Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Staff photo: Brittney Cannon Around 40 people were waiting when the Lighthouse Mission opened its doors Thursday afternoon to host its annual Thanksgiving feast.
link Staff photo: Brittney Cannon
Around 40 people were waiting when the Lighthouse Mission opened its doors Thursday afternoon to host its annual Thanksgiving feast.
STAFF WRITER
Thanksgiving. It’s one word that can bring an array of things we’re all thankful for to the forefront of your mind.
For Louise Hunt, who was at the Lighthouse Mission Thursday afternoon with her family for their Thanksgiving meal, the holiday isn’t all about the food.
“I’m thankful for my life, health and strength, and willing to breathe,” she said. “That’s all important. Having money and all that, that’s not important. As long as I just wake up and breathe in the fresh air, that’s more important to me.”
Hunt, a Georgia native, moved to Clovis two months ago from Alamogordo with her family to raise her sons in what she believes is a better environment. This year, she added, marks the first time that she’s not cooked a Thanksgiving meal for her family.
Her favorite dishes, she said, aren’t widely popular on the high plains of Eastern New Mexico — collard greens and macaroni and cheese.
“That’s my favorite, and sweet potato pie and pecan pie. Those are my desserts,” she said. “Back south, my mom would cook it with coconut. She’d put coconut in it, and it’s so delicious.”
Despite not having a few of her favorite foods this year, Hunt said she’s still thankful for a lot — mostly seeing everyone happy and getting along together.
“We’ve been having so much happening on television, and we’re finally getting a day where everybody you like is smiling and being happy,” she said.
Hunt was one of many that feasted at Lighthouse Mission on Thursday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., according to Director Richard Gomez.
Gomez said they’d already fed 40 people five minutes after opening the doors.
The feast takes around a month to prepare, he said. In October, volunteers start cooking the turkeys, and they don’t stop until Thanksgiving Day.
“Last year we had about 100 volunteers. This year it seems like we’ve got about 40 right now that are helping in different areas,” Gomez said. “A lot of (the food) is donated, whether it be monetary or in the food product.”
Gomez said he’s thankful for simply having a place to let everyone in the community have a Thanksgiving meal.
For Art Gallegos, a volunteer pouring drinks at Lighthouse, Thanksgiving is about making sure that no one goes unfed.
“I don’t like anybody going hungry in my country,” Gallegos said. “I fought for it, and I don’t think any American should go hungry. That’s good enough for me, just to do something that’s worth a damn, really.”
Gallegos also volunteers at the American Legion every year during the Veterans Day breakfast, he added.
“It’s pretty fun, because you get to make a difference and you see how you should be thankful,” said Tanner Duncan, a student at Clovis High School, as he helped box up meals Thursday. “You make other people thankful. It’s all about Thanksgiving.”
Michelle Key, a volunteer putting together plates for diners, said she thought volunteering this year would be a great way to spend time with her family and give back to the community.
“We just thought it could be something we all do together,” Key said. “And we like to give back a little bit. We teach our kids to do the same. And, you know, just having that holiday spirit — which we probably should have all year round — showing that you really do care.”
