CHIMACUM — The only activity that will be demanded of most who go to the Tri-Area Community Center at noon today will be to eat heartily.
More volunteers aren’t needed for the annual free and public Christmas dinner.
“We actually have more than enough,” said Hugh Murphy, an organizer of this year’s dinner.
“But if you tell people you don’t need them, it doesn’t matter because they are going to come anyway.”
The dinner, hosted by the St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church and Olympic Community Action Programs, will be served until 3 p.m. at the community center, 10 West Valley Road, Chimacum.
Murphy and four other volunteers spent hours cooking and cutting the holiday turkeys — and a holiday ham — on the morning of Christmas Eve.
At 7 a.m. today, volunteers will show up to begin cooking gravy. By 10:30 a.m., they will begin delivering meals to those shut in by weather and health ailments.
By noon, they will be lined up at the Tri-Area Community Center to serve warm meals.
The feast will feature turkey, ham, gravy, stuffing, bread and butter, vegetables, brownies and ice-cream.
The dinner is completely dependent upon volunteers and donations, two things that have never been hard to find in Jefferson County, Murphy said.
“We got almost $700 in donations at the door from the Thanksgiving dinner,” he said.
“It’s free, but if people want to donate, they are more than welcome.”
Murphy said he has volunteered for the program for four years now, and plans to continue in the future.
“Everyone wants to come and help,” he said. “We have new volunteers come in to serve every year, and they just keep coming back.”
Bud Peterson and his wife, Pat, will be in the kitchen before 7 a.m. to get the gravy going.
“Yeah, of course we will be there,” Peterson said. “We’ve done this for five years now, and we don’t plan to stop.”
Peterson and other volunteers said that volunteering on Christmas morning is a gift they want to give to Jefferson County.
And they are passing on that way of thinking to the next generation.
Murphy’s three young granddaughters, all under the age of 13, will volunteer by serving meals.
“It’s fun to have them here, and it’s fun to see the people show up,” Murphy said.
The group also hosted the Thanksgiving dinner this year. Estimates from that feast put the number served at 293 people.
Expect nearly 300
The group is planning for that much again on Christmas, but Murphy said that different factors could mean different outcomes.
“You just don’t know, with the weather conditions and economic conditions,” he said.
“I honestly think we will get more, probably around 300.”
Murphy said he plans to have leftovers, no matter how many are served.
They have enough turkey to serve more than 300 easily, he said.
“It’s kind of like your family when they have leftovers,” he said. “People keep coming to grab a few more things.”
And everyone is welcome.
“This isn’t just for the homeless or the needy,” Murphy said.
“This is for everybody.”
The National Weather Service predicts morning snow followed by warming and rain today.
In the event of a surprise bout of terrible weather forcing cancellation, a message will be found at 360-385-2571, ext. 6357, said Ken Dane, OlyCAP director of development.
That’s also the phone number to call to have a meal delivered.
Contributions can be sent to OlyCAP, 803 West Park Ave., Port Townsend, WA 98368.
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Jefferson County reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
