Hi-Line Living: Christmas dinner - it's community

Suzi Simpson was standing behind a large container of corn, dishing out the food to people who walked through the food line at the Community Christmas Dinner sponsored by the Havre Elks Club.

Suzi is new to Havre. She moved here from Saco last year and attended the last Community Christmas Dinner.

She had such a good time she decided she would like to work as a volunteer this year.

Actually, it didn't look like work.

There was laughter, chatter and good times with other volunteers. Some, like Suzi, were first-timers, others have been doing the volunteering for as long as two decades.

"I love it in Havre, and I love it here," said Suzi, as she provided healthy helpings of corn to people carrying their plates through the line.

All of the volunteers, new and returning, had their own stories.

Pouring generous helpings of gravy on the turkey and mashed potatoes, was Alba Haldemann.

She's been coming in from the Bear Paw Mountains, way south of Chinook, for more than 20 years.

"I've been doing this since I was a little girl," she said laughing.

Wanda Wiese, like other volunteers, took some time to eat and relax, and she walked through the line, loading her plate up with food.

She came in early with Eagles Club Manager Tom Farnham and volunteered to set up and prepare the food.

Handing out Christmas candy to the young people and the young at heart was Kim Nichols, who cheerfully greeted people as they came down the line.

This is her second year, but it's already become a tradition.

"I just love it," she said. "You can see everybody here."

Unlike other such dinners in other communities, the Havre Community Dinner isn't for the needy, she said. "It's for everybody.

"You can see people who are rich, poor, everybody," she said.

That's what attracted Gary and Shelley Grant.

Decked out in red clothes and red hats, they sat at a table in the middle of the room, greeting friends and neighbors of all ages.

They were planning to go to Billings to celebrate Christmas, but the bad weather worried them, so they decided to have Christmas dinner at the Eagles Club.

"I've been on this planet 81 years," said Gary. "All of it in Havre. It's a pretty special place.

"This is a wonderful thing," he said of the Christmas dinner. "You see all kinds of people."

They spent Christmas Eve at Van Orsdel United Methodist Church and started off Christmas Day at the dinner, Shelley said.

Those kinds of gatherings show what a good place Havre is, she said.

One member of the crowd gathering with the Grants was Cynthia Bryson.

She was dining and relaxing after a busy morning delivering, with friends, 16 meals to shut-ins around Havre.

It was the most rewarding experience of Christmas Day, she said.

"People are so glad to see us," she said.

"We stop and talk to some of them," she said. "This makes Christmas Day for them and for us."