Pocono News Section

Big Turnout for Thanksgiving Celebration in Honesdale

Big Turnout for Thanksgiving Celebration in Honesdale - Thursday, November 26, 2009 at 4:46PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Thursday, Nov 26, 2009 @ 04:46pm EST
HONESDALE, WAYNE COUNTY - There was a huge turnout for an annual Thanksgiving Day celebration Thursday in part of Wayne County. The dining hall inside the Grace Episcopal Church in Honesdale was packed to the brim.

People from all over Wayne County came together to share food and fellowship on the holiday.

"I live alone and everything and it's just a nice place for me to go and have a dinner," Gerald Simmons of Honesdale said.

Many people say the annual dinner is a yearly tradition.

"My kids are away. My daughter is in the service and my son is in California, so I come out with my brother and I know the people of Honesdale," Mary Rollison said.

DeeDee Hartonchick brought her 98-year-old mother Dottie to the dinner. She says there is no place she'd rather be.

"It is wonderful because it's a spiritual thing and it brings people together and it's terrible to be lonely on a holiday," Hartonchick said.

The dinner has been going on for the last 27 years. Volunteers had to cook up 260 pounds of turkey and 100 pounds of potatoes.

"I started preparing for it on Tuesday. I did a little time on Wednesday and we finished it off today," organizer Al Schwartz said. "It's a labor of love and the volunteerism here is great."

The volunteers say they get much more out of the dinner than they put in.

"This mades me happy by helping people who are less fortunate, you know? Just seeing them eating," volunteer Al Aragona said.

Organizers say many businesses in Wayne County donate food and money to make the dinner a success.