Hebron Lodge #48 feeds the needy

(Beacon) - At first glance, you’d think it wasn’t terribly successful. Mid-afternoon Saturday, there weren’t a lot of people coming into, or sitting in, the small room at the Beacon Community Center where the brothers of Hebron Lodge #48 were serving Thanksgiving dinner for seniors and other needy members of the community,as they do every Saturday before Thanksgiving.
All the diners present were concentrated around one of the several tables in the room, and there was more than enough time and unoccupied cooks to offer a visiting reporter and his hungry young son not just a sample of the repast but a full serving. And seconds, to boot. But appearances can be deceiving, as the saying goes. And this time they were.

“This time we got started before noon,” boasted Willy “Lee” Reed, coordinator of this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. “I’ve made 40 deliveries to Forrestal Heights, 31 to Hamilton Fish and 8 to shut-ins on the street.”

Yes, most of the diners were eating in. Most of the good the lodge was doing could not be seen where they were doing most of it. Some still came in, however. One senior, Clarissa Hawkins, ate in grateful silence. With others, however, the brothers had to be careful to avoid being hustled. “We feed people,” explained chef Daniel McEachin following an encounter with one belligerent individual. “Some people want some for tomorrow. We don’t know. We’ve got to be careful.”

McEachin earned praise from his brethren for his culinary prowess. Asked to give an accounting of what went into making this day, he ticked off a list that included ten 20-pound turkeys, 50 boxes of stuffing and six 32-ounce bags of potatoes. By the end of the three-hour dinner, it had gone into making 151 meals, 93 that were delivered and 58 served right there at the community center, according to Bryan Hunt. Six more were made, for a total of 157 Thanksgiving dinners.
All of it had been purchased by the lodge and brothers. Reed said they accept no donations for Thanksgiving. “Lots of members of the community appreciate what we’re doing.”

So the brothers were in a pleasant mood as the afternoon drew to a close. To a one they singled out Worshipful Master Jeffrey Jackson for special praise for his role in making the event happen as successfully as it did. And the food was excellent. Particularly the gravy, to this taster’s palate.

The lodge is getting ready for its annual Christmas event, to be held 2-12 p.m. Dec. 16 at the Community Center on West Center Street, where they will be serving hot dogs, cookies and drinks. They do welcome donations for this, and interested persons can contact either Reed at 416-5714 or McEachin at 226-7892.

Pictured Above From Top to Bottom: Stanley Plowden of Beacon’s Hebron Lodge #48 serves Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday November 18th, at the Beacon Community Center, to Clarissa Hawkins.

Brothers of Beacon’s Hebron Lodge #48 at their annual Thanksgiving dinner event Saturday. From left, Fred Calhoun, Bryan Hunt, Carl Napier, Jeffrey Jackson, Andre Whitener, Christopher Woodley and Stanley Plowden.