Planning begins for Community Thanksgiving Dinner

It’s time to start putting together one of Holton’s annual traditions — the Community Thanksgiving Dinner — and dinner organizer Janice Schweigen is already off to a good start.

“The turkeys and the ham are taken care of,” said Schweigen of this year’s dinner. “And I’ve already had a bunch of people calling me and putting in their reservations for the dinner, and it wasn’t even Halloween yet!”

The 39th-annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 28 at Evangel Church’s Family Life Center in Holton. It’s the sixth dinner that Schweigen has been in charge of after taking over the event from longtime organizer Freda Galer.

With the meats taken care of, Schweigen said there are plenty of food items needed for the dinner, which saw about 400 people served at last year’s event — well above the average of about 300 to 350 that’s noted for the annual dinner.

That includes six gallons each of corn and green beans, five gallons each of sweet potatoes and instant potatoes, 26 pounds of stuffing, 17 fruit and vegetable salads, 17 Jell-O salads, 25 dozen rolls, 10 cakes, 20 pies and three cheesecakes.

Volunteers also are being sought for preparing and serving the dinner, as well as setting up the Family Life Center for those who are coming in for a holiday dinner, cleaning up the center once the dinner is over and delivering dinners to those who request delivered meals.

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