NEW COLUMBIA -- Passing by Trinity United Methodist Church in New Columbia, you'd never know that inside, volunteers are making more than 1,000 apple dumplings for Saturday's Apple Butter Festival.
The festival takes place right across the street from the church. To make sure the sugar-coated baked goods are fresh, the group makes them just one or two days in advance, so there's no time to waste.
"If I stop, we'll push behind schedule because we have approximately 1,500 apple dumplings we will be making," said volunteer Nelson Doebler.
The recipe for the treat has been passed down through the church for years.
These volunteers aren't just making apple dumplings. Earlier this month, they made hundreds of jars of apple butter which they also plan to sell.
The labels on the jars are different every year; fifth-graders from White Deer Elementary design them and the community votes on the winner.
"The first time we made apple butter, we made 25 or 30 containers and now we made we are up to 375 jars of apple butter," Doebler said.
The apple butter festival is this Saturday at the Civic Center on 3rd Street in New Columbia.