“It’s just fun to be a part of”

Thanksgiving dinner feeds more than 800

Hope Danner, 6, digs in at the annual community Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday at Del Norte County Fairgrounds. Del Norte Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

With the scent of holiday delectables tickling nostrils, people filed through the food line as volunteers piled turkey, stuffing, yams, green beans and mashed potatoes on their plates.

Typical fare for the American holiday with its tradition of gorging, but it takes an extraordinary spoon to feed the more than 800 people who shuffled through the Del Norte County Fairgrounds Main Building.

Streamers hung from the ceiling, cotton-stuffed cloth turkeys  tacked to the walls and dozens of tables adorned with covers, brooms, leaves and pumpkins took a couple of days to set up by the Del Norte High Interact Club. The turkeys were made by local elementary students.

Volunteers began whipping up the yams, green beans, dressing  and mashed potatoes at around 7 a.m. They filled up 8–10 buffet- sized pans of each dish, said Teri Sandler, coordinator of the event for the past 20 years. The clatter of pots and pans, hums from the machine mashing potatoes and the dishwasher provided a metallic soundtrack for the hustling, bustling volunteers in the kitchen.

“We’re the dirty team,” said a volunteer.

When a dish was finished it was handed through a window leading to the food line.

Safeway and Ray’s handled the 40 20-pound turkeys that were donated by Cholwell, Benz and Hartwick. Local Elk and Emblem clubs prepared the 100 bags of stuffing. And volunteer Deborah Alt made the gravy from scratch.

“I won’t even make homemade gravy at home,” said Sandler.

There were about 50 gallons of coffee, 12 gallons of milk and orangeade made from powder by the case offered to wash down the more than 30 pounds of rolls,  said Sandler, who begins accepting donations for the dinner in September.

“It’s our community. We have a gracious, loving community,” said Sandler.

For dessert, there were more than 100 pumpkin and apple pies, Sandler said.

The giving doesn’t stop at the dinner; unused canned foods are sent to Rural Human Services and cooked leftovers are supplied to the Harrington House.

Mission Linen Supply, out of Eureka, donated 100 aprons for the volunteers, Sandler said, though it wasn’t enough to cover the more than 125 people who decided to spend their Thanksgiving serving others, so some brought their own cover.

Patti Hilger, who was tasked with passing out pies, brought four generations of her family to serve the community.

“We just want to share with the whole community and feel a part of it,” said Hilger, a 32-year resident. “It doesn’t mean you’re poor. It doesn’t mean your needy. It’s just fun to be a part of it, and I think we’ll make this a tradition.”

As more and more people were served, conversations grew louder, faces smiled and family and friends shared laughs. There was never a quiet moment as musical acts Juwatt and Persons of Interest played tunes.

A man being pushed in a wheelchair caught the tempo of the music by jamming on his air guitar. A few people even built up the energy to move to the music.

“When you live alone and have no family, it’s a real nice place to go to have dinner and to people watch,” said Judy Powell, who has attended for the past three years.

Powell, who has lived in the county for 35 years, was apprehensive about coming to the dinner her first time.

“I didn’t know what it would be like, and my perception of what I thought it would be like and what it’s actually like are completely different,” said Powell, who brought her own plate and silverware three years ago.

“I have not brought that stuff again,” said Powell. “I knew I wouldn’t need it.”

Donna Walker, a Hiouchi resident, brought 11 family members to the dinner for their first time.

“We thought this would be a nice thing to do with the family,” said Walker. “I think we may do this next year. This is nice. I like the atmosphere and the music.”