In The News
Friday 25 November 2005, 7:53 pm
The newspaper for southern Mississippi is the Sun Herald. Their
web site is
http://www.sunherald.com/
The headline story was the Thanksgiving meal we helped to serve
yesterday.
http://www.sunherald.com/mld/sunherald/13253631.htm
Here are some quotes:
Cooks responsible for community meals had to prepare a whole bunch of food simultaneously, and they needed a whole team of people to get it done.
In Bay St. Louis, three volunteer groups - Rotary International, Calvary Chapel Relief and WBIR-TV 10 of Knoxville, Tenn. - set about the task of feeding the entire town - and doing it with restaurant service.
Troy Haynes arrived at the Depot grounds expecting to stand in a line. Instead, he was asked to please take a seat and had volunteer waitstaff making sure his glass was full and piling seconds and thirds on his plate.
"I know I've been getting in lines ever since the hurricane," he said. "Everything has lines, even to pay a bill."
Mayor Eddie Favre showed up in his apron to help serve the meal, but the volunteers insisted he take a seat in the shade so he could spend time with his friends, neighbors and other townspeople. Favre said Calvary Chapel is the second religious organization to adopt his city.
"In spite of all our losses, we have so much to be thankful for," Favre said. "We wanted Thanksgiving to be special."
The turkeys came courtesy of Rotary International, particularly three clubs from Jonesboro, Ark.
Calvary Chapel Relief is involved in all types of recovery help. The Rev. John Milhouse of Moreno Valley, Calif., said volunteers from Calvary churches have been in Bay St. Louis since the third week of September.
"I can't say we know what we're doing," Milhouse said. "We came to the city and said 'what can we do to help?'
The help has included serving hot meals, distributing clothing, helping people repair homes and giving them new family portraits. After the hurricane, Bryan and Judy Howell of Waveland had watched precious pictures dissipate before their eyes as they carefully removed them from glass frames or gingerly tried to pry apart stacks of snapshots. They had a portrait made with their daughter and son-in-law.
"It's a new beginning really," Bryan Howell said. "We lost basically all our portraits."
