GIVING THANKS: SALVATION ARMY FEEDS HUNDREDS

D.G. Wilson of Wolf Lake, Ill., had to capture the fowl for his Thanksgiving meal as a child.

But now at 100, Wilson doesn't have to work as hard.

"When I was growing up, we didn't have turkey for Thanksgiving," Wilson said. "We had chicken."

His job was to capture the chickens and chop off their heads. "Now I just eat," he said.

Wilson came to Cape Girardeau Thursday to eat at the Salvation Army's annual Thanksgiving dinner. While Wilson ate his meal of turkey, dressing and pumpkin pie, his son, who is in his 70s, and daughter-in-law delivered Thanksgiving dinners throughout the city.

The Salvation Army fed about 640 people Thursday. About 300 meals were delivered in Cape Girardeau and Jackson on Thursday, which is more than in years past.

The Salvation Army began the Thanksgiving dinner in 1983 as a spinoff of their regular meal program. The organization does not charge the guests for meal but serves it as a part of their mission.

"A lot of people come for the fellowship so they won't be home alone on the holiday," said Maj. Joyce Gauthier of the Salvation Army.

Gauthier began preparing for the meal a week before Thanksgiving, cooking 34 turkeys, 18 turkey breasts and 20 hams.

Most of the food cooked for the Thanksgiving meal was donated to the Salvation Army by businesses and individuals. More than 150 pies were donated, including 54 pumpkin pies donated by a local 4-H group.

"This is one of the easiest meals I've ever done," said Darlene Allen, who helped start the Thanksgiving meal program in 1983 and has been cooking every year since.

Organization is the key to being able to feed so many people in such a short time, she said.

"We've been working on preparing the meal for a week, but so much of it you can't do until the last minute," she said.

Allen was one of 150 people who volunteered to cook, serve or clean up after the meal. Some volunteers were from church groups while others were families, and still others were individuals.

Gauthier said that the volunteers began arriving shortly after 7 a.m. Thursday and helped in all aspects of the preparation.

When the crowds got smaller, a few of the volunteers who had been waiting on tables went to a piano and began to sing together.

Although the group had not known each other before the day began, they joined voices and serenaded the crowd with Christmas songs.

"There's kind of a family atmosphere," said Gauthier.

Meanwhile, Wilson sat back in his chair, listened to the music and spoke to those around him, including many people he had just met.

"The meal was good," he said.

Then, patting his stomach, he added, "At least I feel like it's pretty good."