Dragon slayers come in all shapes and sizes. Grandma Linda Fitzsimmons is working to slay the Cystic Fibrosis dragon with relish. Really… with relish. Her grandson, 10 year old Mathew, was born with Cystic Fibrosis. Mathew attends St. Mary’s Academy. He plays basketball and was a member of the Youth Football team that won the Superbowl last fall.
[private]Linda said when Mathew went through a rough spell last year and had to be hospitalized she was inspired to help raise funds to speed the creation of new drugs and to find a cure. Folks have encouraged her for years to sell her delicious hot relish and during that difficult time was when she thought of selling it and giving the proceeds to Cystic Fibrosis.
Old timers in Hoosick and bowlers at Barbecue Recreation are very familiar with Barbecue Recreation’s delicious product. “Eighty years ago (1935) Millie and Mary Unavitch used the relish at their roadhouse where they served the Barbecue’s famous hot dogs,” said Linda. The bowling lanes didn’t open until 1939.
In 1970 Linda and her husband Walter purchased the bowling facility and its contents for a specified price. “That price did not include the relish,” Linda added. “Only after we paid an addition sum did they give us the recipe.” Countless folks have tried to duplicate the recipe, but they find it is always missing something and it never tastes the same as what Linda serves.
Linda proudly states, “we have served that relish to four generations. Students from Williamstown and North Adams colleges would come over for hot dogs and relish and now they bring their grandchildren.” She has memories of times in the 70s and early 80s when bars in Adams and North Adams would close and the bar owners would bring their customers with them in a van or taxi cabs and order between 30 to 60 hot dogs at a time.
Linda has received patents for the relish and is currently waiting for a trade mark, which may take some time, she said. In December she made a large batch of the relish, which she sold by “word of mouth.” When all the jars were sold she was able to send a check to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for $750. Linda has already lined up two supermarket chains to carry the product. It will be sold in eight and 16 ounce size jars. The label on the jars will include a picture of Linda’s four grandchildren. There will be a special tag around the neck of the jar that explains Cystic Fibrosis. In the meantime Linda is selling the relish at Barbecue Recreation for those who can’t wait to find it on store shelves. Call Barbecue Recreation at 686-5751 or stop in to pick up some of this one of a kind relish to enjoy and to support a great cause.
Fundraisers
Linda said the first local fundraiser to benefit Cyctic Fibrosis was held in Hoosick Falls in 2007 and raised over $50,000. Since then the Miles for Mathew and other fundraisers have been established with partnerships with Friends of the Bennington Battlefield and HAYC3. On Saturday, January 24, the Eighth Annual Polar Plunge to benefit the CF Foundation was held as part of the Grafton Lakes State Park Winter Festival. On Sunday, May 17, family and friends will again be at Grafton Lakes for the Miles for Mathew walk.
Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic Fibrosis is a genetic disease affecting 30,000 children and adults in the United States. Two hundred and fifty people with the disease live in this area. “What a lot of people don’t know is one in 31 Americans, more than 10 million people, are symptomless carriers of one copy of the defective Cystic Fibrosis gene,” said Linda.
Research
“Several good drugs to fight the disease are in the clinical stages,” Linda said. “One has just been approved.” Unfortunately that particular one will not help Mathew. Medical costs to treat this disease are huge, Linda added.[/private]