Wimberley’s volunteer spirit shines during Thanksgiving

Wimberley has always been a town known for its volunteer spirit. If you need proof, attend the next Wimberley Community Thanksgiving Dinner and you’ll see many of the friendly, giving people of all ages in our community at work.

Volunteers arrive at 8am and Dave Lewis is already in the kitchen, apron and gloves on and ready to roll. With recipes on the wall, pans lined up on the table, gloves and aprons ready, volunteers open cans, measure ingredients, turn on ovens and get ready to prep and cook for hundreds of Wimberley folks at the 31st annual Wimberley Community Thanksgiving Dinner.

Dave Lewis has this down to a science and everyone seems to know what to do and how to get it done, right down to the cranberry sauce and pumpkin pies. The assembly line begins. A volunteer opens cans, another pours the sweet potatoes in a pan, another adds the brown sugar and yet another adds the cinnamon. They’re mashed, mixed and blended, covered with foil, marked with a “P” and ready for the oven.

The process begins all over with the green bean casserole and the dressing, all the ingredients added in an organized assembly line style. The turkeys were done to perfection by Creekside Cookers. The large capacity ovens are fired up and ready for the baking to begin. Gravy is cooked in huge pots and the rolls are popped in the oven. The cranberry sauce is ready in a nearby refrigerator. I am in awe as pan after pan comes out of the oven and taken out to the serving tables.

The setup and beautiful table decorations were done by volunteers the day before Thanksgiving.

Volunteers are busy throughout the room filling tea, water and coffee pots, setting out plates, cups, utensils, cutting pies for dessert, updating the list for to go dinners and anything else that is needed.

At about 10:30, Dave opened the dinner with a prayer and thanked the many volunteers who have chosen to be here for Thanksgiving. Volunteers then eat lunch and assume their positions in the serving line; drink, dessert and welcoming/donation tables and wait for guests to arrive.

Once the serving begins, for the next three hours, volunteers are busy filling tea and water glasses, refilling food pans as they get low, directing people to empty chairs, delivering dessert, cleaning off tables, delivering to-go dinners to those who can’t make it to the community center and visiting with people wishing them a Happy Thankgiving and letting them know we’re happy they came.

So many people come to celebrate Thanksgiving together at this annual event and many express how much they appreciate having a place where all are invited and they can enjoy such a nice dinner. And volunteers go away with a full heart and a sense of community.

I thank Dave Lewis for his caring spirit, organizational skills, tireless energy and allowing me to be a part of this wonderful event and look forward to volunteering many more years.