Dear Editor,
It was Friday morning of the Harvest Dinner, the sweet potatoes and stuffing were just getting finished up, and the turkeys had been sliced and put on ice. Barb Kelso and Cheryl Moody were discussing turkey gravy makings.
People were calling telling us the wind had blown the signs off the side of the church and they were flapping in the wind. I was waiting for the rain to subside so I could put the signs back up and here came Bill Brager with a couple of pumpkin pies that Susan had made and he said, “Did you know that your signs are all most off the wall, come on, I’ll help you put them up.”
No more than coming in from putting the signs back up the power went out. I thought to myself could this really be happening, I have been working on harvest dinners since the early nineties and we have never had the power go out.
I called the PUD and they informed me no telling how long power would be out. I sent a text message to my son Jeremy Jackson, who works for the BPA, and he sent a text back saying, “If your power is out …. get a generator.” I knew then that it was a transmission line problem so it would be out for a while.
First things first, Artie Anderson had his cooler on so it was cold in there so we took stuffing and sweet potatoes out there so they would not spoil and could be used at a later date.
Then off to Jerry’s Rentals to see if we could get a generator. As I walked through the door it was almost like Jerry knew I was coming. He said, “What do you need to make it work?” “Lights and coffee,” I said. He said, “I will be there in a little bit and take care of you.”
The kitchen staff came up with a plan “B” of turkey sandwiches, salads, apple and pumpkin pie, with coffee and hot spiced cider.
People kept coming to the church asking if the dinner was still on and if they should bring their pies. We kept telling everyone that it was still on and bring their salads and pies down.
At three o’clock Jerry showed up with a generator and lighting, we had coffee and spiced cider going by 3:30 p.m. and the crowd started showing up early by four o’clock looking for a hot cup of coffee, little to their dismay they had to wait until 4:25 when it was done. Dave Robinson came by and asked if we could use another generator and said that we needed one to light up the walkway and he provided one.
By 5:15 the Fellowship hall was almost full of hungry people by night’s end over 200 hundred attended, including Pearl Lucken who I think has attended every one — the 82nd annual harvest dinner did not skip a beat.
A lot of the patrons said it was the best Harvest Dinner ever! I wonder if was because there were no outside distractions and the main focus was on each other and our fellowship with one another. Or maybe it was the resilience of the people of Forks that so defines our community when the going gets tough.
Or maybe it was because of the faith that we live by, as we go to the Lord in prayer for guidance in times of storms that brew in our lives. As we turn to him in prayer and he answers those prayers in the form of angles that provide in so many ways. This is why his Church can shine as a beacon of hope in the darkness, with light and comfort in the form of fellowship, a meal and a blessing to all that attended.
This Pastor is so humbled by the generosity of the community that he lives in, that so many give and give of themselves so that the Harvest Dinner can be an annual event.
If I listed everyone that volunteered, made salads/pie, provided the turkeys, salmon, coffee pots, pans, supplies and made a donation this article would be another two columns long. From the bottom of my heart I say thank you, thank you, thank you. In my eyes, each one of you is an angel from God.
Pastor Warren Johnson
Congregational Church
