CHIMACUM — “Warmth” means a lot of things, many of which were abundant here on Thanksgiving.
There was warm gravy ladled on turkey and mashed potatoes. Warm light filling the room.
And the notes from the piano were as warm as the welcome from those serving the annual dinner at the Tri-Area Community Center.
The Chimacum feast, put on by St. Mary Star of the Sea and Olympic Community Action Programs, served about 320 people dinner this year, including the 97 meals volunteers delivered to homebound people in Jefferson County.
That’s probably the largest number ever, said coordinator Chris Eagan.
Shortly after noon Thursday, Eagan and several dozen fellow volunteers opened the center’s doors wide, inviting the waiting line of people in and toward a fragrant and tantalizing line of traditional Thanksgiving dishes.
Nan Toby Tyrrell, a pianist from Port Townsend, has leavened this meal with music since 1998. She called her playing a mitzvah — Hebrew for a worthy deed — that soothes her heart toward the end of each year.
And Tyrrell isn’t crazy about Christmas; to her, this holiday means more.
“Thanksgiving is not about getting,” she said. “It’s about community.”
Music, community
Once the first wave of guests were seated, John Topel, pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Port Townsend, gave a brief blessing.
He first called for a round of applause for the volunteer cooks and servers, then thanked God for the chance to come together.
Finally he asked “that we might grow in the love of one another . . . that makes a community alive and vibrant.”
Gloria Grant, formerly of Seattle, said this dinner is one of the reasons she moved to Port Townsend. In addition to the sense of community she’s found here, Grant finds the hearty feast excellent.
“The only other place they have this is on a cruise ship,” she said with a smile.
Celebrate friendship
While Grant dined beside Doris Carter of Chimacum — they’d gotten acquainted while waiting in line — Philip Alfano and Amy Guynes of Port Townsend came to celebrate their longer friendship.
Guynes, 80, is a Chicagoan; she met Alfano, a 77-year-old New Yorker, here many years ago. They’ve since come to this dinner every November.
The well-lit room was filled with people from the minute the meal began: young couples, elderly men and ladies, dads with kids.
They dug in to their steaming plates, then sighed over pumpkin pie; afterward some snapped pictures of one another, or just stood up to stretch.
When one young woman did so, a volunteer, thinking she might need coffee or something, asked, “What can I get for you?” Not a thing more, the woman replied.
Throughout the meal on Thursday afternoon, Tyrrell provided a soundtrack that settled over the room like a warm shawl.
Then, during a short break, the pianist spoke of her simple hope for the day.
“I would feel so good if I knew my music made [guests’] hearts lighter,” she said.
Then she eased into “Till There Was You,” and the voices around her softened.
“Romantic music,” Tyrrell said, “makes people feel the here and now.”
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Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
