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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 2019)
A11 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM FEATURES WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2, 2019 Friendship and food /East Oregonian Dallin Smith, 10, and his older brother bring leftovers to diners at the Community Fellowship Dinner on Christmas Day at Hermiston High School. A group of friends started off ering the free holiday meal in the 1980s. Staff photo by Kathy Aney Staff photo by Kathy Aney Hundreds fl ocked to the Community Fellowship Dinner on Christmas Day at Hermiston High School. A group of friends started off ering the free holiday meal in the 1980s. By JADE MCDOWELL NEWS EDITOR he coffee and conversation were fl owing freely at Hermiston’s Com- munity Fellowship Dinner on Christmas Day. The holiday meal, which has been an annual tradition since the 1980s, is free and open to anyone, for any reason. The wide- spread invitation draws an eclectic crowd, from those who don’t want to spend Christ- mas alone to extended families enjoying the chance to skip doing dishes and cooking. Frances Howard said she came by herself to the dinner in the Hermiston High School commons, but was able to meet “a lot” of people there. “I’m living in a camper trailer and there’s no oven, so there’s no way for me to cook a turkey dinner,” she said. Caleb Jacobs and his mother Cindy Clark, T CRYPTOQUIP both of Hermiston, met up on Tuesday after- noon to enjoy their choice of ham or turkey dinner. Jacobs, who has been to the dinner the last six years, said he’s a movie buff and likes to entertain the servers and people sitting near him with movie trivia. Clark said sometimes she and her son get treated like “outcasts,” but not at the Community Fellowship Dinner. “The people are friendly here,” she said. Joetta Wallace, her mother Bonnie Phillips and her aunt Gloria Lampkin were all seated together as they laughed and talked over din- ner. Wallace and Phillips were in town vis- iting Lampkin, who lives in Echo, and the three decided the community meal would be better than cooking. “Any time someone else cooks it, it’s deli- cious,” Phillips said. Wallace said she appreciated how hard the volunteers, who put the dinner together, must have worked behind the scenes. Some of the people sitting at the tables Waiter Noah Espinoza, 8, hands a loaded plate to a diner at the Community Fellowship Dinner on Christmas Day at Hermiston High School. were also volunteers who were enjoying the fruits of their labor after working a shift in the kitchen or out with the guests. David Lawson had volunteered for the Thanksgiving meal for the fi rst time in November, and liked it so much he came back and washed dishes at the Christmas meal. While he was grabbing a bite to eat with a friend sitting at one of the tables, he said he is retired and his grandchildren were at his ex-wife’s house this Christmas, so he liked being able to come and help out with the dinner. “It gives me something to do,” he said. Rachael Higgins was also enjoying a meal after volunteering. She said she used to attend the meal when she was a child, and came this year with her sister and her mother to help serve up food. “I like that you get to talk to a lot of people while serving,” she said. Some people at the high school on Tues- SUPER CROSSWORD: THIS IS REALLY BIG day were fi rst-timers. Sharon McKim came with her father and her husband — who would usually cook Christmas dinner — to try out something new for the holiday this year. She said they heard about the din- ner through a banner on Highway 395 and thought they would come and check it out instead of eating at home. They said they approved of the atmo- sphere, the dinner choices and the service. “It’s good food,” McKim said. The Christmas dinner usually feeds 700- 900 people, and on Tuesday afternoon the tables at the commons area remained mostly full as people were coming and going. Trans- portation or meal delivery was also available to those who needed it. The free community event was made possible by a long list of volunteers, donations and sponsorships, and after it was over, a clean-up party for deco- rations and chairs and tables was planned for Wednesday morning. SUDOKU DIFFICULTY THIS WEEK EASTERN OREGON EVENTS The place to fi nd everything happening in Eastern Oregon. Post your events. It’s fast and easy! e-Edition For Hermiston Herald information 541-567-6457 • info@hermistonherald.com 333 E. Main St. • HermistonHerald.com Exact digital replica of this print edition is available online, every Wednesday by 5:30 a.m. Check out Hermiston Herald.com for more information.