CITY GIVES THANKS RESIDENTS UNITE FOR CHARITIES' HOLIDAY DINNERS.Byline: Heather MacDonald and Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writers It has not been an easy stretch for A.J. Villareal and his family. He lost his job at Boeing 18 months ago, and for the second year in a row, the family didn't have money for a Thanksgiving Day meal. But Villareal, his baby son and his wife, Maritza, were nonetheless grateful Thursday as they settled before two steaming plates in the bustling San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Elks Club, where hundreds of volunteers dished dished adj. 1. Concave. 2. Slanting toward one another at the bottom. Used of a pair of wheels. Adj. 1. dished - shaped like a dish or pan dish-shaped, patelliform concave - curving inward up turkey, stuffing and mounds of mashed potatoes n. pl. 1. Potatoes which have been boiled and mashed to a pulpy consistency, usu. with sparing addition of milk, salt, butter, or other flavoring. It is a popular accompaniment to a meat course [U.S., 1900's], providing bulk and calories to a meal. for nearly 2,000 men, women and children from throughout the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . ``Last year, we made do, but didn't have any of the traditional things,'' Villareal said. ``But I wanted to have turkey this year, on my son's first Thanksgiving. We're very blessed.'' Throughout Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. on Thursday, volunteers and the needy counted their blessings in soup kitchens, dining halls and church banquet rooms banquet room n. A large room, as in a restaurant, suitable for banquets. . In Canoga Park, dozens of families, many with young children, crowded into the Guadalupe Center for a meal with all the fixings. ``The need is so much greater this year than last,'' said organizer Beth Laski. ``That's the bad news. The good news is that the community's generosity has met that need.'' The Calabasas Agoura Hills Rotary Club fed 450 seniors a Thanksgiving meal at the Sagebrush sagebrush, name for several species of Artemisia, deciduous shrubs of the family Asteraceae (aster family), particularly abundant in arid regions of W North America. The common sagebrush (A. Cantina can·ti·na n. Southwestern U.S. A bar that serves liquor. [Spanish, canteen, from Italian, wine cellar.] Restaurant in Calabasas. ``There's an awful lot of seniors who don't have family who are alone and don't have access to having a Thanksgiving dinner The centerpiece of contemporary Thanksgiving in the United States is a large meal, starring a large roasted turkey. All of the dishes in the traditional American version of Thanksgiving Dinner are made from foods native to North America, according to tradition the Pilgrims received these ,'' said spokesman Robert Kanovitz. ``It kind of cheers them up and gives them a little companionship.'' That was true for 77-year-old Mildred Cadish of North Hollywood, who joined about 300 others for a festive meal at Temple Beth Hillel in Valley Village. ``The people who are serving are magnificent,'' she said, beaming in the warm November sunshine. ``They're wonderfully helpful, and they give you a portion of food two people could eat.'' Dozens of churches and community groups from North Hollywood, Sylmar and Pacoima boarded school buses to get to the Elks Club dinner, put on with help from the organization Meet Each Need with Dignity and the Living Hope Community Church. Dinner chairman Richard Schoeni said he expected 1,800 to 2,000 people to turn out - up from about 1,500 last year. ``Thanksgiving is our opportunity to give thanks for what we have and share our blessings with those who don't have as much,'' Schoeni said. ``They don't have to be needy. They can just be lonely and just come have a family dinner.'' It was that offer of a family dinner from the Elks that attracted Frank Butterworth, 56, of Sylmar, who said the highlight of his Thanksgiving Day meal wasn't the turkey, which he proclaimed delicious, or even the stuffing, which he called perfect. ``It's the people,'' Butterworth said. ``They are so polite and kind and generous. What more could you ask for on Thanksgiving?'' Heather MacDonald, (818) 546-3304 heather.macdonald(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Volunteers serve turkey and other fixings at the San Fernando Elks Lodge on Thursday. Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer |
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