Volunteers give of themselves on Thanksgiving
| Thursday, Nov 26 2009 06:37 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Nov 26 2009 06:37 PM
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Felix Adamo / The Californian Cook Mike Lynch is hidden by steam as he lifts the lid of a deep fryer to check on a turkey at Mill Creek Christian Church where the Salvation Army was serving Thanksgiving dinner.
Felix Adamo / The Californian This bird's almost done, but the temperature of the meat needs to be around 175-180 degrees at the thickess part and it's only 162. Sixty-five turkeys were the main course at the Salvation Army's Thanksgiving dinner at Mill Creek Christian Church
Felix Adamo / The Californian For the Salvation Army's Thanksgiving dinner at Mill Creek Christian Church, eleven deep fryers were used to cook 65 turkeys. Each of the 10 lb birds took about 40 minutes to cook.
Felix Adamo / The Californian Plates of pumpkin pie stand at the ready for the Thanksgiving dinner at Mill Creek Christian Church
Felix Adamo / The Californian Volunteer Carlos Acosta rips into a turkey as he, Jenni Adkins,center, and Debbie Laudermilk, right, check and prepares the birds for serving at the Salvation Army's Thanksgiving dinner at Mill Creek Christian Church. This turkey had be sent back for a little more cooking.
Felix Adamo / The Californian Checking the progress of the deep fried turkeys are Mike Lynch, left, and Kermit Mahlum. The two, along with ohters, were working the fryers at Mill Creek Christian Church where the Salvation Army was serving Thanksgiving dinner.
Felix Adamo / The Californian Three year old Anjelica Macha licks her lips as she prepares to enjoy her Thanksgiving dinner, courtesy of the Salavation Army and Mill Creek Christian Church.
Felix Adamo / The Californian Peeking up from that mountain of mashed potatoes is 2 year old Miguel Macha at the Salvation Army's Thanksgiving dinner at Mill Creek Christian Church.
Felix Adamo / The Californian Jackie Chrisco was one of the many volunteers serving dinner to the less fortunate at Mill Creek Christian Church.
Felix Adamo / The Californian The tables at Mill Creek Christian Church begin to fill for the annual Thanksgiving dinner given by the church and the Salvation Army.
Felix Adamo / The Californian Isaiah Lopez was one of the early ones to get a hot Thanksgiving dinner at Mill Creek Christian Church.
Instead of enjoying Thanksgiving Day at home, Rollin Strode, co-pastor of Grace Baptist Church, was doing his best Thursday to follow the instructions on his T-shirt: "love God * love others * reach the world".
Strode and dozens of other Grace Baptist volunteers wearing the same blue shirt design spent the morning and part of the afternoon baking turkey and ham to feed people at the Bakersfield Rescue Mission on East 21st Street.
Some of the workers had done the same last year, but this was the first time the church had taken a leading role in the meal.
"This is a part of our loving others," Strode said, "and we just decided that as a church this is something we wanted to do ... as an expression of serving our community."
That attitude was on display around Bakersfield Thursday as organizations and volunteers provided free meals and good cheer to people in need.
There were some reports that attendance at some of the larger feedings was lower than expected. This came as little surprise, organizers said, as feedings were more widespread this year than normal in anticipation of greater hardship related to the slow economy.
"There are so many places that provide meals," Strode said. His crew served about 200 people, which he said was lower than the expected 320.
Things were also going slower than anticipated over at Mill Creek Christian Church on Truxtun Avenue, where the Salvation Army was serving fried turkey dinners.
About an hour into the event, attendance was well below the 500 people expected, Salvation Army Major Aurora Otero said. But there were more families there than normal, which she said was probably because flyers had been distributed to local schools to spread word about the feedings.
The lower than expected attendance likely would not mean demand will be down for the Salvation Army's annual tradition of giving out boxes of food and toys for the holiday season, Otero said.
"There's always a need," she said.
Thursday's volunteers expressed no reservations about donating their time.
"It's just joyful giving out food to people who need it, who can't afford it," West High senior Aaron Gutierrez said.
Just ahead of him in the servers line at Mill Creek Christian, Bakersfield housewife Diane Jackson described her first time as a volunteer Thanksgiving server as "interesting."
"You meet different people," she said. "I'm glad I'm able to give back."
Back at Bakersfield Rescue Mission, Grace Baptist volunteer Gloria Barlett, who came to the event with her son and husband, said she "loved" the experience -- "every minute of it."
"It's wonderful," she said. "God has given to me (in) so many ways, why not give back?"
