordered for the St. Bartholomew's Church /UNICO Labor Day Festival when began 40 years ago. Members of UNICO and the parish community literally spent weeks preparing various Italian dishes for the festival.

While the food for the feast is no longer prepared by the community and chopped meat no longer costs 98 cents a pound, the tradition continues. Hosted by the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Chapter of UNICO, St. Bartholomew's Church and St. Bartholomew's Academy, the festival is an annual tradition honoring San Nicola di Bari, the patron saint of the town of Montazzoli, Italy.

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Source: http://thealternativepress.com/