Family and friends gathered with relative strangers at the American Legion Hall in Lingle on Thursday to celebrate a day of giving thanks.
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GOSHEN COUNTY – Family and friends gathered with relative strangers at the American Legion Hall in Lingle on Thursday to celebrate a day of giving thanks.
The Harshberger family and a group of volunteers hosted a first-of-its-kind Community Dinner here on Thanksgiving Day, complete with turkey, ham and all the fixings. Much of the food was donated in the days leading up to the meal, with supplies coming from all corners of the county.
The meal was the idea of Julie and Charlie Harshberger. The couple recently downsized, moving to a smaller home, and now lacked the space to host their regular Thanksgiving feast for family. But rather than abandon their traditional task of hosting their 25 or so family members, Julie approached Charlie with the idea of expanding and starting a new tradition.
“A month ago, I asked Charlie what he thought about renting a hall and inviting everybody from the community,” Julie said while finishing last-minute preparations Thursday in the kitchen at the Legion Hall. “Charlie said, ‘I’ve always wanted to do that.’”
It wasn’t a hard decision to make, Charlie said. He went back to his Christian faith and the Biblical call to help your neighbor.
“The Bible says we should give,” he said. “This is a way we can give.
“I didn’t have any idea how we were going to do it, though,” Charlie said. “We just jumped in with both feet.”