“Charity in Syracuse-The Hearts of the Poor Made Glad.”
Thus, read the headline on the front page of the “New York Times” on January 2, 1870.
Amidst a severe post-Civil War economic depression, John Greenway, president of J & G Greenway & Company hosted a free barbeque for the benefit of the 43,000 residents of the city of Syracuse that was held in Clinton Square on New Year’s Day 1870.
According to press accounts, people came from as far away as Albany and Rochester to attend the massive fete.
The north bank of the Erie Canal, just two blocks from Greenway’s massive brewery and malthouse, was the site where two immense ovens – each nine feet high – were constructed out of sheet metal.
The barbecue itself began the previous evening around midnight when the cooking began.
Hardwood logs were piled on iron grates and burned for 12 hours before two enormous beef cattle weighing almost 750 pounds were arranged on heavy spits, some 14 feet in length.
The beef was turned slowly while huge basting pans measuring 12 feet long caught all the delectable drippings underneath.
A third head of cattle weighing nearly 900 pounds was left uncooked and carved into steaks for folks to take home. A staggering 5,000 loaves of bread were placed in pyramid stacks eight feet high on a long 100-foot table for what has to be one of the longest sandwich lines in recorded history.
Considering the size of the crowd, many well-warmed with Mr. Greenway’s delicious libations, the Grand Barbecue saw only one serious injury.
Unfortunately, while the beef was being carved, one of the butchers, Mr. George Hancock, slipped and fell into one of the basting pans. Luckily, he slid in feet first and his thick leather boots prevented him from being severely scalded by the hot drippings. He was rescued immediately by his fellow carvers and escorted to his nearby home where he made a full recovery.
Despite the accident, the juices were subsequently used for the hot roast beef sandwiches served to the…
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