FREMONT, Neb (KMTV) — There are a lot of great thanksgiving traditions but the one we all know the best is the thanksgiving dinner and in Fremont everyone is invited.
“Mrs. Anderson who started this in her house invited her friends. And then the friends invited friends, and those friends invited friends and it got too big for her house,” said Wade Frink, one of the many volunteers who helped prepare Fremont’s Community Thanksgiving Dinner.
For more than 35 years Fremont has come together to share a thanksgiving meal around the tables at Midland University’s dining hall.
The all volunteer effort will prepare around 1000 meals this year.
“I believe this year we brought around 250 pounds of turkey in turkey loaves and we have around 300 pounds of ham,” said Eric Castillo, a long time volunteer.
In Fremont the Community Dinner truly is for everyone. There is no sign up and no charge and over the past 35 years, volunteer Pam Nielsen has seen Fremonters from all walks of life sit down to share a meal with one another.
“We have the most affluent people as well as the poorest of poor. We have city council people, a former city administrator used to come and help and a former mayor used to come and help every year,” said Nielsen
With so many people to feed it can be easy to get lost in the chaos of food preparation, but the folks behind the dinner never forget what it’s all about.
Sharing time with the friends, family and neighbors and being thankful.
“We are blessed every day to have wonderful gifts, and part of it is the community,” said volunteer Sharron Mattson.
“It makes you feel good that we can do that. That we can do this, that the community can do this because so much of it is donations,” said Nielsen.
