The Stuff of Thanksgiving

The fluffy stack of pumpkin pancakes on Eric Howard’s plate was as much of a Thanksgiving Day dinner to the 43-year-old disabled welder as turkey and stuffing, potatoes and pie.

“I’m giving thanks for this food today, whether it’s breakfast, turkey-less or whatever,” Howard said, adding a piece of chicken-fried steak to the syrup-soaked flapjacks. “I’m with people who care about others. I’m lucky. That’s what the holiday’s about, right?”

Howard, who lives alone in a nearby Santa Ana motel room, said he spends each Thanksgiving at a different community-sponsored free feast “to meet good people and mix things up a bit.”

But Thursday’s meal at Main Place Christian Fellowship on Red Hill Avenue was Howard’s first Thanksgiving Day breakfast, which he shared with more than 300 other residents in need. Howard said he came to the meal with a friend who lives in the neighborhood.

While the church’s music director, Don Rayl, drifted with his guitar between rows of tables, children danced in the aisles and gobbled up second helpings of biscuits and gravy. Church members donated socks, toothbrushes and blankets to many of their guests.

“We figured a lot of places were having free lunches and dinners for the community, so a breakfast would really start the day off nicely,” said Pastor Rich Mathisrud. “Today, especially, no one should be hungry.”

The cold rain and wind that doused Orange County earlier this week relented just in time for the holiday, allowing a burst of sunshine to warm thousands of residents Thursday as they dined together at shelters, churches and parks.

Thanksgiving took on a festival-type atmosphere at the Home Front Church in Fullerton, with music, face-painting for children and a traditional dinner buffet. Although organizers expected about 600 guests, Pastor Ed Borrowe didn’t panic when the party swelled by 200 more.

“I look at the extra people as so much of a blessing,” Borrowe said. “I don’t worry that we’ll have enough food because God always provides.”

Maria Alonso, 22, of Fullerton, said she would not have had a Thanksgiving dinner if it weren’t for the church. Alonso brought her two children, Asaf, 2, and Erik, 5, two sisters and three nephews to the dinner. The children had their faces painted while the adults listened to a live Christian band.

“We didn’t have the money to buy a turkey or anything else to cook a nice dinner like this,” she said.

Jackie Ayala, 18, said her mother “would have loved to buy and cook us a turkey” but money was tight for their family this year too.

“Today, I got to have two helpings of everything I like,” Ayala said. “It’s been wonderful. And just look at this gorgeous weather. What a beautiful day.”

More than 500 people enjoyed a traditional holiday dinner Thursday at the Someone Cares Soup Kitchen in Costa Mesa, where last-minute donations of 50 turkeys helped bring the event into its 11th year. The menu included West Virginia green beans, a specialty of the soup kitchen’s founder and director, Merle Hatleberg.

“You know, we get so much feedback from people who attend each year. That is the premise we base this meal on,” said Hatleberg’s son, Greg. “There are just so many people who wouldn’t have anywhere to go on Thanksgiving Day if we weren’t open.”

Dozens of volunteers at the Salvation Army Youth Center in Santa Ana toted hot plates--piled high with turkey and stuffing--across the parking lot on Edinger Avenue, racing from the kitchen to the gym to serve hundreds of needy families and homeless guests throughout the day.

Patty Partida, an education coordinator for the Youth Center, moseyed around the tables to make sure visitors had enough juice or pie, this or that. She paused to refill empty cups and shake hands with strangers.

“I just can’t get over it,” said Partida, glancing at the decorated gymnasium and the dozens of feasting children, their faces smeared with cranberry sauce. “It is overwhelming. It’s such an amazing thing to be part of.”

Although it was the youth center’s first year to host such a meal, more than 100 church and neighborhood volunteers made plates of food, crammed into the steamy kitchen and helped clean up, allowing the event “to run smoothly, without a hitch,” said coordinator Don Rasmussen. Leftovers of the nearly 400 meals went to neighborhood fire stations, hospitals and homeless shelters, he said.

“The response was incredible,” Rasmussen said. “We’ve had so many donations, of food and time and money, and we’re so thankful we are able to do it.”

At the Jeffrey-Lynne neighborhood in Anaheim, the outdoor Thanksgiving spread resembled more of a potluck than the traditional turkey fare. Hundreds of residents walked from their homes to the dinner headquarters between Lynne and Aubrey streets, carrying dishes they prepared themselves.

“It’s similar to what was done at the very first Thanksgiving so long ago,” said Josie Montoya, a neighborhood spokeswoman. “People reaching out to people, and sharing what they have with others.”

Food donations from the Anaheim Firefighters Union, Ironworkers Union Local 433 and several churches poured into the neighborhood, which is among the city’s poorest. Residents prepared the food along with their own recipes--which included rice and beans and spicy potatoes--to share Thursday afternoon.

Soon, a tempting mixture of aromas that swirled down the street was attracting guests from nearby neighborhoods to the block party celebration.

Said longtime Jeffrey-Lynne resident Estelle Trujillo, enjoying a scoop of tortilla and rice stuffing: “We are happy and festive and our community is alive. Isn’t it wonderful?”

A disc jockey provided music while neighbors gathered on curb sides or sprawled out on lawns, picnic-style. Local firefighters also paid a visit with a shiny truck that children explored between bites of turkey.

“Some of these families have never cooked or even enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving dinner before,” Montoya said. “But what’s important is that the neighborhood is coming together.”