POULSBO — Bob Hawkinson and Norma Hanson represent both ends of First Lutheran Church’s 94th annual lutefisk dinner.

Today, Hawkinson will be cutting lye-soaked cod for cooking, while Hanson will be serving heaping portions of the Norwegian delicacy along with Swedish meatballs and boiled potatoes.

The event, which was started by a group of church ladies in 1913, has grown through the years to become one of the city’s rites of passage.

“Sometimes people come from Arizona and California and schedule their vacations around the event,” Hawkinson said. “It’s got broad appeal.”

As a fishcutter, Hawkinson, a local attorney, gets to practice the skills he learned as a commercial fisherman in Alaska.

“I can’t remember exactly how I got involved,” he said, adding that he does recall attending the event each year growing up in Poulsbo. “I remember falling in love with Swedish meatballs.”

The event helps keep a part of the city’s history alive and brings generations of many of the founding families together, Hawkinson said.

One of the more senior generations is Hanson, who has been a server at the event for more than 40 years.

“You can’t keep track of it, because you’re having so much fun,” she said.

Members of the Iverson, Serwold and Anderson families remain active in the event, and the group is always looking for younger people to help keep it going strong, she said.

“Everyone gets along so well, and we all have our regular job,” she said, adding that her husband, Earl, will once again be greeting the hundreds of visitors partaking in the feast.

As for her favorite memories of the event, Hanson said there are so many that it’s difficult to pick just one.

“We all have a really good time,” Hanson said. “We just don’t know how long we can keep doing this.”

In between Hawkinson and Hanson, Gordon Stenman will be busy boiling potatoes like he’s done for the past 44 years.

“I started washing dishes and then I started boiling potatoes,” Stenman said, adding that today’s dinner marks his 47th year with the event.

The best part of the Norwegian smorgasbord is seeing all of the regular guests who come to the event every year, he said.

“I don’t know if I have a favorite memory,” Stenman said. “They’re all pretty special.”