By Father Kenneth Borowiak
for the Register
In the last 25 years, Father Kimminau estimates his game feeds have raised $350,000, all given to the works of the Church in southern Nebraska.
If it flies, swims in lakes or rivers, or has hooves, it likely has been a “guest” at Father Bernard Kimminau’s Wild Game Feed.
Three hundred and eighty people attended the 25th annual Wild Game Feed Feb. 15 at the Curtis Memorial Community Center on the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture campus in Curtis. Father Kimminau has held his Wild Game Feed in Curtis for the last seven years.
The Wild Game Feed was the brainchild of Father Kimminau while he was pastor of St. George Parish in Morse Bluff, on the southern bank of the Platte River in Saunders County. He is currently pastor of St. Patrick Parish in McCook, St. Ann in rural McCook and Sacred Heart in Hayes Center.
An avid fisherman and hunter, Father Kimminau thought a wild game feed would appeal to many people in Nebraska.
The first game feed was so successful at Morse Bluff that Father Kimminau took the idea with him to every parish he served as pastor.
“I was at Dawson and Schubert for seven years; David City for nine, Curtis for four and now at McCook for the past three years. Everywhere I have been, the Wild Game Feed was well received,” he said. Fifty people attended the first Wild Game Feed in 2000.
This year, the wild game feed served 420 pounds of different types of meat.
“The origin of the Wild Game Feed was just to get people together and enjoy a meal,” Father Kimminau said.
Ordinarily, the feed includes 30 entrées of different meats, ranging from the more common goose, duck and pheasant, to the more unusual, including porcupine, snapping turtle, rattlesnake, antelope, elk and moose.
Each year Father Kimminau has a “mystery meat.” In past years the mystery meat has included alligator, octopus, and raccoon.
This year the mystery meat was rabbit.
“I do not tell people what that mystery meat is before or during the Wild Game Feed,” Father Kimminau said. “Otherwise, they may not try it. (Some may not be) for … the faint of heart.”
Father Kimminau tries to make the entrées appetizing. The year porcupine was the mystery dish, he made it into meatballs and served it with rice.
“It was pretty good,” he said. “We could have used the quills as toothpicks!”
He also prepared a goose as a pastrami and slow-roasted a wild pig.
In addition to serving different types of wild game, Father Kimminau also conducts an auction including items such as guns and fishing equipment.
As the event has grown in the last 25 years, many people have stepped up to help.
“I have a lot of people who help plan, cook, set up, serve and most importantly, donate meats,” Father Kimminau said.
He emphasized that all donated meats are harvested legally and humanely.
“The Lord tells us in the Book of Genesis that the earth has been given to us to subdue and use for our purposes,” Father Kimminau said. “We need animals for food and clothing. We always make sure that all of our meats are acquired properly.”
Father Kimminau has acquired equipment over the years, such as warmers and cookers, to help in the preparation and serving of the Wild Game Feed.
A large part of the success of the Wild Game Feed has been advertising, largely by word-of-mouth. While wild game cannot be sold, donations are accepted. All proceeds go to the parishes where Father Kimminau is serving.
In the last 25 years, Father Kimminau estimates that the feeds have raised $350,000, all given to the works of the Church in southern Nebraska.
