WILSON — The Parish Hall in St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church is hot and crowded in the days leading up to the Wilson After Harvest Czech Festival.

This year, the first three Saturdays in July have been dedicated to the art of making traditional Czech kolaches, a pastry made of yeast dough and usually filled with fruit or cheese. To meet customer demand, thousands of kolaches are made during these work days so they can be served up during the annual festival, which takes place on Friday, July 26, and Saturday, July 27. This year marks the festival’s 59th year.

While the celebration, which honors the community’s rich Czech heritage, is a two-day event, the altar society’s kolaches are only available for one of those. The popular pastries are sold by the half-dozen on Saturday morning through the group’s country store and served at lunchtime during the traditional Czech-style buffet in the Parish Hall.

Baking days begin at 6 a.m. when altar society president Dorothy Brokes comes in two hours early to start the doughmaking process. After proofing the yeast and mixing it with other ingredients, she kneads the dough before letting it rest in a pan she puts on a ledge above the oven.

Working with yeast dough isn’t something that’s rushed. It takes time, waiting for the mixture to rise, only to be punched down so it can rise again. But warmth from a preheated oven helps the dough rise faster.

Brokes has made kolaches for so long she could probably do it blindfolded. She lists off the ingredients by heart, along with each step of the lengthy process. She learned the skill from the late-Albina Mattas, a longtime force in the altar society’s kolache-making process. It was Mattas, she said, who gave her pointers on making the dough.

“Some people go by a recipe, but I learned from Mrs. Mattas to go by touch,” Brokes said. “So I go by touch.”

Mattas, who started making kolaches at 12, had 88 years of experience making the treats when she died in August 2013. For her, kolache-making was all about perfection.

Once the dough is ready, the women begin rolling balls of dough — an important step in the baking process. Eventually, the kolaches are assembled and filled before they are baked. Once they are out of the oven and completely cooled, the women pack them away in a multi-step process before they are taken to the local grocery store, where they are preserved until a day before the event.

“The ladies put in a lot of time,” she said. “And they’re all volunteers.”

During the first bake day on July 6, the women made more than 1,200 kolaches, said altar society member Mary Vopat, who grew up in Wilson and whose family is originally from the Czech Republic.

“I’m 100 percent,” she said.“Both sets of grandparents and my parents were all Czech.”

It takes four to five hours to make a batch of five dozen not including the time spent making assorted fillings.

As the next Saturday approached, Vopat hoped to have several volunteers show up to make just as many. The goal is to have between 2,700 and 3,000 kolaches ready to go by festival time. Last year, the altar society sold out of the pastries within three hours of the country store opening for business.

“We hope to make at least 1,000 to 1,100 on bake days,” Vopat said. “But it depends a lot on the number of volunteers we have available. It’s a lot of work, and long days — from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.”

Five varieties are available to choose from, including prune and cottage cheese. But the most popular flavors are cherry, poppy seed and apricot, she said.

Vopat, who’s volunteered since 1987, said she’s learned much in that time — especially little nuances that can only be learned from an expert baker. This year, the altar society opened the baking days up to locals eager to learn the tradition. Notices were placed in the church bulletin and on community bulletin boards advertising the various bake days, scheduled from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. for beginners.

“You learn a lot by watching,” she said. “There’s a lot of extra steps that you can’t pick up from just reading a recipe in a cookbook. So someone wanting to learn can even come and participate. I’ve been the one pushing for that and opening it up so we can have more people who can help. And we’ve had a couple of people come. I think it’s important to pass these skills on to the next generation.”

“If you want good fellowship, and you want to learn we can use the help,” Brokes said.

Kolaches aside, the group also spent another day making 600 Czech rolls called rohliky, which will be served during the lunchtime buffet. Other buffet offerings include pork roast and roast beef, creamy dill gravy with new potatoes, handmade dumplings, sauerkraut and pork, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes and pickled beets. Each year, the noon meal manages to draw an even bigger crowd. Last year, the group served around 400 hungry eaters.

Brokes, who is responsible for ordering all of the food for the buffet, said she’s ordered approximately 150 pounds of roasted pork and roast beef, which will be prepared a week before the festival. To have the meat ready to go, it takes a full day to cook and preserve it, she said.

While everything is tasty, one of the most celebrated buffet menu items is the jaternice. Pronounced “ee-thur-nitsee,” the Czech sausage is made from pork shoulder, barley and spices. Altar society member Vera Ehrlich makes the much sought-after sausage each year.

Ehrlich, who grew up in the Dorrance area, has lived in Wilson for 50 years, and has always attended church at St. Wenceslaus. Like most Wilson residents, she is of Czech descent.

The process, which starts 10 days before Czech Fest, begins by preparing the barley filling. The barley is cooked a day prior to the sausage actually being made, giving it time to cook and properly cool. Ehrlich, who learned the art from another altar society member, said she uses cooled grains because they will be incorporated while the cooked meat is still hot. This year, she’s using 160 pounds of pork shoulder.

Once the sausage is ready to go, it’s put in plastic bags and frozen. Eventually, the sausage is thawed, and on the morning of the dinner, is placed in roasting pans so it’s ready to serve when the buffet opens at 11 a.m. Once the crowd subsides by early afternoon, whatever isn’t eaten is packed up and sold by the pound at the country store. Besides making jaternice for the Czech Fest, Ehrlich also takes orders in the fall to make another batch for customers who like to give it as a Christmas gift or serve at Christmastime.

While the buffet is a major fundraiser for the altar society, the country store, also located in Parish Hall, also generates money for the group. The store sells kolaches for $8 a half-dozen along with jaternice, noodles, assorted breads and other baked goods and oftentimes, fresh vegetables.

“There’s homemade jellies like rhubarb and blueberry and many others,” Brokes said.“People bring in cucumbers from their gardens, and make pies, quick breads — really anything the ladies want to bring.”

Despite all the work, Brokes couldn’t imagine doing anything else this time of year.

“I enjoy it,” she said. “It’s something I look forward to.”

— When it comes to finding something to eat during the Wilson Czech Festival, there’s no shortage of choices, said Susan Kriley, who shares festival chairperson duties with Kate Schiermeyer.

“There’s tons of avenues for food for everyone,” Kriley said.

Along with local restaurants serving up traditional Czech treats, the Wilson Senior Center will serve an authentic Czech meal on Friday evening. There’s also food vendors in Lions Club Park offering assorted menu items.

The local American Legion Post No. 262 will again this year serve a barbecue rib dinner on Saturday at the Legion Building. On Saturday evening, the local Knights of Columbus will also host a brat meal in the Parish Hall.