Community Christmas dinner caps year of charitable chewing

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Christmas Day brought the annual community Christmas dinner in Perry, with hundreds enjoying dinner with all the trimmings at the Perry Elks lodge. In addition to the good food and good fellowship, the charity event raises donations for the Perry Food Pantry.

Hello, dinner fans! As I said before, dinners of some type or another keep coming up. On Saturday, Dec. 1 was the Bouton breakfast, and on Tuesday, Dec. 25 was the annual community Christmas dinner in Perry.

This was the last Bouton breakfast until the spring, I believe. It was a rainy and snowy day when I got to this event. Dan brought several of his grandkids, so I drove myself. I ate a hearty breakfast. There are always pancakes, eggs, sausage, ham, fried potatoes, biscuits and gravy, toast, milk, juice and coffee.

This time of year always brings Santa Claus. He did make an appearance, handing out gifts for children and posing for pictures like any other star. Funds raised are for Bouton community projects.

That evening brought another dinner option. This was the Minburn Library hosting a fundraiser for the Minburn Fourth of July. They served chilli, potato soup and, I think, a broccoli and cheese, also a dessert bar or cookie. I had the chilli and potato soup. I think Dan had all three and maybe more.

On Dec. 9 the Christ Lutheran Church in Bouton hosted their annual Honor and Praise concert. This used to be held in November, but for the past couple of years it has been hosted in December. Dan told me that it started at 5:30 p.m., but it started at 5 p.m., so we missed the first song.

It was a packed house, and many area performers sang and played instruments. After the concert, they always have their ham ball dinner, served with cheesy potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, apple sauce and cole slaw along with several cookies and candies. Monies raised support the Perry Lutheran Home activity department.

I believe that I saw Deb Miller at all of these events. Is there more than one Deb Miller in this area? I think that I have met three of them.

On Wednesday, Dec. 12, the Heartland Church of Christ hosted their second-Wednesday-of-the-month free dinner. They had rib patties — Terry Carmichael gave me two — scalloped potatoes, green beans and broken glass gelatin for dessert.

I visited with a lot of people who I had not seen for a while. It is always a good dinner and good company.

On lucky Thursday the 13th there was the annual Raccoon Valley Bank Christmas Party, always very elegant and a lot of good food items to choose from. It seems that this is a party for business people, and a lot of people must fit the bill.

Christmas Day brought the annual community Christmas dinner, with 400 people or more enjoying dinner with all the trimmings in the Perry Elks lodge. Many community donors and volunteers join in making this a special day for Perry.

Serving started at 11 a.m., and by noon the hall was filled with festive feasters sharing the holiday bounty, which included ham and turkey as the main entrees and real mashed potatoes. In addition to the good food and good fellowship, the charity event raises donations for the Perry Food Pantry.

There probably will not be any more dinners until January. I think that MERT in Minburn will host a soup dinner at the United Methodist Church. Who knows what other dinners will come along? That is part of the mystery.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and will have a Happy New Year. I visited my parents and other family on Christmas Eve and am back to work Wednesday. I am thankful for having a good job. It is no fun to be without one.

1 COMMENT

  1. Thanks for all the dinner updates! And yes I was at the dinners. Mark and I like to support just as we like those folks to support the Christmas dinner. It is not an Elk event. They donate the building. Thanks for all the promotions!

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