We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Jeanne Dalton has been shepherding the plans and presentation of Chinook’s annual Community Thanksgiving dinner for the past five years. In prior years, Jeanne and Ron Dalton relied on family for help in the kitchen. This year was different, Ron passed away in the spring and only one local son-in-law was able to help. Jeanne Dalton soldiered on. In an interview about the event she got emotional as she said, “The volunteers stepped forward and the event went very well.”
Dalton said this year’s turnout was about average. Average is still pretty big—125 meals served in the Chinook Senior Center and 55 delivered to people who could not make it to the center. The year was not without its challenges. Dalton said, “I started the turkeys at midnight on Wednesday. When I came in Thanksgiving morning, at 7 a.m., I could tell by the aroma some of the turkeys were overcooked.” No problem, volunteer carvers helped save the day and presented a delicious array of turkey. Other volunteers prepared pies and desserts, as well as some other side dishes. One volunteer who was hospitalized during last year’s dinner, was back this year helping her husband prepare and deliver the dinners to shut-ins.
History of the annual Thanksgiving dinner
Larry Wisch, who still “writes the checks to pay the bills” for the annual dinner recalled, “The first community dinner was held sometime in the 1980’s. The first community meal was held at the local Presbyterian Church. When the new senior center opened, the annual event was moved there and has been held there since.
Wisch said the first dinner had some “logistical problems.” He said, “Kathy Lenhart took on the fund-raising for the event and soon other repeat volunteers got involved—noting Dorris and John Hamilton as well as Frank and Jane Pehrson. Wisch added, “Once we got a reliable financial base and an operating plan, the dinner began to grow.”
The dinner is financed through donations and a freewill offering taken at the dinner. No one is asked to contribute, but they do, and that helps assure the event will continue.
Folks come to the dinner not only for a Thanksgiving dinner but for fellowship, and for some, a chance to be around the table with family and friends. Several multi-generational families come to the dinner because the older generation can no longer cook for a large number or they don’t have room for all their extended family. The dinner works on many levels to provide a place for diners to gather and give thanks.
Thanks to Jeanne Dalton and her corps of volunteers, the traditional dinner continues. Thanks, everyone, for your great support and effort to keep this tradition going.
