St. Regis Senior Center offers up Christmas feast

On the evening of Dec. 22, the St. Regis Senior Citizen Center hosted Christmas dinner for many residents in Mineral County.

Dave Hannah, president of the center, along with his board of directors and several more volunteers pulled it off as if they’d done this several times.

“It was an idea that came to me, through the Good Lord. I brought it to the board and they all said, ‘You bet!’ and that was maybe two weeks ago,” he explains.

And since this came from the same source of the Feeding of the 5,000 (Matthew 14:13-21), Hannah knew it would happen and be well received. Asked how many RSVPs they’d received, there was plenty of room for margin of error.

“I’ve had several different counts. It’s as high as 92 and as low as 70. But we’re ready. This place and this Christmas dinner is for the community.”

The evening was donation only just to help cover the cost of the food. Hannah became the president of the SRSCC earlier in the year and credits his board of directors and army of volunteers for its new-found success.

Two key employees called in sick that morning so he made a few phone calls and said emergency help was needed. Done! The crucial kitchen and wait staff arrived, aproned-up and got to work.

“I made nine pies. Three pumpkins. I baked two apple pies; I didn’t make them. They are from the west-end DeBorgia School fundraiser. And then I made a plum pie and two pecan chocolate chip pies and a peach pie,” smiles Diane Gingerich when asked what her involvement in the Christmas dinner had been.

The dinner rolls that resembled small loafs of bread were also part of her baking magic. It was a recipe that Hannah had which remains top secret, however, ‘bourbon syrup’ was accidentally mentioned as an ingredient.

“Oh! And I made the green bean casserole, too” as she scoots over to help layout the cookies and brownies. Gingerich’s baking is a treat every Thursday at the SRSCC weekly dinner. Her husband, Dan, was one of the helpers who responded to Hannah’s call for help earlier that morning.

“We were coming over for dinner anyway so we just came early,” he laughs.

Fondly known as the Master Chef, Ruth Derr, was responsible for the turkey gravy Thursday and did much of the pastry baking the day before.

“I come to every meal to help set up the liquids and coffee. I water the plants. I just do whatever needs to be done,” she says graciously.

She became another reliable helper earlier in the year when Hannah brought the energy and vision to the then struggling facility. The secretary and member of the board of directors of the SRSCC, Linda Forest made the trip from Saltese a few times over the week to do her part.

“I did the decorations for the dining room and helped set all of the tables. And I did the treat bags for the kids for later.” She is already planning for next year after being involved in the inaugural event.

“We’ll start planning much earlier,” she grins.

The designated dishwasher for the evening was Scott Burrows.

“Chief bottle washer, you can put it that way,” he chuckles.

Did he draw the short straw when it came to duty assignments?

“No, no. It was planned this way. This is what we had in mind as we sat down and decided who would be doing what. No, I raised my hand for this job.”

Burrows remained positive and jovial through the evening as he said,

“This is what we wanted. Rock and Roll! We wanted to see people move through this place. They come in the door empty, and out the door full.”

Holiday music was provided by St. Regis School Superintendent, Derek Larson and his wife Shelly along with some of his music students. Anita Bailey tickled the ivories and Denley Loge with his trombone who barely made it in time after a frigid drive from Dillon. Round and rectangle folding tables filled the dining area and all were being used.

The fire marshall maximum capacity for the center is 110, and that number was challenged by diners of all ages who thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Compliments on the dinner were shared with everyone of Hannah’s-Helpers as laughter and good-cheer was shared by all.