Harvey Schuster serves raccoon meat at the annual Coon Feed at the Delafield American Legion Post 196 in 2006.

DELAFIELD - Delafield Fire Chief Jack Edwards can’t help but laugh as he recalls hunting expeditions with late city resident and Coon Feed founder Tom McNulty.

The night outings into the woods to hunt raccoons as a teenager created fond memories for Edwards, who to this day is an avid outdoorsman, though he no longer hunts or eats the masked bandits, he said.

"It’s really not that far out of the ordinary," Edwards said. "Most people think of a raccoon as road kill or something they hit with their car, and it’s not the most appealing thing."

This year’s Coon Feed will be held Saturday at the Delafield American Legion Post, 333 Lapham Peak Road. Proceeds from the 81st annual event will benefit American Legion youth programs.

What started out as a private gathering among hunting buddies in the late 1920s eventually turned into a public dinner to help raise funds for local youth baseball teams, said Lillian McNulty, Tom’s wife and organizer of the Coon Feed.

Tom McNulty died in 1991 at age 94. His last raccoon hunt was in 1985.

"It’s always fun and we see so many people," McNulty said. "The old-timers that hunted with Tom are all gone."

About 70 raccoons are needed to supply dinners for the expected 300 people who will attend the event, including Coon Feed regular U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, she said.

"Jim always shows up," McNulty said. "He calls me by my first name, and I call him by his first name."

Each dinner includes roasted raccoon meat, prepared with Tom’s secret recipe, as well as mashed potatoes with gravy, stuffing, sauerkraut and other sides.

"Last year, the flavor of the meat was superb," McNulty said. "I hope they do as well this year."

Ham and turkey are also available for folks who don’t want to eat raccoon meat, she said.

Edwards, who said he may attend the Coon Feed, compared raccoon meat to "chicken," and said the fare is "more moist than it is greasy."

Commemorative Coon Feed shirts will also be sold at the event, which garners national media attention and brings in diners from around the state as well as out-of-state guests, McNulty said. Proceeds from the shirt sales will benefit the Waukesha County chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, of which Tom was once president and Lillian is now the current chapter president.

McNulty, 84, who recently marked her 54th year playing the saxophone in the Oconomowoc American Legion Band, said she’s happy to continue her late husband’s legacy of supporting youth athletic programs.

"I’m sure he’s looking down from up there and thanking us for continuing his work, and that’s what I’m trying to do," she said.