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Thanksgiving meal continues in spite of loss
This year's traditional Community Thanksgiving Dinner will be somewhat different for organizer Marjorie Schwalm and her family.
Schwalm, whose husband Ross died Sept. 16, will try to make it through organization of the community-wide social event this year without his help. Schwalm said Ross was instrumental in helping with the event each year.
"He (Ross) took care of the deliveries," Schwalm said. "This will be the first time I've done it without him. I'm sure that my children and grandchildren can pick up where he left off."
Schwalm said this year she will get some extra help with the event from her family, both in preparation for the event and serving and working at the dinner.
Her youngest son, David, will this year take over Ross' former duties of coordinating and organizing the deliveries. She also receives help each year from dozens of volunteers who help with cooking, clean-up and delivery of meals.
The dinner, which is free to the public, will run from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 28 at the Elks Lodge, 111 W. 19th St. This is the 15th year Schwalm has hosted the event, which provides Thanksgiving meals to hundreds of local residents.
Schwalm said although it will prove to be a difficult holiday season, she believes organizing and taking part in the community dinner will be therapeutic for her.
"It will be a tough Thanksgiving," she said. "All the work keeps my mind busy and I don't have time to worry about things."
The morning of the event is typically a busy and hectic one.
"On Thanksgiving morning, my husband was always out there at 6 a.m., getting the turkey out and we're getting all the food prepared," Schwalm said. "Some of my kids and workers show up about 8 a.m. and start getting the potatoes, stuffing and gravy going. We start filling trays at 10 a.m. So many people are the same people I started with 15 years ago."
Schwalm said plans are now being made for the event, with shopping for supplies and food preparation scheduled to happen this weekend and into next week.
"We're deep into it," she said. "We're getting ready to smoke all of our turkeys at the Elks Lodge on Monday. I'm going to Joplin this weekend to get all the supplies. We're now taking all the delivery orders. I've already had 170 orders for delivery. We had about 350 deliveries last year."
Most of the money used to put the dinner together comes from freewill donations.
"We still end up with about $700 to $800 in out-of-pocket expenses, after all is said and done," Schwalm said. "There is always enough donations to cover it each year."
Schwalm said over the last two years, more than 700 people have been served each year, including people who dined at the Elks Lodge and those who had meals delivered to them.
She gets help each year from family members, longtime friends and several volunteers of various ages, from youngsters who come with their parents to older residents who have assisted her for years.
"Many people tell me they greatly appreciate this," she said. "That's why I do this every year -- people enjoy it. It will be a little bit different this year, but I'll get through it."
About 30 turkeys provided by the Elks Lodge will be smoked and deboned the Monday before Thanksgiving at the lodge. Schwalm and other cooks begin preparing all of the food early Thanksgiving morning and other volunteers come in later that morning to start working on carry-out and delivery orders, which are done before the dine-in meals are served.
"I get a lot of drivers," Schwalm said. "We usually end up with about 15 drivers or so, sometimes a little bit more. We try to get delivered meals out before we start serving the public."
The event began several years ago when Schwalm discovered that area churches and local organizations no longer wished to sponsor the annual Thanksgiving dinner, which at the time was created for those in town who could not afford to cook a Thanksgiving dinner of their own, couldn't leave their home or had nowhere to go for a holiday meal. Schwalm, who had experience cooking large dinners, committed to organizing the event, which has since been open to anyone in the community and has become a social event for many people.
The event helps some older couples who attend the dinner because it is too difficult to make a Thanksgiving dinner for two people, those who don't want to cook or can't afford the dinner, and people who simply don't want to be by themselves on the holiday. It also helps some elderly and disabled people, those who don't have transportation and people who want to enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner but don't like attending social events, Schwalm said.
A majority of the food is provided by local organizations. Community Christian Church and a couple of other organizations provide desserts, Parkway Church of God offers dinner rolls and Mercy Hospital provides mixes for stuffing and potatoes.
"They've all agreed to do it again this year," she said. "They were very eager to help us."
The feast includes turkey and noodles, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, stuffing, dinner rolls, desserts and drinks. Schwalm said one of the needed food items on her shopping list this weekend is 35 large gallon cans of green beans.
"It's probably good for me to do this because it is keeping my mind occupied and keeping me busy," she said. "I have so much to be thankful for. People are so very thankful to have these meals."
Schwalm said she will make homemade noodles to add to the spread.
While organizers gladly accept delivery orders, Schwalm encourages those people who have a way to get there, to come to the Elks Lodge for the meal and enjoy the social aspect of the event.
"That way they can get out and mingle with the people," she said. "I think they would enjoy it a little bit more than getting their meals at home."
For more information about volunteering in some way to help with the event, or to request a meal delivery, contact Schwalm at (620) 215-1521.