Celebrating Christmas as a community

By Mary-Justine Lanyon
Editor

On Christmas, many people gather with family members, friends or neighbors to celebrate the holiday. But some people don’t have anyone to spend the day with.

Enter Holland Lowe, executive director of Operation Provider. For more than three decades, she and her nonprofit have mounted a Christmas dinner at the Elks Lodge in Rimforest. Lowe’s reason for doing this: “I don’t want anyone to spend Christmas alone,” she has said many times.

Once again this Christmas, the Elks Lodge graciously and generously donated the use of their building for the dinner. On Dec. 24, a group of elves (aka volunteers) transformed the dining room at the lodge into an elegant restaurant. The Christmas tree was adorned with lights and ornaments. The tables were graced with linen tablecloths and napkins, courtesy of the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Lodge.

Meanwhile, Teree Alfaro and her helpers from Church of the Woods were busy preparing the food in the church’s kitchen. They roasted 20 turkeys and prepared mashed potatoes, yams, stuffing, green beans and gravy. On Christmas morning they brought the food to the Elks Lodge piping hot thanks to the hot boxes they were able to borrow.

Alfaro has asked to get no special recognition for her part in preparing what was described by many diners as “the most delicious Christmas dinner ever.” Instead, she said, “Give God the glory.”

Also on Dec. 24, other elves – including 12 members of the Interact Club at Rim of the World High School – packed up bags with toys for the children whose families had preregistered for the dinner. Each bag was labeled with the family’s number and ready for other elves to hand out on Christmas day.

The first family to arrive on Christmas was the Barrientos family, who was seated and served drinks – coffee, fruit punch, milk or chocolate milk – while they waited for dinner to be served at 11 a.m.

Throughout the day folks arrived, many of whom had preregistered and many others who had not. All were welcomed with a greeting of “Merry Christmas” and shown to their tables by Armand LeSage, who has greeted the guests for the past 12 years.

In addition to enjoying Christmas dinner, the guests were treated to Christmas music sung by Destiny Love. She was joined on several songs by her son, Austin. And two young guests – Trentin, 7, and Aria, 8, of Twin Peaks – also joined Love, much to the delight of their mother and the other guests.

As the guests arrived, three elf volunteers – Ryan and Chris Whitty and Simran Sleichter – either pulled the bag with that family’s number or created bags for those who had not signed up in advance. Each child received four age-appropriate toys from the many that had been donated to Operation Provider.

As the guests left the Elks Lodge, they were invited to help themselves to some bread, bagels and muffins donated by Jensen’s market.

All told, 300 meals were either served or sent home with grateful guests. One man comes every year to take home two meals so he and his homebound wife can enjoy Christmas dinner together.

“Our magnificent Christmas celebration was a beautiful triumph,” Lowe said, “touching the lives of many seniors and families and their children. Thank you to my tireless volunteers and my exceptional chef, Teree, who did an outstanding job. The cuisine was truly exceptional.

“And thank you to Destiny Love for her beautiful entertainment, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you to the Elks for providing us with the perfect venue to host our event.

“I am ecstatic about the many lives that were touched. Now it’s time to rest!” Lowe added.

Operation Provider, located at 26525 Pine Avenue in Rimforest, distributes food to its clients on Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on those days. They will be closed for a rest, reopening on Tuesday, Jan. 14. For more information, visit www.operationprovider.org.