A Special Pie for the President

© 1999

By Loren Moore

In 1980, I was president of the Arlington Sportsman’s Club. My wife Johnnie and several of the ladies in the club were taking skeet lessons from our skeet director. There were no restrooms on the club property at the time. We were just developing the new property in Mansfield after moving from Euless. It was hard for the ladies to stay out there for three or four hours without the use of a restroom.

Johnnie told me, "This is ridiculous, we must have restrooms. You are the president of this club, build us some restrooms."

I explained to her we are still making land payments and we just don’t have the money right now. We were just surviving from month to month. We didn’t have enough money to develop all the skeet fields that would increase our membership yet. We had to have the skeet fields first. That would bring in more members, and that would mean more money. Then we could build restrooms. The skeet fields would have to come first.

She asked, "Are you putting the skeet fields above us ladies in importance?"

I said, "No, honey, you just don’t understand. You’re looking at this from a woman’s point of view, and I’m looking at it for the overall good of the club."

She said, "No you’re not. You are just being unreasonable."

"Well, whatever," I said.

So she decides to take it upon herself to raise the money for a ladies restroom. She organized all the ladies in the club to help. They decided they would have a cake and pie auction at our April club meeting.

That was fine by me. I told her if she could raise $600 we would build the ladies a restroom. We would set up a special account in the club’s books for that purpose, and as they made money, we would put it in that account. When the balance reaches $600 you will have your restroom.

Well, unbeknownst to me she took a two pound coffee can around to the different businessmen that were in the club and told them if they would fill that coffee can with money, she would present the president with a special pie at the club meeting the night we had our cake and pie auction. She must have said something right because she came back with a coffee can full of money.

The night of the club meeting as the members arrived, the ladies all had their cakes or pies, some of the fanciest cakes and pies you ever laid eyes on. One cake had white icing on it, and spelled out with raisins were the letters "ASC" for the Arlington Sportsman’s Club. Another cake had white icing. Outlined in red was the view though a rifle scope and in each quarter of the cross was a copy of the metallic chicken, pig, turkey, and ram we shoot in our 500 meter metallic silhouette rifle match. What a beautiful cake, very unique.

There was another that had the head of a moose made out of Jell-o on it. I found out later that Steve, the vice president had made it. He and his wife Pat ran a hardware store in Arlington. He said he was a better cook then his wife, so he left her to run the store and he went home one day and made the cake. But that’s a whole nother story for different time.

When it came time for the auction, one of the club members was an auctioneer, so he took over, and with the help of the ladies that wanted the restroom. The auction was a big success. After all the cakes and pies had been sold, the treasurer gave Johnnie an accounting from the auction and the coffee can. She got up before the members and gave a report of how much money the auction and the coffee can had raised. All together it was over $600.

Well, I didn’t know anything about that coffee can and most of the members didn’t either. She had to explain what the coffee can full of money was all about. She told us the reason some of the members had filled the can full of money was because she promised them she would present the president a very special pie and have him eat it in front of everyone. I thought I would be embarrassed to eat my pie in front of everyone, but she said, "Honey, I promised them, you have to eat it."

She set me down at the table in the front of the room. She put a place mat in front of me and handed me a spoon. She tucked a napkin in my shirt collar and picked up this box. She took a real pretty pie out of it. A chocolate pie with an inch of whipped cream on it. I thought boy that looks good, but I’m still going to be embarrassed to eat that in front of everyone.

Johnnie’s standing there next to me holding the pie up for everyone to see. She said, "This is the special pie I said I would present the president at the club meeting for that coffee can full of money."

She presented me that pie. O’boy did she ever! Right smack dab in the face. Pie filling and whipped cream flew all over me, the carpet, the drapes, and everything else within ten feet of me. I couldn’t stand it. I grabbed Johnnie and gave her a big hug. We both stood there with chocolate pie and whipped cream all over us. We gave each other a big kiss. We broke it up when all the members started clapping. I sure enough was embarrassed then.

Here they are, Loren and Johnnie!

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