"A lot to be thankful for"

The Carrington Community Thanksgiving Dinner is a continuation of 23 years of tradition with dinner served at noon on Thanksgiving Day. This year's dinner will be served at Calvary Baptist Church, 725 Main Street in Carrington.

Shirley Fritza, Betty Montgomery and Linda Schuster are carrying on a tradition started by Helen and Gary Rosenau, Becky and Lynn Schroeder, and Caroline and Jeff Golz. The trio can't help but remember the care and effort those couples put into establishing the Thanksgiving dinner.

To be honest, this year's theme was developed from five small seeds tucked in Helen's planning folder. Helen saved newspaper and magazine articles and small tokens as ideas for Carrington's dinner. And so, five corn kernels help us focus this year.

Tradition says that early Pilgrims faced tough years soon after their arrival in America, with one drought and famine so severe that the colonists were rationed to just five meager corn kernels per day through the winter. After surviving that famine with just enough seed remaining to plant the next spring, the Pilgrims used five kernels to remember five blessings: Faith, Freedom, Food, Family and Friends.

And we are certainly blessed with all five! Carrington's faith communities have been integral to the success of the annual dinner, which started as a project of the local ministerial association. Area church congregations are asked to provide stuffing and pies, and they never disappoint.

"The Carrington area – really, all of North Dakota, is so conscious of the blessing of freedom!" says planning committee member Linda Schuster. "And the final trifecta of food, family and friends is evident through all of the planning, preparation and serving of this meal. Related by blood or not, we welcome our 'Thanksgiving Family' each year as we reunite over peeling potatoes, wrapping flatware, boning turkeys and delivering meals."

People of all ages come for dinner, for all kinds of reasons. Truck drivers passing through town. Stranded travelers. Families suddenly home for a funeral. 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. Anyone who doesn't want to eat leftovers for weeks. Extended families. Shift workers on break. Small families. Empty-nesters. "Friendsgiving," in public. And some folks wouldn't think of eating Thanksgiving dinner anywhere else but with our community.

The menu doesn't change. Succulent, roasted turkey with home-made gravy. Mounds of real, mashed potatoes. The miracle that happens when 19 individually-prepared batches of stuffing are steamed together. Buttery sweet corn. Glazed sweet potatoes with just a touch of brown sugar. Fresh, crisp coleslaw with a dressing recipe handed down through the decades. Take your pick of jellied or whole-berry, refreshingly tart cranberry sauce. Fresh-baked buns. Cold milk. Hot coffee. And pie – more than forty delicious pies: pumpkin, apple, rhubarb, pecan and ... you'll have to come for dinner to see what other flavors are available.

A surprise feature each year comes in the form of hand-decorated place mats, colored by art students at Carrington Elementary School. Even take-out orders get cheerful place mats and a Thanksgiving prayer card tucked in their bag.

Volunteers are needed on Wednesday afternoon, November 22 at 1 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 place mats 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 un-needed or over-worked. If you would like to volunteer for a brief shift on Thursday, please contact Linda Schuster at (701) 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 23. 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 (701) 652-3302 or (701) 652-5034 (leave a message) by November 22. Call the Calvary Baptist Church building at (701) 652-2162 on November 22 and 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.

Any questions about Carrington's Community Thanksgiving Dinner should be directed to Linda Schuster at (701) 653-6028.