The Thanksgiving and Christmas meals put on by the Holte Holiday Dinners group are an institution in San Benito County. The annual dinners not only feed hundreds of needy residents each year, but they also provide a way for others to give back and for parents to teach their children the value of volunteerism.
That is why it was tragic to hear when some Holte board members in November announced the end of the tradition, effective after this year’s meals. Other existing board members, however, then stepped up and offered to take on the effort. Mickie Luna from the League of United Latin American Citizens also deserves credit for insisting the dinners must go on and offering volunteers from LULAC for future gatherings.
The charitable dinners provide food and comfort on the holidays to local residents facing tougher times than most others in the community. They represent the goodness of people in a county that has suffered from extraordinary levels of poverty, unemployment and foreclosures in recent years.
They represent the goodness of people such as the late Marley Holte. He started the traditions with his wife nearly 30 years ago and, before he passed away in 2006, asked that others continue on organizing the annual meals.
As for the board members who followed through in fulfilling his request – both those stepping away and the others marching forward – Holte would be proud of their sacrifice.
