Holiday dinner returns to its roots
The Holte Holiday Dinners are going home for the holidays. After
a hiatus of nearly 10 years, Thanksgiving dinner will once again be
served at the Hollister Community Center located at 300 West St.,
Hollister.
Holiday dinner returns to its roots
The Holte Holiday Dinners are going home for the holidays. After a hiatus of nearly 10 years, Thanksgiving dinner will once again be served at the Hollister Community Center located at 300 West St., Hollister.
The late Marley Holte and his former wife, Linda, initiated the holiday dinners in 1986. They both felt no one should ever be alone on Christmas and used their Christmas money that year to sponsor a dinner at the Community Center. Thanksgiving was added to the holiday list about five years later. With Marley’s passing in September 2006, the Holte Holiday Dinner Committee has taken some time to reassess the holiday dinner history and the challenges of continuing this tradition.
“It just feels right”, said Diane Bedard, committee member, referring to the group’s decision to return to the Community Center to prepare the Thanksgiving meal this holiday. Another Committee member, Gayle Hendricks, agreed, “We’ve discussed returning to the Community Center – our roots – for a few years now, well this year we’re going to do it.”
“We want to make sure volunteers get the word – we’ve moved back,” committee member Larry Brown explained. The committee noted that the number of people attending the dinners has continued to drop over the past several years, although the need for supplemental food has increased in the county, according to the Salvation Army and Community Pantry. The committee wants to return to its original purpose of offering a home cooked holiday meal with companionship and assist the 365 days a year food providers (Salvation Army and Community Pantry) if the resources are available.
The Holte Holiday Dinner Committee can use monetary as well as food donations.
Food donations of turkeys, potatoes, chicken broth, and stuffing mix can be dropped off at Dave Baumgartner’s office located at 470 Tres Pinos Road, Hollister. Financial contributions can be dropped off or mailed to San Benito Bank 300 Tres Pinos Road, Hollister, CA 95023, care of the Holte Holiday Dinner Account. Questions can be directed to Pat Richardson at 637-0566.
