"It's what we're known for:" Thanksgiving dinner tradition continues

The Carrington Community Thanksgiving Dinner is a continuation of 22 years of tradition. Starting as a project of the Carrington Ministerial Association, dinner has been served at noon on Thanksgiving Day in Carrington. This year's dinner will be served at Calvary Baptist Church, 725 Main Street.

After the first two years, when the Ministerial Association was ready to pass the project on to new volunteers, Bordulac-area couples Helen and Gary Rosenau, Becky and Lynn Schroeder, and Caroline and Jeff Golz picked up their spatulas and started cooking. A couple of years ago the spatulas passed to a trio of local women, Shirley Fritza, Betty Montgomery, and Linda Schuster, and they continue the tradition with very few changes from the original plan.

As Linda Schuster describes it, "It's what we're known for. And by that, I mean what the Carrington community is known for – a volunteer-based dinner open to all. The Carrington area is very generous."

People of all ages come for dinner for all kinds of reasons: truck drivers, stranded travelers, families suddenly home for a funeral and harvest crews working late in the season. Families that enjoy a little bit of turkey – it IS tradition, after all! – but who would rather put their culinary efforts into half-time snacks and treats. Also included: anyone who doesn't want to eat leftovers for weeks, extended families, shift workers on break, small families, empty-nesters and friends.

The menu hasn't changed: roasted turkey with homemade gravy and mounds of real mashed potatoes. The miracle that happens when 16 individually-prepared batches of stuffing are steamed together. The menu includes: buttered corn, glazed sweet potatoes with a touch of brown sugar and crunchy coleslaw with a dressing recipe handed down through the decades. Refreshingly tart cranberry sauce, fresh-baked buns, cold milk, hot coffee and pie – more than forty of the most delicious pies are on the menu.

Even the posters have remained the same. Linda explains, "After I'd been helping out with paperwork, newspaper articles, and posters for a couple of years, I brought some new poster designs to a planning meeting." Helen (Rosenau) said that people will quickly recognize our dinner information if we don't change the poster design each year. "It's what we're known for." Following Helen's lead, we'll continue to use that same design, and that same philosophy.

What does change from year to year are the hand-decorated placemats, colored by art students at Carrington Elementary School. Even take-out orders get cheerful placemats and a prayer of Thanksgiving tucked in their bag.

The faces seem to change each year, too. Many volunteers consider this a favorite tradition.

Volunteers are needed on Wednesday afternoon, November 23 at 1:00 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church, 725 Main Street. The team will peel potatoes (bring your favorite peeler); wrap flatware; setup workspaces, tables and chairs; and set tables with placemats and cups. Other volunteers will be boning and carving turkeys.

On Thursday morning, the committee and a few others will arrive early to start cooking again. Then another wave of volunteers will arrive – the food line and delivery team. Dishwashers and a clean-up team work their magic throughout the day.

Many generous people contribute their time and energy to help with preparations before and serving on Thanksgiving Day, but we don't want anyone to feel unneeded or over-worked. If you would like to volunteer for a brief shift on Thursday, please contact Linda Schuster at 653-6028 to sign up.

Turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings, will be served at noon at Calvary Baptist Church, 725 Main Street in Carrington, on Thursday, November 24. Everyone is welcome! The meal is free, but a free-will offering will be accepted to offset expenses and continue this friendly community custom.

If you would like a ride or meals delivered on Thanksgiving Day, please contact Betty Montgomery at 652-3302 or 652-5034 (leave a message) by November 23. Call the Calvary Baptist Church building at 652-2162 on November 23 & Thanksgiving Day. It is important to remember that attendance at any public event carries health risks. If you do not feel well, please stay home - and call for delivery.

Questions about Carrington's Community Thanksgiving Dinner should be directed to Linda Schuster at 701-653-6028.