The 51st annual Jaternice Dinner is planned for Sunday, Feb. 20, at the Tulelake-Butte Valley Fairgrounds home economics building. It is hosted by ZCBJ Lodge 222, the last surviving Czech lodge in Oregon. At one time, there were eight Czech lodges in the state.

   The lodge was founded after 66 Czech adults moved to and settled Malin in 1909. The group holds regular meetings and special events. Over the years, as Malin has lost its Czech cultural identity, Joe and Mary Victorine, the long-time Jaternice Dinner organizers, considered not continuing the gatherings.

   “We’ve got us young ones so it’s good,” lodge   secretary Karen Rasmussen said of a new generation of Malin area people with Czech heritage who have taken over the annual gathering.

   The transition began last year when Dave Victorine, Joe and Mary’s son, took over as lodge president, Ellen McKay was elected vice president and Rasmussen assumed duties as secretary.

  The work begins the weekend before the feed, when several people begin cooking the sausage. It’s no simple process because the recipe includes about 200 pounds of pork, 30 pounds of heart, another 30 pounds of tongue and 25 pounds of liver. The meat is cooked and flavored with garlic, marjoram and other spices, softened with broth, breaded, put into casings and frozen for a week, which helps the various ingredients blend together. The strudel is made the morning before the dinner.

   Last year’s dinner drew about 225 people, and Rasmussen hopes for that many again this year. To better plan, the new lodge leaders are requesting pre-registrations. Along with making dinner plans, people can place orders for sausage and strudel to take home.

   While the meal is the focus of the gathering, Rasmussen said the event will again feature music by The Cavaliers along with performance of the Beseda, a traditional Czech folk dance presented by dancers wearing traditional costumes featuring brightly colored and elaborately embroidered blouses and skirts.

   “Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve gone to the Jaternice dinners,” said Rasmussen, who is the granddaughter of the late Vac Kalina, a longtime organizer of Czech activities. “It’s a time for people to get together and have a good time. It’s a gathering everyone really enjoys. It’s tradition.”