A sense of community

Thanksgiving is often a time spent with family. For the past 24 years, the volunteers with Platte Valley Helping Hands have spent that time helping others. Even in a small community like the Valley, there are those who either aren't able to see family or do not have family to visit. Instead, people both young and old have gathered at St. Ann's Parish Hall for a sense of community.

Not only have the Platte Valley Helping Hands opened the doors of the parish hall to those seeking food and friendship, but they deliver to homebound residents as well. With the feast beginning at 12:30 p.m., the helping hands get started early as they peel potatoes, prepare the turkeys and set up the hall.

By 9 a.m., St. Ann's Parish Hall is already bustling with activity as tables are set up and directions are given. Across the street, in the Platte Valley Community Center, the industrial kitchen is filled with the smell of roasting turkey.

It isn't long before additional volunteers begin trickling in, looking for direction and wanting to help. As they wait for the food to be ready, they talk with each other while eating snacks and drinking coffee. A sign of the fellowship that will be happening later that day.

Even though food isn't served until 12:30 p.m., that doesn't stop a number of people from arriving early. They grab themselves a cup of coffee, sit down at a table and wait for the food to be served. Meanwhile, volunteers are busily loading styrofoam containers with all the Thanksgiving fixings to be loaded into a car and delivered.

The parish hall, which was virtually silent just a few hours before, is roaring with conversation. While St. Ann's is a Catholic church, a simple glance around finds that a number of different denominations are in attendance to help serve food.

Following grace, led by Marilyn Verplancke, the line quickly forms and wraps around one half of the hall. While some tables are filled with family and friends, others become more communal as those new to the area sit with longtime locals.

After nearly an hour, most of the hall has emptied out as people head for home with their bellies full. There is still food left, and the clock hasn't run out yet, so the tables remain set for any late comers in need of a warm meal.

The winter-like weather, which closed roads earlier in the week and after the holiday, appeared to be a major factor in attendance this year. Verplancke does some quick math and estimates that 147 people dined at the hall. That, combined with 53 home deliveries and six takeouts, puts the total of people fed by Platte Valley Helping Hands at 206. 

According to Verplanke, this was the most they had served in the nearly 25 years that the helping hands have been providing meals.

Clean-up doesn't take long. Just as there were plenty of "helping hands" to set up the feast, there are also many sticking around to help put the parish hall back in order. Among those helping are community leaders, such as Saratoga Town Council member Bob Keel as he washes dishes. Chia Schwartz goes from table to table, sporting a turkey hat worn in the past by Laura Morrow, and wipes everything down.

A true community Thanksgiving feast.