By Ginger Gabriel – Special to The Alpine Mountaineer

(Photos by Ginger Gabriel)

The “angels” who came to the rescue of the community after this year’s Snowmageddon are being invited to some very special lunches.

The Crest Forest Senior Citizens Club board of directors would like those angels to share a hot meal with grateful people from the community. Everyone is invited – there is no age requirement.

It’s impossible to name all the angels but they include the local agencies, Operation Mountain Strong, Hearts & Lives, GEM, the Mocks from the Blue Jay Theater, local churches, fire crews, police officers and so many more.

The invitation is for 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and/or Thursdays for the next few weeks. This will give the angels and the seniors, who usually attend these luncheons, a chance to gather around a table, to say “thank you” and share stories.

It was all “thumbs up” when these seniors were asked how the lunch was.

These luncheons are held at the San Moritz Lodge on Lake Gregory in Crestline.  The Lodge passed inspection and the seniors feel blessed to be able to continue to meet there. So many of the seniors had been trapped in their homes, some for weeks, before a snowplow came by or an angel neighbor with a shovel.  Many were without heat or electricity for most of that time. The seniors are inviting those who helped them during this time. This is for sit-down meals, not take-out.

Penny Shubnell, who coordinates the meals, and the board say, “It is so important to sit down with friends, neighbors and strangers and swap stories like ‘Where were you when the storm kept dumping snow? What were you thinking when you opened the front door and all you saw was white snow? What was your reaction when you looked in your driveway to see how your car was and all you saw a seven-foot snowdrift?’” Yes, there are plenty of stories to share.

After a traumatic community experience, therapists are often brought in to facilitate opportunities for the involved persons to talk and share stories. The Department of Aging has agreed to lift the age requirements for these senior lunches for several weeks.

Some younger people helped dig out their older neighbors, some older neighbors helped find baby food and diapers for younger neighbors as well as dig themselves out.

The seniors were delighted to be able to gather again for lunch. They are inviting the angels who rescued them during the snowstorms to join them so they can say “thank you” and share their stories.

When Lake Arrowhead resident Bryce Durfee dug out his 90-some-year-old neighbor Victoria and asked her what she needed, she said “I need a hug.” It would be wonderful if young Bryce, his wife, Amber, and neighbor Victoria come for lunch at San Moritz Lodge in Crestline, to dine with the Crest Forest Seniors for a hot meal, have a good conversation and share and listen to stories and maybe even find a hug.

For more information call (909) 338-5036.