By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The menu included 30 roasted turkeys, countless industrial sized cans of mashed potatoes and green beans, and of course, plenty of pumpkin pie with whipped cream dollops on the top.
This Thanksgiving dinner was no place for timid cooks – not with 600 famished guests invited.
As the guests filed by, their plates were heaped with the turkey and generous helpings of all the trimmings.
“It’s just like a real Thanksgiving,” said Lynn Eck, who has coordinated the Community Thanksgiving Feast at the Bowling Green Community Center for the last six years. The meal, donated by members of Grace Church and Christ Church in Bowling Green, has been an annual tradition now for 25 years.
The dinner welcomed the hungry, the lonely, the old and the young.
“There are a lot of familiar faces,” Eck said as she looked out from the busy kitchen at the line of guests. “For a lot of people, this is their Thanksgiving.”
“For me, it’s my favorite day of the year,” Eck said. “It’s like having your whole family over – a really big family.”
Pies are cut up for dessert
The thought of serving 600 turkey dinners would be enough to make some cooks collapse. But for Eck, cooking mass quantities has become second nature. “By this point in the day, it’s like a well-oiled machine.”
Planning for the community feast begins in October, with requests for help going out to each congregation. “They always step up,” Eck said.
But others in the community also take their turns serving up the turkey and trimmings. “People hear about it and want to help,” she said.
People like Jason Miller, who volunteered this year to take tickets and hand out plates.
“It’s really good to give back to the community,” Miller said. “You see so many people who come through who just want a hot meal. It’s really fulfilling to me.”
Out in the gymnasium, the tables were filling up with guests. Dorothy Bookman, of Perrysburg, brought six family members to the feast. “The more, the merrier,” she said. “I like the people here, the community.”
Across from her was Sandra Uhlmann, of Bowling Green, whose favorite part of the meal is always the pumpkin pie.
At the next table, Daniel Stump was finished with his meal. “It was filling,” he said. “It’s good food, and the people care.” And besides, Stump added, “I didn’t want to cook.”
Guests fill community center gym for annual feast
Cindy Weaver, of Bowling Green, said this was her second year she attended the community feast. This meal, she said, is her official Thanksgiving.
“I just like all of it,” Weaver said. “It’s wonderful. It really touches your heart.”
As guests left with full bellies, Teresa Ireland said they also left with warmed hearts. “I feel God working in mysterious ways,” Ireland said. “They leave saying, ‘thank you.’”
