By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

Good road conditions, unlike in November 2022, lured more people to Barnesville on Thursday evening, Nov. 16, for the annual lutefisk and meatball supper held at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.

People came from near far for the lutefisk, meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, lefse, corn, coleslaw and dessert of pumpkin pie or apple pie. The meal was served family style, with many people taking seconds and even thirds of lutefisk.

“Yes, a good turnout this evening and lots of good fellowship,” said farmer and volunteer church kitchen worker Paul Austin. “People do indeed love the lutefisk.”

Lutefisk suppers have for many years drawn an older crowd. Such was the case with attendees at the Nov. 16 supper at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church on the north side of Barnesville.

Some lutefisk lovers see younger people developing an appreciation for what many describe as a love-it-or-leave-it delicacy. Many who say they did not like lutefisk as kids came to appreciate lutefisk as adults.

That being said, there are those who came to the supper at the Barnesville church who passed on lutefisk and took first and seconds of meatballs.

Throughout the fall and early winter, lutefisk suppers are hosted by many Lutheran churches across the state of Minnesota. Some churches advertise suppers with messages such as, “Embrace your Scandinavian heritage and experience a tradition that is decades old.”

If you were to take a journey to the self-proclaimed lutefisk capital of the world, in the town of Madison, southwest of Morris, you would receive a warm welcome from a 25-foot-long statue of a codfish named Lou T. Fisk.