By Seamus McGraw

(Continued)

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In the meantime, Janet Pelasara

has been devoting herself almost full time to the task of championing Taylor's cause as the case winds through the judicial system. That, according to her brother, has placed a great stress on the woman, both emotionally and financially.

"That kind of thing, that's the worst thing you can go through," said Jeff Pelasara, a former Arlington, Va. firefighter who moved to Pawleys Island several years ago. And even though Janet Pelasara's connection to the South Carolina beachfront community was tenuous, members of the local Masonic Lodge, which counts Jeff Pelasara as a member, decided to see what they could to do help her.

As a result, members of the lodge, and others in the community, including the local Bi-Lo supermarket and the Pepsi-Cola company got together and planned to hold a six-dollar-a-plate barbecue to help raise funds. The thought was, "if you could relieve one thought of hers, the financial end of it, that certainly would help." Pelasara said.

The planners, of course, had no idea how successful the fundraiser would be. They tried to estimate based on advance sales, but before the pig roast officially began during the lunch hour last Friday, only 150 or so tickets had been sold at $6 a plate, Pelasara said.

To their surprise, when they opened for business, about 11 a.m., Friday, they were swamped. Within an hour, they had loaded up 500 plates, and people were still coming.

"The community was wonderful, "Pelasara said. "When we ran outpeople were showing up, people were showingat quarter after twelve to get a lunch we didn't haveI tried to apologize personallyand every one of them said, 'terrific, we're glad you sold out.'"

In fact, the barbecue fundraiser was so successful, Pelasara said, that his fellow Masons found themselves scouring the region to find the last three hogs available. "And you know, it takes ten hours to cook one."

The next day, Saturday, was every bit as successful as the first, he said. By the time it was over, over $7,500 had been collected on Janet Pelasara's behalf, he said.

Certainly, the food had a lot to do with it. But Pelasara thinks that the success had more to do with the cause than the cuisine. They way he put it, it was Janet Pelasara, who was on hand for the event Saturday, impressed the crowd far more than the food did.

"It was just overwhelming," Pelasara said. "My sister was delightedeverybody just eats her up in a matter of minutes."

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