Community spirit abounds at lunch

The line for lunch in St. Regis extended down the hallway last Wednesday. Community members and senior citizens had been invited over to join the students in a pre-Thanksgiving Lunch.

“It sounded good,” Judy Branson remarked as she waited in line with her husband, Gene.

While not the first thanksgiving of any sort on the continent, the traditional origin of modern Thanksgiving in the United States is generally regarded to be the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in Massachusetts in 1621.

This celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original Thirteen Colonies that later were to become the United States. This Thanksgiving was modeled after harvest festivals that were commonplace in Europe at the time.

Thanksgiving was a holiday to express thankfulness, gratitude, and appreciation to God, family and friends for which all have been blessed of material possessions and relationships.

Last Wednesday, friends, family and health were among the common items that people were thankful for.

“I’m thankful I still have good heath and for family,” said Glenna Cook. “I’m also thankful for the community spirit here in this area.”

Mark Field said that he thought it was neat that everyone could come in and sit down together to enjoy a meal.

“It’s great we can all gather together,” Field said.

The dinner featured most of the traditional dishes and trimming, from the turkey to the coveted pumpkin pie. The dinner has been held for the last 14 years and the success of the dinner really depends upon how well the event is advertised to the community, said head cook Dawn Palmer.

“Larry Field who was the head cook before I took over last year held it the 13 years he was here,” Palmer said. “Last year, it didn’t go very well because it wasn’t advertised really well. When it’s advertised really well, it goes well, but last it was hardly mentioned.”

Palmer said that this year they fed around 250 people, 60 of them being from the community.

“It went very well,” Palmer said. “There was more interest this year and we got the word out.”

Students were happy to see their parents and grandparents, often jumping up from their seats to go hug them as they waited in line and pointing out where they were sitting.

“I think it’s great that parents can come in and sit with their kid,” Palmer said. “They can come in and enjoy a meal with their kids and it gets them into the school to see what their kids are doing. I think it’s good when they have opportunities to come and get involved with the school.”

Patrick Lowe, superintendant, said that the dinner is also an outreach to the community to thank them for their support of the school.

“It’s a way to thank them for volunteering, coming to games, being at concerts and just helping out,” Lowe said. “We’re all social critters and there’s a real benefit to sitting down and eating as a school family and also as a community family.”

Palmer said that one of the other reasons she puts so much work into organizing the dinner is because she knows that not everyone will sit down to a huge meal this Thanksgiving with friends and family gathered around the table.

“Not everyone is going to have that big meal,” Palmer said.

Palmer said that she wants to thank everyone who came out for the meal and hopes that it will be “even bigger next year.”

“I think the kids really enjoyed it,” she said. “Everyone seemed to have a good time.”