NEW SHARON – Rufus Cox peeled apple after apple Tuesday as his wife, Charlene, made pies.
Two chocolate pies were already done and sat on a counter in the couple’s New Sharon kitchen. On another counter sat a turkey ready for the oven.
Charlene Cox poured pumpkin mix into pie shells and then put them in the oven.
Squash pies were next.
The phone rang and her husband answered it.
It was another order for a free Thanksgiving Day dinner bringing the total takeout meals to be delivered that day to 146. But not for long. A few minutes later the phone rang again. It was order No. 147.
The Augusta Valley Scottish Rite Masons, of which Rufus Cox is a member, is sponsoring its fifth Thanksgiving Day dinner in the region from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 24, at Mt. Blue High School in Farmington.
“Thanksgiving is a good time to celebrate family tradition,” Rufus Cox said. He was working on a half-bushel of apples that his wife and others would use to make pies.
In addition to deliveries being made from Dixfield to Stratten and Phillips to Livermore Falls and Dixfield, Cox said they usually feed 50 people at the high school.
“We’re shooting for 200 meals or better,” he said.
They started the free dinner in 2001, and it has grown since then. That year, between 50 and 75 meals went out, and in 2003, 151 meals went out, Charlene Cox said as she looked over her records.
This year they have 11 turkeys, between 15 to 24 pounds each, including three they’re cooking.
There will be 100 pounds of potatoes, 70 pounds of squash and 40 pounds of turnips to be peeled and cooked.
Volunteers are also making 250 yeast rolls and 26 pies.
“We’ll bring all the potatoes and squash to the school and the students will help,” Cox said.
Students from the Mt. Blue High School’s Jobs for Maine Graduates and National Honor Society and Foster Regional Applied Technology Center’s culinary arts program plan to volunteer their time on Thanksgiving Day to help cook, prepare meals, tend the dining room or make deliveries.
Cheryl Ellis, a SAD 9 food service worker, is volunteering her time to supervise the kitchen.
Another 25 volunteers from the community will also be on hand to help that day.
Among them will be Rep. Janet Mills, D-Farmington, and her husband, Stan Kuklinski, Charlene Cox said.
SeniorsPlus representatives are also taking part in the project.
As Rufus Cox peeled more apples, he said it brought back fond memories.
“We all would arrive at grandmother’s house a couple days early, and we all had a duty,” he said. “This turns into a nice community project as far as I am concerned.”
This dinner is for anybody and everybody, his wife said.
“If they can’t get out, we’ll deliver and if they can, they can come to Mt. Blue High School,” she said. “Everybody is welcome.”
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