• Dinner grows each year, help still welcome.
As November ushers in the holiday season, one community starts to prepare a list. It’s a list of all that is needed to feed their friends and neighbors on Thanksgiving Day.
Every year Alpine hosts a large community Thanksgiving Dinner with the Alpine Top of the Rockies Snowmobile Club serving as a base of operations.
The dinner started as a small gathering in the home of Alpine residents Bill and Pam Callahan, but in recent years has grown in size, necessitating a new home at the Donne Wooden Civic Center.
In 2017 records show 85 people attended. The dinner count increased to 175 in 2022 and in the past year, 223 people enjoyed an Alpine Community Thanksgiving Dinner.
Alpine resident and Top of the Rockies member Justin Fritz has already distributed the food assignments for 2024.
He credits business and private donations for helping make the event possible. Fritz said first the donations of food come in, backed by donations of time and labor.
Broulims donates the turkeys, hams and mashed potatoes. The Alpine Car Wash offers the stuffing. Then a list of volunteers step in to cook and prepare the turkeys and hams, along with the side dishes, desserts, and “all the other traditional Thanksgiving vittles,” Fritz explains.
“This year, our volunteers will be cooking 10, 20 lb. turkeys, 4 20 lb. hams; 100 lbs of our world famous ‘Not Your Grandmother’s Green Bean Casserole,’ stuffing, yams, gravy, and much more,” Fritz said as he submitted his list of food and volunteers.
Individual homes are key to the success of the large dinner.
In order to keep up with the demand, the Thanksgiving dinner is prepared in the homes of “our wonderful volunteers, and these folks are artists,” explained Fritz.
“After the turkeys are prepped and cooked with love, the volunteers take the turkeys and all the drippings,” to the civic center. “These drippings are essential for a proper, home-made gravy.”
Help for the annual event is always welcome. “There is still time for anyone who wants to help cook, or volunteer in any way, to sign up,” noted Fritz. “The list will be passed around the Top of the Rockies’ next meeting.”
Meetings are held in the Alpine Civic Center on the second Thursday of the month, at 6:30 p.m. The next meeting will be on Nov. 14.
Thanksgiving Dinner is Nov. 28. Football starts at 2 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. dinner.
While Thanksgiving Day will be busy with serving the traditional meal, the task will not be over until the lead volunteers come together for an immediate debriefing session.
“The event planning starts the day after Thanksgiving,” said Fritz. “With an accurate count from the previous day, the planning is easier with a fresh memory.”
With current numbers in the books, an assigned Top of the Rockies member watches for affordable purchases to prepare for the coming year.
“Throughout the year, our expert event planner will keep watch for well-priced plates, utensils, table cloths, and other dry goods for the event,” Fritz concludes.
