CityView Magazine

Editor’sCorner Pull up a plate D on’t let the name fool you. They call it simply The Supper Club. But this is no freewheeling potluck dinner, no fly-by-night get together, no neighborhood block party. There are of- ficers and bylaws, yearbooks and a Web site. Sure, you say, supper clubs are a dime a dozen. And if we lived in a small town where neighbors never changed, a group that has shared meals for 61 years straight might not seem like such a big deal. But this is Fayetteville. It’s not only a military town but now the fifth-largest city in North Carolina. People everywhere have always come to- gether to share good food and drink, but maybe it’s even more important here. This special Food & Wine issue fo- cuses on the fancier feasts found in Fayetteville, but really, isn’t it all about fellowship? I think that’s why Fayette- ville’s oldest supper club has flourished. In these past 61 years, members have marked birth and death, new jobs and retirement, grandparenthood and great- grandparenthood. Children who were toddlers when the supper club first started are now grandparents them- selves. Alumni return to visit, and there are even a few who move away and come home again. Every season, they break bread together. It all began with three couples who Please visit www.CityViewNC.com for photos from Fayetteville’s old- est supper club. 10 | Food & Wine • 2008 ran into each other at suppertime, of course. The year was 1947. Mary Wilson and George Matthews Jr., Patricia and Dan Thomason and Kate and Oliver Holmes launched the club with Friday night dinners. What began as a dozen or so couples has now blossomed into a group capped at 50 couples with more on a waiting list. Add associate members and guests, and you have more than a mere dinner party. At the annual garden party this sum- mer, tables groaned under the weight of elaborate and catered hors d’oeuvres and desserts at Highland Country Club. But even in the old days, members rarely did much of their own cooking. “We don’t do any cooking,” Gillie Rev- elle told me and laughed. “We party.” That they do, all generations, from the “kids” in their 40s to those in their 70s and 80s. The older generation recalls weekend trips to the mountains and the beach, picnics on the farm, square danc- ing and oyster roasts. “It was wonderful,” Betty Williams said. Back then, says Henrietta Under- wood, “It was a real event.” It still is – it’s just that the events are different. Weekend trips have adapted into weekday tailgate parties. Sit-down dinners have turned into cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. It’s a busier world than it was when the club first started. But it’s nice to know that there is still time for the finer things. We hope you enjoy reading about them in this issue and wish you many happy meals full of joy this holiday sea- son.CV Allison Williams, Editor

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