By Mike Pound

Globe columnist

mpound@joplinglobe.com

Like all Catholics, the folks at St. Bridget’s in Scammon, Kan., are supposed to abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent.

So, what they do is get together on Fridays during Lent and fry up a mess of catfish, cod and shrimp.

Talk about taking lemons and making lemonade.

The Famous Fish Fry in Scammon, served in the St. Bridget’s Parish Hall, got its name from the late, great KKOW radio personality Dan Willis. The story is that the first time Dan attended the dinner, he walked up and said, “I’m here for the famous fish fry.” The name stuck.

The dinner has become somewhat of a local culinary sensation over the years, attracting folks — Catholic and non-Catholic — from all over the area. Tom LaTurner has been frying up the catfish for the event for eight years. He said the Famous Fish Fry continues to grow year after year.

“Over the years, it’s gotten bigger and bigger, and I’m pretty proud to be a part of it, to be truthful with you,” Tom said.

He told me that the fish fry works, in part, because of the people who put it together. Tom said he and Chip Heronbrook fry up the catfish, Ross Grasso takes care of the shrimp, and Chris Martin fries the cod. Other folks whip up the German and creamy coleslaw, and still others make sure the baked potatoes and wild rice are ready to be served. And several Scammon cooks work on the cornbread, and make sure the clam chowder and the other sides are worthy of being served at the fish fry.

That’s an important thing, by the way. In Scammon, there is a certain amount of pressure whenever someone serves up food for general consumption. See, food is a pretty big deal in the Scammon area. Folks in the Scammon area take their food seriously, and many have definite opinions on, say, how sweet a red sauce should be, or how much garlic goes into an Italian chicken recipe, or how to stuff a toasted ravioli.

I may have made this up, but I think using a spaghetti sauce out of a jar in Scammon will cost you 30 days in jail.

Folks like food their in Scammon, is what I’m saying.

What that means is folks can be assured that the food served up at the St. Bridget’s Famous Fish Fry is good. Well, that’s not true. The food served up at the St. Bridget’s Famous Fish Fry isn’t just good. It’s GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

The first Famous Fish Fry of this Lenten season gets under way at 6 p.m. Friday. Three dinners are offered. The first — called the basic dinner — gets you either a helping of cod or catfish, a baked potato or wild rice, and German or creamy-style coleslaw. The cost is $8 for the cod basic dinner and $8.50 for the catfish basic dinner.