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Picture the first Thanksgiving: a community coming together, one
person bringing the fowl, another the bread, others sharing the fruits of their
harvest, all gathering for a meal. The gratitude palpable for a plentiful
harvest, for family and friends, for the opportunity to rest, reflect and break
bread with others.
For the past 34 years, the Edward Douglass White Knights of
Columbus Council in Arlington has hosted Thanksgiving for folks in the
community who might need a little help or a little company.
Similar to an Amish barn-raising, the community comes together to
provide turkey and all the trimmings, but with a side of organizing buses to
pick up the dinner guests, gathering donated paper products and vegetables, and
scheduling an army of volunteers to cook, carve and carry the meals to the
homebound.
What started with a handful of turkeys and 200 recipients has
grown to feeding 2,500 with any number of donated turkeys. Marijo Galvin,
Thanksgiving coordinator with her husband, Thom, says “any number” because they
never know how many turkeys will show up.
For their 11th year overseeing the effort, they expect about 200
turkeys — fully cooked, unstuffed and at least 20 pounds — to be dropped off at
the council home in Arlington from Monday, Nov. 19, through Wednesday, Nov. 21.
A team of carvers will pull the birds from the huge walk-in freezers and start
their work in the wee hours of Thanksgiving morning.
Only between 200 and 300 diners will come to the council home for
the afternoon meal. Hundreds of other meals will be delivered by a team of volunteers.
Marijo said a former postal worker has arranged the deliveries by location to facilitate
the process. The first delivery goes out at 9 a.m. “We cover Meals on Wheels
clients, Arlington Adult Services and several apartment complexes with low-income
residents,” Marijo said.
Runners, another vital team, will pick up the elderly or disabled
and bring them to the council home for the big feast, often eating with them,
and then driving them home a couple of hours later.
Marijo mentions some of the key players in the community who
support this huge effort, including Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington,
which donates use of their school buses, and Jhoon Rhee martial arts school, which
frees up their vans, and other bus companies that bring guests from two ASPAN
(Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network) locations and from a
neighborhood near Tysons.
St. Agnes Church in Arlington is on pie duty this year. Ruth
Foster, the volunteer coordinator or “Pie Lady,” said she ordered 225 pie tins
and an equal number of shallow and deep pie boxes. The tins have been sitting
on a table in the narthex of the church waiting for volunteer bakers. Her goal
is to get at least 150 pies back, 30 earmarked for Christ House and 120 for the
Knights’ Thanksgiving dinner.
When people tell her that they’ve never made a pie, she tells them
to “go to the store, pick up the refrigerated dough, roll it out, follow the
directions, make up the stuff, put it in the oven and wait until it comes out.”
Last year, the parish collected pies for Simple House in
Washington. “Everybody had a really good time while being generous,” Foster
said. “You can’t top the generosity of St. Agnes, except for (Church of the
Nativity in) Burke and their Project Starfish,” she laughed.
Ruth’s favorite is pecan pie. Her secret? “The key to a pecan pie
is the temperature at which you cook it. It’s a longer process, slower, at a
lower temperature.” She likens the filling to a custard. “When the center sets
up, it’s done.”
The night before Thanksgiving, Marijo, her husband and two other volunteers
go to a local German bakery, Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe in Arlington, to pick up any leftovers, usually breads,
pies and desserts. Marijo joked that she thinks the owner bakes too much so
they have enough to donate to the Knights.
“Back in the day, the entire community jumped in and tried to do
something,” said Marijo. That’s where the scene of that first Thanksgiving,
legend or legit, calls to mind a spirit of giving and gratefulness.
Marijo said financial donations are also needed to offset the
costs of the endeavor, which include the rental of food warmers, and the side
dishes, aka the trimmings.
The day wraps up as the pie crumbs are swept from the floor about
6 p.m. Any food leftovers are shared with several local shelters.
Marijo is undaunted at the task ahead. “I love the people. I love
talking to the people. They are grateful, but they don’t understand how
grateful I am to them for the joy the give me.”
She added quickly, “It helps you remember how lucky you are.”
How to help
Turkeys, at least 20 pounds, fully cooked and unstuffed,
are needed and can be dropped off at the EDW Knights Council home, 5115 Little
Falls Rd., Arlington, Nov. 19-21, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Let Marijo Galvin know you are
donating one by calling her at 703/623-4544.
Runners to pick up elderly and disabled guests, and
deliverers to deliver the meal to the homebound, usually a one- to two-hour
shift, are needed.
Financial donations to offset the costs of the feast are
also needed.
The pies can be dropped off at St. Agnes Church, 1910 N.
Randolph St., Arlington, Nov. 18.
If you need a ride to the feast, call Marijo at 703/623-4544.
