The smell of fresh sausages can be found wafting down the alley near the garage at 515 Chapman in Ely, the sounds of button boxes and polka music float through the air and laughter makes its way out of the mouths of both young and old during the Gorniks’ annual sausage-making party.

This year was no different as approximately 15-20 Gorniks took part in “Sausage Fest,” the event that has brought the Gornik family together for over 50 years.

Anton and Mary Gornik started the tradition several generations ago. Their children, Stan and Tony, helped them. Eventually, several cousins started lending a hand and the event snowballed to include just about every Gornik in the area, including many who come back from out of state just for the occasion.

Some babysit young ones, others peel veggies and the rest get down to it, mixing and casing sausages, almost always over President’s Day weekend.

“We do it over President’s Day weekend because of the weather,” said Mary Jo Gornik. “The sausages need to cool quickly so we lay them near the edge of the garage on cardboard with the garage door open just a crack.”

This year, the Gorniks planned to cook and case approximately 150 pounds of blood sausage and approximately 100 pounds of potato sausage.

They use the same recipe that was passed down to them by their grandparents, one of whom, Millie Gornik, still is able to come by to lend a helping hand.

“The recipe has been handed down and we follow it to a tee,” said Mary Jo. “It’s hands down the best out there.”

The Gorniks gather most of their supplies in town, except the blood used for the blood sausage, the snouts and the tongues. A special trip is made to St. Joseph, near St. Cloud, to procure these hard to find items.

And then they have at it. A veritable assembly line is formed and the sausages get churned out one after another. Some are assigned to mixing the sverka, rice, cracklings, blood, pork, snouts, tongues and secret spices. They wear long gloves and plastic around their sleeves so that they can dig right in. Others wash casings, man the sausage stuffer and get the water boiling for the initial cooking.

“There’s an art to the boiling,” said Joe Gornik. “You have to wait until just the right time to take them out. They have to be floating but you don’t want to leave them in too long.”

When the sausages come out of the sausage stuffer, they’re tied together with handmade cedar speena sticks and sent right on down the line. After they’re done boiling, each sausage is corralled out of the pot with a cane (it has just the right curve) that has also been passed down through the generations. They are then placed near the garage door and any kids in the vicinity are recruited for flipping duty.

On an average year, the Gorniks usually make their blood sausage in the morning, break for lunch, and then make potato sausage in the afternoon.

For each and every one of them, it’s a great time to get together with one another.

“It’s a reunion for us and we have fun together,” said Mary Jo. “We all get along, pretty well.”

The Gorniks’ sausage-making party is also a great time to shake a leg. According to Mary and the rest of the Gorniks, polka and accordions are simply part of their heritage.

Grandpa Anton used to play the button box and so did Stan, Nancy Gornik McReady’s father. Now John Pouchnik plays when he comes up and some years the Gorniks’ good family friend, Doc Udovich, will bring his accordion and play a few polkas.

Towards the end of the day, there’s always some taste testing going on, a few High Lifes are cracked and things wind down at the garage at 515 Chapman. But there’ll always be next year. If there’s one thing for certain, the Gorniks know how to throw one hell of a sausage-making party.