GRATEFUL GIVING

WASILLA — Martha Jensen hasn’t had much to smile about lately, but that didn’t stop her from shedding a few tears of joy Saturday.

Jensen, 11-year Valley resident, is among the estimated 1,200 local families who will have a hot, home-cooked meal come Thursday thanks to the Valley Thanksgiving Blessing event.

“It’s is so awesome, it makes me want to cry,” Jensen said. “It’s just awesome, amazing, and I think I’m going to cry, really.”

What the blessing means for her family of four is that they’ll have turkey, potatoes, vegetables, rolls, stuffing, pie and more on the holiday set aside for giving thanks. Like many who walked through the doors at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Wasilla Saturday, the effort means much for her family, Jensen said.

“Before this, I wasn’t sure what we were going to do,” she said.

Hers is among the hundreds of stories of thanks and gratitude expressed at the blessing, said Kay Peterson, organizer of the local event. In its second year in the Valley, the blessing is supported by the Food Bank of Alaska and put on through a collaboration of more than 30 Valley churches and organizations. Families came to the church Saturday to find it filled to the rafters with frozen turkeys, cookies, hot coffee and all the trimmings for a traditional holiday feast.

“We had a big rush right at the start and now it’s been really steady,” Peterson said. “We’re just keeping the tables filled. We hope we have enough food. We have enough for 1,200 families, and the food bank is on hand if we start getting low.”

About 850 families were served last year, she said, and depending on family size, the event is expected to touch as many as 7,200 people this year.

The well-oiled assembly line is staffed by a small army of volunteers, including dozens of youth who help families carry food back to their vehicles.

For Nathan Davenport, who was volunteering with his youth group from Wasilla Bible Church, seeing how much the food means to some local families puts the holiday in a better perspective.

“It’s sad to see all these people need help, but it’s awesome that they can come here, and God has just blessed this whole operation,” said the 17-year-old Colony High School junior. “For some of these people, this is their Thanksgiving. As I’m walking out to the cars, I’m thinking, ‘wow, I’m so blessed to have turkey and a mom and dad and family around.’ This year, I’m just going to be really grateful and be really thankful for what I have.”

The efforts of volunteers like Davenport weren’t missed by Maxine Stiltner of Big Lake. She left the church with a big bag of food, a hefty turkey and a giant smile.

“I came out there to get my turkey,” she said. “I’m disabled, so it’s a good thing they do this. This is the best. This means I’m going to have more than a turkey TV dinner. Got the pumpkin pie, the works, and you don’t have to make it from scratch, and that’s even better.”

Watching as people file through the church and “shop” for their holiday meal, the warm feeling most were feeling inside more than made up for the sub-zero temperatures outside, Peterson said.

“I think this means a lot, and you can see it,” she said. “You see all the people come in and they’re just, like, so thankful. For the volunteers, it’s a really good experience to see this and know there are that many people out there who really need help.”

And there was a little surprise for all who came — a bag of candy corn. Although the squash blessing organizers hoped to wrangle up didn’t come through, someone did give an entire pallet of candy corn, Peterson said.

“Well, we didn’t get our squash, so they’re getting candy corn instead,” she said.

As the official turkey-tosser, Palmer resident Harry Koenen was charged with keeping up with the crowd. Stationed by a large pallet full of frozen turkeys, he quickly grabs them and lofts them to youth volunteers, who catch them and place them in aluminum roasting pans. There’s an art to it, Koenen said.

“Gotta do it slow and high,” he said. “That way, they can see them coming down on them and they don’t get bowled over. My aim is not bad, either. I’m amazed, really.”

It’s a good way to spend a Saturday, Koenen said.

“I’m happy to give these people anything they want,” he said. “I see a lot of joy, there are a lot of really hurting people, no doubt about that. It’s hard to believe there’s this many in the Valley. But, when you don’t have any work and everything wants to get shut down, it’s got to change, we have got to change.”

Just a few paces from Koenen’s spot at the end of the line, Kelly Haralson funnels new arrivals into the church. He’s been out in the cold for a couple of hours, but said he doesn’t feel it.

“All I see are a lot of happy people, a lot of friendly people,” he said. “There’s elation and they just look thankful.”

Besides, Haralson said, volunteering was better than the alternative. “It’s either this or be out splitting wood. This is way better.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.