Tuesday, September 6th, 2022
Secret to bean soup? Nature.
Annual Durbin Bean Bake stands test of time
By Leslie Gartrell
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
Tom Knapke serves up bean soup on Monday at the 123rd annual Durbin Bean Bake. The event is held every Labor Day and celebrates all veterans.
CELINA - For 123 years, the annual Durbin Bean Bake has served up bean soup to all who bring their own pots, pans, bowls, tupperware - just about anything that can hold soup - for free.
But how is the titular bean soup made?
Larry Fennig, head bean cooker for the annual event, said it takes several hundred pounds of beans, bacon and ham and a few "secret ingredients" provided by nature.
Originated in 1898 as a reunion for Civil War veterans, the Durbin Bean Bake is held every Labor Day rain or shine in the wooded 5-acre Durbin Park on Erastus-Durbin Road, just south of Mud Pike and west of Celina.
The event features contests for kids and adults, tractor pulls, games, music, a veteran's program and, of course, hearty helpings of the famed bean soup.
The recipe for the Durbin Bean Bake soup is similar to most recipes - it calls for navy or great northern beans, bacon, ham, salt, pepper and crackers. According to a history provided by Fennig, the recipe used today is the same recipe that was used when the event began.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
Volunteers wash dishes over a large kettle on Monday at the 123rd annual Durbin Bean Bake. The event is held every Labor Day and celebrates all veterans.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
Approximately 450 pounds of beans and 120 pounds of bacon and ham are used in the soup, which makes around 275-300 gallons at the 123rd annual Durbin Bean Bake. The event is held every Labor Day and celebrates all veterans.
This year's soup was made with 450 pounds of beans, 120 pounds of bacon and ham, about eight pounds of salt, roughly two pounds of pepper and 32 pounds of crackers, Fennig said. Together, he said, this recipe makes between 275-300 gallons of soup.
On Labor Day morning, Fennig said 10, 40-gallon cast-iron kettles are filled about two-thirds of the way full with water. Beans are washed and placed in lard cans while fires are lit under the bean kettles around 11 a.m. to get the water boiling.
By 12:30 p.m., the water is boiling and ham and bacon are added to the kettles. An hour later, beans are added to the pot and stirred constantly until finished, at about 3:30 p.m., he said.
Crackers are added to the pot when the beans are almost done, and salt and pepper get added to the mix around 2:30 p.m., according to the recipe.
The recipe for bean soup notes the "secret ingredients" that gives the soup its flair are supplied by nature.
Although the soup isn't served until 4:30 p.m., Fennig said the line for bean soup gets started well beforehand. He estimated a couple thousand people attended this year's bean bake.
The soup is served up out of large buckets with a ladle the size of a regular bowl of soup, according to Fennig. Attendees bring their own containers, and each container gets up to seven scoops of soup if it can hold that much.
Fennig said most families take the soup home, while some bring chairs, tables and tents to enjoy their soup at the park with family and friends. Any leftovers are traditionally brought to area fire stations and other places.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
Tim Ficket ladles bean soup on Monday at the 123rd annual Durbin Bean Bake. The event is held every Labor Day and celebrates all veterans.
While bean soup is one of the main attractions, Fennig said there's also ample food for those who can't wait until the afternoon. The food stand sold sausage secured from a local farmer, cheeseburgers, noodles, chili and vegetable soup and more. Volunteers donated more than 110 pies for the event, as well as other baked goods.
New this year was the addition of a petting zoo, which Fennig said was a hit. There were also dozens of family-friendly games such as running, sack, bear-crawl, three-legged and wheelbarrow races.
The annual event is steeped in history, Fennig said, adding that the Fennig family and the Highley family have participated in the annual bean bake for five generations.
According to the history provided by Fennig, Andrew Jackson Snavely, a veteran of four years in the Civil War, decided to have a reunion of "the boys" since he had been camp cook during the war.
Snavely decided the menu should consist of "beans, hardtack and sow belly." The first meeting was held in Celina but was a failure, according to the history.
However, Snavely was encouraged by his friend, George Durbin, owner of the Durbin Store, to try again. This time they had it in John Rhodes' grove at Durbin and had a soldiers' band. And thus the first bean bake was held in 1898 on Labor Day.
Photo by Leslie Gartrell/The Daily Standard
A sign in Durbin Park notes the Durbin Bean Bake originated in 1898 in honor of Civil War veterans.
