News - 2006 Nov 24

Dressed as indians, Avery Harrison 5, and her brother Brock 7, of Eliot, put candy corns in some of the 85 meal bags on Thanksgiving Day Thursday at the South Church in Portsmouth. Photo by Rich Beauchesne

Giving spirit

By Jennifer Feals
jfeals@seacoastonline.com

PORTSMOUTH -- Members of the community gathered Thursday at the Portsmouth Unitarian Universalist (South) Church to enjoy the Portsmouth Rotary Club's 35th annual Thanksgiving Dinner. It was a feast complete with all the Thanksgiving staples: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, and homemade pie -- to name a few.

More than 100 Rotary members and community volunteers worked to prepare the meal and create a cozy, welcoming environment to help their guests feel at home for the holiday.

Rotarian Betsy Scott said she enjoys helping the familiar faces she sees around town. "This is for the people and to show them support," she said.

Volunteers Kathy Leavitt of New Castle, and Neil Cohn of Kittery keep a sense of humor while preparing turkey at the South Church in Portsmouth as part of an the annual Rotary Thanksgiving meal for people in need. Photo by Rich Beauchesne

The guests were waited on hand and foot by the volunteers, who served whatever the guests desired.

Scott said the smile on her face can't get any bigger than when a guest asks for anything, even just a full cup of coffee. "It gives me such a thrill to make these people feel like there is an overabundance of food just for them, which there is," she said.

To make sure everyone got a chance at Thanksgiving dinner, the Rotary Club also delivered the meal home to some.

For 10 years, Rotarian Jay Levy has organized and dropped off the home deliveries. Lately he has recruited his children for help and uses the day to not only get closer to them, but also to the community. "You make great relationships," he said. "Year after year, this is one of those things people anticipate and look forward to. It's a great thing for everybody."

The event chairman, Donald Coker, said volunteers began preparing the meal Wednesday. Portsmouth Regional Hospital donated the food and the space to cook it. They cooked about 10 turkeys and baked 25 pies to satisfy an expected 125 guests for the sit-down meal and all the home deliveries.

Master Chef Neil Cohn has been volunteering for the Portsmouth Rotary Club's 35th annual Charity Thanksgiving Day Dinner for more than 15 years, cooking up a traditional dinner to be served at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Portsmouth.

PORTSMOUTH — A rainy Thanksgiving Day did not dampen the warm spirits of either those attending or those serving up the annual holiday dinner at the Unitarian Universalist Church on State Street.

For despite the dreary weather outside the church, about 100 area residents joyfully gathered together inside to enjoy the 35th annual Charity Thanksgiving Day Dinner offered by the Portsmouth Rotary Club.

The event furnished a feast open to all, welcoming everyone and anyone wishing to dine. This included small families and those who might otherwise spend the holiday alone. This year, young and old, male and female, families and singles, comprised the mix of diners.

"This is my Thanksgiving," said Rotary Chair Donald Coker, who coordinated the dinner. "I've been doing this for 21 years now, I can't imagine doing anything else."

"We really have a lot of kids helping out," he added.

Along with Coker, more than 100 volunteers, including family and friends of Rotary members, joined the efforts in preparing a good ol' Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings.

Not only did Rotary members cook 12 big turkeys in their own homes the night before in preparation for Thursday's meal, but many also baked pies ranging from apple to pumpkin to mincemeat for dessert.

Many of the other dishes, including squash, stuffing, and vegetables, were prepared in the Portsmouth Regional Hospital kitchen late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning by Neil Cohn, a volunteer in the kitchen.

Cohn, once a chef himself, has been helping out for more than 15 years and always puts his culinary skills to good use. With assistance from Portsmouth Regional Hospital, who donated the food as well as opened its kitchen doors to Cohn, the Rotary Club was able to produce more than enough food for all those present at the dinner.

The Rotary Club also provided meals-to-go, allowing volunteers to deliver nearly 90 full-course dinners, along with a lunch of turkey sandwiches and apples for the following day, throughout the area, including Portsmouth, North Hampton, and Kittery. During the few weeks leading up to the dinner, people could call a "turkey hotline" for delivered dinners.

Kelly Levy, who coordinated meal deliveries, has been volunteering for six years now with her husband, Jay, and her two sons, Adam and Grant, ages 12 and 13 respectively, said, "this is just a great way to spend Thanksgiving."

After ensuring everyone who attended the dinner left with a bag of goodies for Thursday evening and Friday morning, Rotary volunteers donated the remaining food to the Cross Roads House, a homeless shelter in Portsmouth.