Dear Sun Spots: You seem to be a fountain of information, and I am in hopes that you will be able to help me as you have thousands of others. Years ago, as a child, my mother used to take me to Steckino’s Restaurant in Lewiston where they had the very best spaghetti I have ever had. Now an adult, I would love to have their recipe for their sauce. Thank you for your help. – No Name, No Town.

Answer: Sun Spots had the pleasure of speaking to John Steckino, son of Steckino’s restaurant owner and operator Arthur Steckino Sr. John not only shared his family’s popular spaghetti sauce recipe but also provided some family restaurant history.

John said Arthur Steckino Sr. came to the Lewiston area as part of an Italian crew hired to work on the Inter-Urban electric railroad line. At the time, he was known as Arthur Stecchino Sr. (pronounced Ste-chee-no). Eventually, he opened the Paramount Fruit Store on Main Street next to what was the Mohegan Market (around the corner of what would soon be Steckino’s Restaurant on Middle Street).

Evidently, Arthur Steckino would cook his spaghetti sauce in the back room of his fruit store, which was sure to have created quite an aroma. This caused his customers to inquire about it. He began to giving tastes to customers and occasionally would feed entire families that were in need during those Depression days. That started the chain of events that resulted in his starting his own Italian restaurant, Steckino’s. He also changed the spelling of his name for easier pronunciation. The restaurant became the “social place” to be; especially during World War II. He passed away in 1957, and the restaurant and restaurant name was sold to his restaurant partner, Amelio Vangeli.

Arthur Steckino was said to be a generous and helpful man who assisted many people during hard times. An example of the American dream, he came to this area, worked hard and vowed never to allow himself, his family or anyone to be hungry.

Sun Spots is pleased to provide you with Steckino’s spaghetti sauce recipe. John recommends using the freshest ingredients available and to serve the spaghetti with a fresh salad and red wine.

Steckino’s spaghetti sauce

Serves 4 to 6

Fry lightly to brown 3 large hot sausages or 2 large pork chops. Remove from pan and put aside.

Lightly brown in 1 teaspoon of butter and dash of paprika, 3 medium onions, diced. Remove from pan and put aside.

In a large deep pot, set to low heat, melt ½ cup lard (you can substitute a 1/8 inch of Wesson oil on the bottom of the pot).

Put into pot:

1 garlic clove, minced or pressed

the browned sausages or pork chops

the browned onions

1 small can Pastene tomato paste

4 28-ounce cans Pastene tomato puree

smidgen (½ teaspoon) salt, pepper and oregano.

Heat to medium. Cover. Cook for approximately five hours, stirring occasionally.

Sauce will be ready when cooked to a dark rusty red color.

Serve ladled over “al dente” vermicelli.

Dear Sun Spots: The Community Concepts Family Support program would like to thank Sun Spots for printing our letter requesting the donation of wrapping paper. The response from the Twin Cities community was overwhelming. We not only received generous donations of paper, bows and name tags, but also received a beautiful selection of toys from a special couple in Lewiston. We were able to wrap hundreds and hundreds of gifts. We want to thank everyone who took the time out from their busy schedules to help create smiles on the faces of the many children our organization represents. Thank you all so much! – Anita Poulin, Auburn.

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