Lois Hargrove ’21
Pie is an important part of life at Mercersburg. It’s not written on the Student Center wall for nothing. Generations of students have fond memories of eating oatmeal, chocolate chip, and pretzel pies at Monday night dinners. Every week they looked forward to it. Alumni, faculty, and current students alike remember these pies as an integral aspect of their lives at Mercersburg. These desserts are so essential to the Mercersburg experience that the subject even came up at the recent school meeting, where retiring faculty unanimously agreed that pretzel pie is the best Mercersburg pie. And while many returning students are able to offer their opinions on the subject (pretzel pie and chocolate chip cookie pie seem to be at a tie for the overall favorite), it remains a sad fact that many new students haven’t had the opportunity to formulate their opinions on the subject.
This year, there is an unfortunate lack of classic pies. While Meriwether-Godsey does a wonderful job of providing tasty food and desserts to the Mercersburg community, their selection of pies, while plentiful, is not sufficient. We are frequently offered a variety of chess pies, lemon pies, and apple pies (not to mention the abundance of cobblers and puddings) yet not a single classic Mercersburg pie has made an appearance. This is sad. I know that I looked forward to Monday night dinners just for this reason. If I knew that chocolate chip cookie pie (the best pie) was on the menu that night, I would be excited the whole day, waiting for the moment I could enjoy the dessert with my table, and hopeful that I would be one of the lucky few to take the leftover pie. Unfortunately, so many members of our community still haven’t been able to experience this. They’ve lost out on a chance to share in one of Mercersburg’s best traditions, and those who know what they are missing are sad to see it go. Life here just isn’t the same without these pies. In a time in which so much else is already different, it’s especially sad to see something so simple, yet amazing, go. Hopefully before the year is up, we will be able to come together and enjoy these desserts again. A year at Mercersburg can’t be complete without at least one stomachache from eating too much pie.
From Clara Getty ‘21: “While I appreciate Meriwether Godsey’s consistent effort to have pie on Monday nights, I wish they would serve more traditional Mercersburg pies. There is a lot of change happening at Mercersburg and a lot of questions about how the pandemic will effect student culture; serving chocolate chip cookie and pretzel pie would be a simple way to ensure a Mercersburg tradition stays alive.”