A New Year’s Day tradition
TAMMY COAKLEY/FOR THE EXPRESS Kitchen volunteers who were helping to prepare the free New Year’s Day take-out dinner offered by the Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall included, from left, Kay Bossert, Pastor Susan Champion, Linda Wetzler, Peg Duck and Pat Yost.
TAMMY COAKLEY/FOR THE EXPRESS Volunteers served as runners during the New Year’s Day take-out lunch at Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall. Meals were also delivered locally to residents in the community. Pictured, from left, are Tom Bossert, Jeff Nedrow, Tom McLean and Max Bossert.
TAMMY COAKLEY/FOR THE EXPRESS Drivers slowly made their way to obtain their free New Year’s Day meals at Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall.
TAMMY COAKLEY/FOR THE EXPRESS Kitchen volunteers who were helping to prepare the free New Year’s Day take-out dinner offered by the Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall included, from left, Kay Bossert, Pastor Susan Champion, Linda Wetzler, Peg Duck and Pat Yost.
TAMMY COAKLEY/FOR THE EXPRESS Volunteers served as runners during the New Year’s Day take-out lunch at Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall. Meals were also delivered locally to residents in the community. Pictured, from left, are Tom Bossert, Jeff Nedrow, Tom McLean and Max Bossert.
TAMMY COAKLEY/FOR THE EXPRESS Drivers slowly made their way to obtain their free New Year’s Day meals at Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall.
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Pastor Susan Champion and members of the Bald Eagle United Presbyterian Church in Mill Hall provided free New Year's Day meals to the public on Monday.
According to Pastor Susan, "the church has been providing the New Year's Day meals for about 20 years now. We used to host a dine-in meal but, since COVID, the meal has been provided by take-outs and local deliveries. We do it as a way to be a blessing to others in our community. Most of the original workers that helped to provide the meal the first year have come back each year to help."
Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day meals were already being offered by other churches in the area, "so we chose New Year's Day to provide a meal so that we weren't competing with other churches. It originally began as a way to touch people and provide a free meal to those who may be hungry, or alone and maybe not able to afford a meal," said Pastor Susan.
Linda Wetzler is one of those long time volunteers who enjoys helping each year. "The very first year we did the meal I think the ingredients cost about $140. We don't charge for the meals, but sometimes people will drop a few dollars into the tip container. Providing this meal is our (church's) way of meeting others in the community and letting them know that we are here," said Wetzler.
Beginning at 3:30 a.m. with Pat Yost putting the pork loins in the oven, and then others arriving around 9 a.m. to shred the loins and add to the sauerkraut. Still more volunteers arrived to begin making the mashed potatoes, to bag up the rolls and put the apple sauce into small containers. A roaster stood steaming full of Country Store brand hot dogs that would be used.
"The brownies were made and donated by our congregation members. We usually plan for 100-120 meals every year," Pastor Susan said.
Tom and Kay Bossert have also helped each year with the meal. She was helping in the kitchen and Tom was volunteering as a car greeter and a food runner outside.
"The sauerkraut is homemade by Jerry Lusk and we bought about 25 pounds of pork loins for today's meal," the Bossert's both added.
Even before 11 a.m., vehicles began slowly moving in a line to meet the runners who stood at the folding table with meals. A volunteer would approach each driver, offering a friendly greeting while taking their order for meals and relaying the information to other runners who quickly responded, placing the meals into the vehicles. By 1 p.m. the vehicles had trickled through the line, and the workers were heading inside to begin the clean-up.
"It's a New Year's Day tradition that I'm happy and blessed to be a part of," Pastor Susan said.