'I started when I was 22': 97-year-old volunteer making Christmas pudding for seven decades

It takes hours of pounding, mixing, weighing and wrapping to produce a quality plum pudding.

The Pudding Factory at St. John's Anglican Church in Kitchener is back in business as volunteers churn out hundreds of Christmas puddings for the upcoming holiday season.

Andrea Balfour and Charles Stuart, the new co-organizers at St. John’s Pudding Factory, described the pudding as sweet, rich, fruity, luscious and a highly spiced taste explosion.

“It’s something that the church is known for. It’s something that we have devolved [into] a tradition,” said Stuart. “It’s a fundraising tradition that we hope we can take into the future.”

Balfour added: “[It’s] terrifying in a way, it’s a big responsibility, it’s a lot more than we imagined.”

The duo is taking over after long-time volunteers Jennifer Uttley and Julie Shantz, who have been the foremen of the Pudding Factory for the last 15 years, step down.

“It’s good and fun work, but its heavy work, physically,” said Shantz

The two said after 15 years, it's time to turn it over to new leadership.

97-YEAR-OLD PUDDING MAKER CARRIES ON TRADITION

Since the late 1940s, Mindy Hurley has been volunteering to make pudding at St. John’s Church.

“I started this when I was 22 years old,” said Hurley. "So you can do the math."

She is now 97-years-old and continues to carry on the holiday tradition.

“They said I should be helping out with the pudding and that’s what happened I got stuck with it and I’m still doing it,” she said.

Hurley said she likes keeping active and being social, two things that are the keys to her longevity.

“It’s a good job and keeps me busy when I’m not here,” said Hurley. “I belong to a football pool at Morty’s, and after church on Sunday I go up there and watch football with some people.”

After 70 years of making pudding Hurley is hopeful the tradition will live on.

“Keep it up after I go … or I’ll haunt them,” she said.

NEW VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Organizers said volunteers with decades of experience are incredibly helpful, however, an injection of youth is needed.

“Anyone who is involved or interested in getting involved with Pudding Factory are welcome to join us, they can check out the church website and get all the information they need,” said Balfour.

Most of this year's pudding is spoken for, however, a limited quantity will be for sale at the DeliWorks Restaurant in Kitchener.

Typically, the Pudding Factory produces around 2,000 pounds of Christmas puddings in the first week of November. Proceeds go towards church outreach programs and local charities.