What it’s about

There are historical accounts and folk tales, there’s the annual History Channel feature “The History of Thanksgiving” that I saw the other evening that combines both, and that was interesting. And there are Christian traditions along with their accounts, which kind of combines it all.

Plenty of news stories of the day are out there, a lot of them like this one that make you feel good about the ways we do care for each other.

The buffet line was just starting to move, young and old shuffling along as volunteers piled sliced turkey, mashed potatoes, peas and squash onto their plates.

Deborah Pearson, 52, looked out from the basement kitchen where she was working as a volunteer, surveying the room.

“It’s what Thanksgiving’s all about,” she said. “It’s wonderful to see people happy, and having people pay attention to them, when some of them don’t usually have that.”

At the 34th annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner, good food and friendly faces were the order of the day Thursday as volunteers left their own homes behind for a few hours, pitching in to put on a traditional meal for senior citizens, the underprivileged and anyone else who had no one cooking for them.

The event, sponsored by the Washington County Youth Service Bureau and Boys & Girls Club and supported by donations from businesses and individuals alike, drew about xx people from Montpelier and surrounding communities.

The Globe must have run this before they verified the count of people served. That’s not important to know, anyway. That they were served, is.

Volunteers also delivered meals to 215 shut-ins and others who couldn’t make it to the church for the festivities.

In all, about 50 turkeys were cooked.
“I’d like to welcome you here today,” Youth Service bureau board member Mike Stevens announced in a booming voice, welcoming the first batch of diners just after 11:30 a.m. “Have a great Thanksgiving and thanks for coming.”

With that, the line started moving and Stevens took his place at a serving station, doling out pieces of white meat as he spoke.

“It’s for the community, for people who have nowhere to go or family to share the holiday with,” he said.

Lee Kimball, 64, of Montpelier, who has made the event an annual tradition, said it wasn’t just the food that kept him coming. “It’s great, the companionship. They do a great job, all the volunteers. We’ve been coming for years.”

At a table nearby, Esther Short, 76, of Montpelier, dug into her meal. There was a Thanksgiving meal being served at her apartment building, but she preferred the community dinner instead.

“I know a lot of people are worse off than me. Some of the people here, they don’t even have a roof over their heads,” she said.

Volunteers, too, said they got something out of it.

“My children are grown and gone,” said Pearson. “I just come to help out and be with the people. It’s kind of like my family away from family. It’s very fulfilling.”

Here’s what President Bush said in his proclamation:

During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln revived the tradition of proclaiming a day of thanksgiving, reminding a divided nation of its founding ideals.

This is a good time for that reminder.

At this time of great promise for America, we are grateful for the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution and defended by our armed forces throughout the generations. Today, many of these courageous men and women are securing our peace in places far from home, and we pay tribute to them and to their families for their service, sacrifice and strength. We also honor the families of the fallen and lift them up in our prayers.

Our citizens are privileged to live in the world’s freest country, where the hope of the American dream is within the reach of every person. Americans share a desire to answer the universal call to serve something greater than ourselves, and we see this spirit every day in the millions of volunteers throughout our country who bring hope and healing to those in need. On this Thanksgiving Day, and throughout the year, let us show our gratitude for the blessings of freedom, family and faith, and may God continue to bless America.

I saw a bumper sticker that said “God Bless Everyone. No Exceptions.” Amen to that, I thought.

And remember to give thanks.