4°c Clear
17°c Sunny
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Giving thanks for generosity
BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Jordan Farber (rear, from left), Jeremy Langemann and Michael Pye serve dinner to (from left) Twyla Sparks, Kevin Villegas, Flor Villegas and Amanda Muskego. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
If you're looking for a lovely gourmet Thanksgiving dinner, you could make a reservation at The Fairmont Winnipeg. You won't have to get your hands dirty, it'll taste great and probably be pretty swanky. It'll cost you about $50 a plate.
If you want to eat at home (and maybe convince your nearest and dearest you're a better cook than you really are), you could place an order and pick up The Fairmont's cooked turkey and trimmings dinner, boxed and ready to go. That starts at $375 and goes up according to how many people you're feeding.
What if you're a core-area elementary school and The Fairmont is catering your Thanksgiving meal for 400 people? In that case, it's free.
Machray School held its third-annual Thanksgiving dinner for students and their families Thursday afternoon. Thanks to the efforts of some corporate supporters, what might have been a bit of a letdown became an unforgettable act of kindness.
The story begins with Qualico's Jordan Farber. His company runs a tree-planting program that takes elementary school kids out of the city and lets them get up close and personal with nature.
Last year, grades 4, 5 and 6 students from Machray and Qualico staff planted 1,000 trees in a reclaimed gravel pit in the RM of Reynolds. The Qualico team was invited to the Thanksgiving dinner in return, accepted and helped serve the potatoes and stuffing.
When principal Gord Armstrong asked if the Qualico group wanted to come back this year, Farber was happy to help. Armstrong told him they'd be serving hotdogs, because the R.B. Russell school kitchen that normally cooks their turkeys wasn't available.
"We thought they deserved a turkey dinner," says Farber, "but we build homes. We don't have 20 ovens at our disposal."
The meals have to be prepared in a kitchen that meets health standards.
So Farber got busy. His mother was a Fairmont employee for 40 years and he had his wedding there this summer. He picked up the phone, called general manager Michael Pye, and asked if they could spare the oven space.
The hotel did better than that.
Executive chef Jeremy Langemann used his contacts to source the turkeys, offered to make the stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes and veggies. He got his contacts to donate bread and butter and a chocolate brownie for dessert.
His kitchen was busy making the feast Thursday.
"I figured it was for the kids, so we should kick it up a bit," Langemann says.
While he was at it, he asked Fairmont staff to serve the meal.
Principal Armstrong says the annual meal is a great chance for the school to reach out to the community, introduce its staff and help families understand what's going on inside the building.
"All the people that support the school come," he says.
There are 212 students in the nursery to Grade 6 school. Kids bring their extended families to the meal, raising the number of meals served to about 400.
"We've had three generations at the same table," Armstrong says. "We wanted to do this as a celebration of our school."
His school patrols were scheduled to give a demonstration, as were Machray's ace jump-rope team.
"This is an important event for us," Armstrong says. "It's more than a meal. It's about welcoming our community into our school."
And this year, it's about the business community pitching in to help feed that extended family. What's that worth? It's priceless.
-- -- --
Many of you have asked if Heidi Bousseau's ("I'm the nobody from nowhere") housing problem has been resolved. Yes and no. She can stay in her Sussex Realty apartment until the end of November, when her sublet expires. She's searching for a wheelchair-accessible place she can afford after that.
Bousseau's decided to set up her daybed and unpack a few other things while she searches. She's had offers of help with the unpacking.
One more priceless piece of news? A Free Press reader invited Bousseau to share Thanksgiving with her family. This year, I'm thankful we have people like her in our city.
lindor.reynolds@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 5, 2012 B1
More Latest News
- Back to Top
- Return to Latest News
More Latest News
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
Japanese man, 80, becomes oldest climber to reach top of Mount Everest
1:18 AM 0
About Lindor Reynolds
Lindor Reynolds began work at the Free Press as a 17-year-old proofreader. She was fired three weeks later.
Many years later, armed with a university education, she was hired as a columnist. During 16 years on the job she has managed to avoid being sacked again.
Lindor has received considerable recognition for her writing. Her awards include the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists’ general interest award and the North American Travel Journalists Association award.
She has earned three nominations for the Michener Award and has been awarded a Distinguished Alumni commendation from the University of Winnipeg. Lindor was also named a YWCA Woman of Distinction.
She is married with four daughters.
Poll
Most Popular Latest News
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Winnipeg woman camps out in front of legislature to protest child welfare
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Two men now facing first-degree murder charges in Tim Bosma test drive death
- New owner for lumber stores
- New downtown tower could be 42 storeys tall: developers
- 2 dead in crash near Portage la Prairie
- Man killed after test drive a regular guy, and it cost him his life: widow
- Chiropractor guilty of sexually assaulting, beating ex-girlfriend
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Woman killed in head-on crash in southwestern Manitoba
- Charleswood deaths being investigated as domestic incident
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Winnipeg woman camps out in front of legislature to protest child welfare
- Rainfall warning issued for southern Manitoba
- Crushing blow for amateur sport
- Seattle man dribbling soccer ball to Brazil killed by car on Oregon Coast
- 87-year-old woman tells jurors, 'Somebody had to stand up to' Donald Trump
- Man dies after being pulled from vehicle submerged in Winnipeg retention pond
- Driver crashes into tree near golf course
- Arrests made after raids on local head shops
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- News of city's $17-million winner leaks out on FB
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- No threat from bag found at Winnipeg Square
- Susan Griffiths dies in Switzerland
- New owner for lumber stores
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Heritage Winnipeg hosting 10th annual Doors Open Winnipeg this weekend
- Order of Manitoba recipients announced
- Paying bills and consumer consumption hurting Canadians' ability to save: study
- Underwood leaves fans blown away
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Creative industries can fuel a city's economic engine
- New owner for lumber stores
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
- Marsh Madness: Photographers Fred Greenslade and Joe Bryksa capture spring migration's grandeur at Delta Marsh
- Horrific crash kills minivan driver near Brandon
- Prominent Canadians back petition to rename Victoria Day to honour aboriginals
- Famous city grocer loved job, customers
- Animals are animals, new ads say
- Skin picking gets status as distinct disorder, should help sufferers access help
- Order of Manitoba recipients announced
- New owner for lumber stores
- Aboriginal leader Elijah Harper dies
- Dogs can experience separation anxiety and depression just like humans
- Ontario steps in to help save ELA
- Saskatchewan professor wants to test the health benefits of nose-picking
- 'Revenge of the redheads': Ginger-haired Montrealers gather in celebration
- An uncommon phenomenon
- Passengers from diverted flight to leave Winnipeg Thursday night
- Hundreds pitch in to dig out houses damaged, destroyed by Ochre Beach ice floe
- Grocer Joe Cantor dies at 88
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.