Ray Popp has something special in his freezer.
Popp, 89, a Bingham Township resident, has a piece of the world’s largest cherry pie — a keepsake from a work project that dates back to 1987.
He was one of many Leelanau residents who were involved in putting the Grand Traverse community on the pages of Guinness Book of World Records.
To celebrate Michigan’s Sesquicentennial, the Michigan Cherry Committee-Chef Pierre (now Sara Lee) in Traverse City and local cherry producers-set out to bake the world’s largest cherry pie.
At the time, the record to beat was set in Charlevoix, constructed in 1976. It measured 14’4” in diameter and 2 ft. deep. Weight of the produce was 4,950 lbs.
Yellowed newspaper clippings tell the story of the planning and baking of the large fruit pastry.
Local steel fabricators Jacklin Steel of Traverse City were charged with building the pie tin that measured 18 feet in diameter and was 26 inches deep.
Chef Pierre was responsible for mixing up the pie crust which took 1,081 lbs. of flour; 703 lbs. shortening; 286 lbs water; and 32 lbs. salt.
The pie filling was mixed in 200 gallon batches, which were brought to the site by truck in 40 lbs. batches. This recipe called for 18,865 lbs. of red, tart cherries; 7,478 lbs. sugar; 966 lbs. flour; 855 lbs. of corn starch; 117 lbs. vegetable oil; and 45 lbs. salt.
The pie tin was supposed to have been 22 feet wide. But it was reduced to 18 feet after it was determined that it would feed an estimated 200,000 servings.
Unbaked, the pie weighed 28,210 lbs.; baked weight, 26,517.
Popp was tapped by Elmer’s Crane and Dozer to operate the crane used to transfer the assembled pie, into the custom built oven at the Open space for baking.
“It was crane operator Ray Popp’s job to lift up the pie and place it directly over the oven,” a story in the Traverse City Record Eagle said.
Popp, who had 25 years experience as a crane operator at this point, wasn’t worried.
“We can do it,” he said confidently, while grabbing the lever with a steady hand raising the pie directly over the oven. “It’s the most unusual thing I had picked up but not the heaviest.” Popp said.
The big day, July 25, 1987, began at 5 a.m. From 6 to 9:30 a.m. the pie was assembled. It baked from 9:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at temperatures of 375 to 425 degrees.
Unlike traditional pie, crust was not included in each serving. It couldn’t be sliced. So the filling was siphoned out of the center of the pie and served in 4-ounce cups.
Newly-crowned National Cherry Queen Cindy (Pleva) Weber was part of the festivities, although it wasn’t a Cherry Festival activity.
“I had one of the first tastes,” the Cedar native said. “It was really good.”
An estimated 75,000 servings of the record-breaking pie was consumed, according to published reports.
The completion date did not line up with deadlines for the Guinness Book’s 1988 issue. So, it wasn’t until 1989 that the giant cherry pie made the book.
But the record didn’t hold for long.
The world’s largest cherry pie, according to Guinness World Records, is a 37,721 lbs. pie baked in Oliver, British Columbia, Canada on July 14, 1990. The pie was baked by members of the Oliver Rotary Club.
The pan in which the pie was baked is now displayed outside the Sara Lee plant on Cass Road in Traverse City.
The world record cherry pie was a project of local growers, the Michigan Cherry Committee and Sara Lee (previously Chef Pierre). Courtesy photo
1987 National Cherry Queen Cindy (Pleva) Weber, center, was among the many Leelanau participants in the record-breaking cherry pie. Also photographed was Jim Nugent, former Michigan State University extension director and Don Gregory. Courtesy photo
