Diners flock to Eagles Club for Christmas dinner

All sorts of people showed up for the Christmas dinner at the Eagles Club Friday.

Young folks, older people and dozens of volunteers who said they have as much fun as the people who come to eat.

Michael Cuneo dished out turkey to people at the serving line during the entire four hours of the feast, meeting new people and saying hello to folks he knew.

He's a relative newcomer to Montana - he's been here only six years - and wants to meet more people. He said he enjoyed his first volunteer effort at the Community Christmas Dinner.

He had a kind word to say to each of the 700-plus people who walked through the line. And each one had a kind word to say back.

While he was a newcomer to the deal, just down the line, dishing out dressing was Betty Haldemann who was anything but a newcomer.

"I'm on my 20th year," said the 89-year-old Blaine County resident.

She and her husband drive in from their home outside - way outside - of Cleveland nestled in the Bear Paws.

Sometimes they have to plow themselves out from their ranch because county highway crews haven't had time to get to their remote home.

Shesaid she wouldn't miss the free dinner. It's a chance to volunteer and to meet people.

"There aren't a lot of people out our way," she said.

"It's a good turnout," said Tom Farnham, the Eagles Club manager who has been running the dinner.

Serving mashed potatoes, Pat Cline said her family usually travels on Christ.

"We didn't this year and we thought this would be fun," Cline said.

The free Christmas dinner tradition goes back several decades. The Eagles Club took over three years ago.

Several hundreds meals were delivered by volunteers to shutins before the community feed began.