Duane Hicks
Celebrating 25 years of fellowship during the holidays, the Community Christmas Dinner here is set to go tomorrow from noon-2 p.m. at Knox United Church.
The free event, open to everyone, includes a traditional Christmas meal of turkey, ham, gravy, potatoes, veggies, and dessert, along with live music.
Diane Maxey, who has helped organize the dinner in one way or another for at least 15 years, said she looks forward to it every year.
“[The dinner] brings so much joy to the public,” enthused Maxey, who once again will be at tomorrow’s dinner with a group of Choraliers to spread Christmas joy through song.
“To see them coming in non-stop for two hours is just so wonderful,” she added. “It really is. It brings joy to my heart.
“I am alone, so it gives me the opportunity to give of my time,” Maxey reasoned. “I don’t have a lot of the responsibilities that a lot do . . . and I know it brings such pleasure.
“That’s my reason for doing it.
“I get to mingle and visit with a lot of people that I don’t see all year-round because they are in different walks of life,” she noted.
Maxey urged anyone who hasn’t gone to the Community Christmas Dinner to do so.
“When it first started, I even assumed it was just for people who couldn’t afford it,” she admitted. “And now, it’s for people who just need to be with others at Christmas, to share the Christmas spirit, and I just love that.
“It’s just another venue to open up to people you wouldn’t normally get to see all the time.
“That’s the most special part for me—seeing all the people come and go,” Maxey explained. “And they’re all happy—everybody’s happy, they come and eat and they mingle, too.
“They don’t just get up and eat and, bang, they’re out the door. More people come in and they’ll sit with them,” she chuckled.
“It just brings a lot of joy to the community. I think it’s an amazing event,” Maxey reiterated.
“As long as I can, I’ll be there helping because I think it’s really special.”
June Caul, who has been volunteering at the dinner for as long as Maxey, agreed it’s all about “community.”
“That’s what is important to me—bringing people in the community together who want to have dinner together,” she remarked, noting that through “Meals on Wheels,” that dinner also can be brought to those who can’t make it to the church.
“It’s just a nice thing for seniors who can get out, as well,” Caul added. “I know so many older people who are living by themselves.
“This way, they get to spend Christmas with somebody else, enjoy the music, and just the friendship of everybody in the community.
“And is it nice to see how many people come out and volunteer that day,” Caul noted. “We’re getting more people volunteering, I think, than we ever have.
“And it’s nice to see that those people, as well, care about other people who need a little help eating a nutritious meal at Christmastime.”
Caul said she loves to be around people and do things to help others, and the community dinner satisfies both those needs.
“Meals on Wheels” co-ordinator Gaby Hanzuk also has helped out with the dinner for at least 15 years.
In addition to working with Caul to organize the delivery of meals to those who can’t attend the dinner (she expects there will be about 50-60 meals to deliver tomorrow), Hanzuk said her role has grown to include various jobs behind the scenes.
She noted Karen Mitchell, with the Fort Frances Volunteer Bureau, once again has done the majority of the prep work for this year’s Christmas dinner, contacting event donors, booking the church hall, getting approval from the health unit, and much more.
But in order for Mitchell to spend more time with her family this Christmas, Hanzuk, Maxey, and Caul have stepped up to be in charge of the actual event tomorrow.
Hanzuk said Caul and Maxey will be “the kitchen queens” tomorrow, making sure it runs smoothly and safely. They’re taking the reins from “Goldie” Goldamer, who ran the kitchen for many years.
Meanwhile, Hanzuk is in charge of assigning volunteers, noting that for a third year, she has her Special Olympics athletes helping with the kitchen prep work, as well as set-up and tear-down.
Over the years, Hanzuk said she’s helped numerous co-ordinators, including Joan Pearson, Vanessa Hebert, Denise Audette, Debbie Bazylewski, and now Mitchell, with the dinner, and she continues to do so because of the camaraderie.
“A lot of the people who do this year after year after year, it’s a lot of the same people,” she remarked, adding some entire families volunteer.
Hanzuk also reiterated the dinner is for everybody.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re 18 or 80, if you’re alone at Christmastime, away from your family, or if you’re a young person that’s found a job here and you don’t have any family, this is where you need to go,” she stressed.
Food and supplies for the dinner have been donated by members of the community, as well as local businesses. Businesses such as Canada Safeway also help out by cooking turkeys.
The Community Christmas Dinner typically draws about 200 people. But with the recent layoffs at the local mill, organizers are preparing for at least a few extra ones this year.
