Valley-wide holiday spirit shines

The valley dove into the holidays this week, waiting for snow while filling up on turkey and stuffing at Thanksgiving dinner. Many got into the spirit of the season by sharing with neighbors and making sure everyone had a chance to feel at home during the holidays. Here’s a small sampling of the kindness that took place throughout the valley today:

POLSON - The potato peels started flying on Wednesday as several Polson groups got together to present Polson’s 43rd Annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner.

The event, which has served nearly 200 people in the past two years, was put on by the Polson Ministerial Association, Helping Hands and the Polson Senior Center. Youth group volunteers from a local Lutheran church chipped in time to peel the potatoes and helped with early preparation, president of the Polson Senior Center Kaye Stam said.

Stam said the focus this year was to make sure the offerings were homemade, to give the dinner “an old-fashioned Thanksgiving dinner” feeling. It’s Stam’s third year working at the dinner. She was working in the kitchen for the entire dinner.

Ten, 20-pound turkeys were bought for the dinner. Pies, rolls and other fixings were donated by church members. The dinner ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and featured music by several local musicians.

Jo Durand, the Polson Senior Center’s nutrition director, said it’s a community event through and through, and an event that the community has responded well to.

“(Last year) we served for three hours. We were packed the whole time,” Durand said. “It’s so nice to have the churches, the senior center and Helping Hands all working together. That’s what Thanksgiving is all about. It just warms your heart.”

The local Town Pump and Wal-Mart made a $2,000 donation on Monday to the Polson Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry. Town Pump has been raising money and will match up to $300,000 dollars in donations through its Town Pump Charitable Foundation. All the money raised will stay in the local area, a Town Pump press release said.

Wal-Mart matched the first $1,000 given by Town Pump.

The Loaves and Fishes has seen an increase in need lately, volunteer Bryan River said.

Pantry manager Gerrie Boyle said the center does not give out turkeys for Thanksgiving, instead referring people to the Polson community dinner. The turkeys and other holiday goods will go out closer to Christmas in Christmas baskets. The pantry needs things like olives, yams, pumpkin, potatoes and dressing mix to fill those baskets, Boyle said.

RONAN - Bonnie McCauley’s dream to “pay it forward,” started five years ago when the first Ronan community Thanksgiving dinner was held. Now in its fifth year, the Thanksgiving dinner at the Ronan Community Center has become a tradition and is run almost exclusively by volunteers. Last year, the dinner served about 500 people, and had the help of more than 62 volunteers, McCauley said.

“There’s a lot of people who go without, and it’s a good time for visits, to get to know the community and the people in it,” McCauley said. “It’s a dream I’d wanted to do it for a long time, I’ve done it a few years in my house, and I decided 40 people was too much.”

So, she moved it to the community center.

The dinner usually involved cooking at least a dozen turkeys, last year it was 15. The food is mostly donated, McCauley said, and the rest is bought with donations taken at the dinner.

“We had people from Arlee clear to Whitefish. We had a couple from Italy who stopped in to see their daughter, some from Texas,” McCauley said.

Preparations for the dinner began on Wednesday. Potatoes were peeled and homemade and donated decorations were set up.

Known to most people as “the cook,” McCauley works at the Ninepipes Lodge restaurant when she’s not planning dinner for hundreds of people. She hopes anyone interested “just (came) and (enjoyed) the time and the eating.”

CHARLO - The Charlo senior center held its Thanksgiving celebration on Thursday, Nov. 20 and was closed for the holiday. Many times Charlo residents take part in Ronan’s dinner at the Ronan Community Center, a Charlo senior center member said.

ST IGNATIUS -  Mountain View Cenex got into giving using a creative twist - offering five cents off a gallon of gas in exchange for a donation to the local Mission Valley Foot Pantry. The offer is good for up to 20 gallons.

So far, the station has almost a shopping cart full of food, manager Darren Orr said. The offer runs through Dec. 3.

Cenex owner Stuart Morton came up with the idea. Morton said he knows this is the time when the food banks need donations the most and wanted to get some extra food by incorporating this business.

“We’ll make over a $300 to the food bank,” Morton said.

The Mission Valley Senior Citizen’s Center will be closed on Thanksgiving.

ARLEE - 

The Arlee senior center was closed during the holidays, but the center did hold is dinner the previous week.