As Easy as Pie by Andrew koch andrew
With fall swinging into the holiday season, Notre Dame’s second annual pie day returned, bringing delight to many. In a nutshell, Pie Day is a day where students, parents and faculty can bring pies to eat. Then people can pay for tastes of each pie (2$ for 3 tastes or 5$ for 7 tastes). It is a very fun way to end school before Thanksgiving break.
Pie Day is put on by the Notre Dame Middle School Student Council. This year boasted three separate categories (Fruit, Nut, and Cream), and more judges. Being more organized than last year was a priority of Sara Hoedebeck, co-sponsor of Middle School Student Council. She says that the expansion of the contest into separate categories was due to the enthusiasm of last year’s participants. “We didn’t expect to have that many entries last year,” she explains. “We had about 25 pies but only 3 judges.”
Pies were enjoyed by students, teachers, and judges alike. Winners were selected by a panel of pie-experts. The winner of the Cream category this year was Ethan Edghill with a Key Lime Pie. When asked about his pie, Edghill said, “I found the recipe online, But I did make homemade whipped cream.” Cecilia Parker’s Pecan Pie won the nut category. “I got my recipe from a ‘Tastes of Texas’ cookbook.” She chose pecan pie because, “It’s a classic and a family favorite.” The winner of the fruit category was Aubrey Carnahan, mother of 8th grader Victoria Smith, with a gluten-free cherry pie. All three winners
took home a pair of specially-ordered argyle Notre Dame socks.
favorite at Pie Day. “The cherry cheesecake pie was my favorite,” said Pie Judge Don Carlson. Parent and pie connoisseur Renee Luig enjoyed the day as well and offered her thoughts about the tasty treats: “The apple cream pie was my favorite. It was weird because I don’t really like apple pie but this one was really good.”
Pie Day was originally an annual Yearbook tradition. “We began Pie-Day in 2014,” says Yearbook coordinator Angela Cuba. “We wanted to break-up some of the monotony of the fall semester, which is our slow season. Pie-Day was so popular that a few students who will remain nameless began skipping class to come eat pie. Needless to say I put an end to that. However, I am thrilled that now the whole upper-campus can enjoy pie and camaraderie, all while supporting the Middle-School Student Council.”
With Pie Day only in its second year, it has been very successful. “Last year we had about 25 pies and made about $120,” said Matt Ledesma, Co-moderator of MSSC. “This year, there were 16 pies entered, but $167 raised.”
The event is very important for the MSSC, which coordinates numerous fundraisers as well as many events for Notre Dame and the community. “[Pie Day] is where we get a majority of our money from,” said MSSC Vice President Tessa Luig. When asked what the money would be used for, Luig said, “We will be donating it. We don’t know where to, but we have a few ideas.” These ideas include Toys for Tots, an organization that gives less-fortunate children toys for Christmas, and also the Hospice Tree of Lights, a fundraiser put on by Wichita Falls Hospice with the ultimate goal of receiving enough money to light the star on the tree on Chase Bank Tower.
This year’s Pie Day left us thankful for some amazing desserts, a well-deserved break, and most of all, a great group of kids and sponsors that keep the fun rolling at the upper-campus.
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