The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Candy
decades, they and their successors would experiment with large decorated eggs and door-todoor sales before settling on the nibble-size morsels and telephone, online and in-person sales that routinely keep the seasonal candy — especially the coconut — flying out of the church’s distinctive red doors as fast as the volunteers can mix, coat and pack it. A one-pound box sells for $10, and income from the project has helped fund a number of different outreach efforts since the sale began.
The demographics that define St. Mark’s nicknamed “Easter Egg Industry” crew are just as diverse.
Yes, there are plenty of Lutherans involved in the effort. But tiny Conshohocken is a town of many churches, and the manpower that drives the yearly fundraiser includes volunteers who represent several denominations … generations and age groups, too.
Project Co-Chair Debby (Snear) Rodenbaugh’s family has been involved for as long as she can remember. So have members of the Shaw, Bate, Lachenmayer and Conklin clans … with apologies to the dozens of other women, men and children who have made St. Mark’s springtime tradition a reality year after year.
Newcomers, including total novices, are “always welcome,” Rodenbaugh emphasizes.
“Always … we can always use volunteers,” the Conshohocken native says. “With something like this, I don’t think you can ever have too many helpers. Believe me, we can find a job for anybody who wants to help out.”
The St. Mark’s candy contingent routinely turns out 1,000 to 1,500plus pounds of candy each year.
Production takes place in the church kitchen and social hall Mondays from 6 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesdays from 6 to 8:30 p.m. and Fridays from 9 to 11 a.m. Mondays are devoted to fondant mixing and flavoring; Wednesdays to coating the eggs in dark chocolate; Fridays to packing them into one-pound boxes.
Easter is late this year — April 21 — but Rodenbaugh says her grandchildren are still enjoying the surplus coconut and mint eggs she stashed in her refrigerator and freezer following the 2018 holiday.
“And they taste great,” she adds.
The St. Mark’s Easter eggs can be ordered by telephone at 610825-3021, online via stmarksconshy.org or in person Monday and Wednesday nights between 6 and 8:30 p.m. Orders are filled on a “first-come, firstserved” basis and are payable with cash or check. Arrangements can be made to have the eggs shipped for an additional charge. Pickup times are Mondays from 6 to 7:45 p.m., Wednesdays from 6 to 7:45 p.m. and Fridays from 9 to 10:30 a.m. The church is located at 508 Harry St., Conshohocken.