BRIDGETOWN, N.S. — Jerry Publow remembers getting up at 4 a.m. to go to the fire hall to start setting up tables and getting things ready for Christmas dinner.
It was 2015, the first year he and wife Maureen took over organizing the former ecumenical Christmas Day dinner that was free to anyone who wanted to drop by.
“He led that and he had his firefighters set up the tables,” said wife Maureen. “Because when we started we had no experience and he was the one who made it work.”
The couple set out 96 chairs that year, and they fed more than 100 people, including volunteers. In a sort of loaves and fishes fashion, they’ve been doing it ever since.
“It has nothing to do with economics,” she said. “It has nothing to do with what church you attend. It has to do with coming together, enjoying the day, enjoying the spirit, and meeting some of your neighbours.”
Iona Fox has taken over kitchen duties these days, buys all the groceries, and oversees the meal. “She works like a little elf in there and everything runs very smoothly,” Maureen Publow said.
Brandon Lake is the new guy on the Publow’s four-person committee that organizes the dinner.
Funds to pay for everything seem to materialize out of thin air in the weeks leading up to the dinner and on the day of, even though the meal is free. When the time comes, more than enough volunteers step up and everything gets done. To Maureen Publow it’s sort of like magic. When they started getting ready for last year’s dinner they had $800. When they finished the dinner and everything was paid for, they had almost $1,300 to start this year’s dinner.
SIX CHILDREN
And they do need volunteers because feeding that many people takes a lot of work.
“Last year there was about 120,” Maureen Publow said, and that didn’t include the volunteers. “And I can tell you just before the dinner started a gentleman came in with six children and he asked if he could join us, but he wasn’t on the list. We put another table up. We had lots of food and we welcomed him and he enjoyed himself. As a matter of fact, his children took the rest of the cupcakes home.”
It’s stories like this that make it worthwhile. No one gets turned away.
“It’s wonderful. People sit together that possibly don’t even know each other,” she said. “You know there’s a lot of people that live here that their family is away, so when they come to this dinner they meet other people. There’s no lack of conversation.”
Jerry Publow said getting up at 4 a.m. is nothing unusual for him. As a firefighter, his pager could go off any time day or night.
“It was just something that needed to be done and it needed to be done that way,” he said. “I figured I might as well come in and Maureen could stay at home for a while. I could get everything going and then we picked people as they came in. ‘You’re working in the kitchen. You’re serving.’ Everybody just pitched in where ever they could and it worked like a charm.”
THE MEAL
Getting on the list is as simple as calling. While it’s not necessary it gives the Publows a good idea of how much to cook. Jerry Publow said it’s just been getting bigger every year with last year being the biggest to date. This year they’re thinking of picking up at least one more turkey.
“This year we’ve got to up it a bit,” he said.
And 2018 was the first year that some of the volunteers didn’t get to eat, but there were no complaints. “We went home and had peanut butter sandwiches and it was fine,” said Lake.
“It was great. We had a lot of first-timers last year. Just the music, hearing the rumbling of the community coming together at that time of year. Of course the smells, all that stuff,” he said. “It all just worked really well and everybody that came was very appreciative of what was done. I have four children and we were all there last year – along with my parents from Bridgewater that had come to our place for Christmas and they were here as well. So there were people from near and far.”
“It’s a wonderful meal. It is turkey dinner – potatoes, dressing, carrots, squash, turnip, cranberry sauce, and then all sorts of desserts,” Maureen Publow said.
Some of those desserts are homemade because some people choose to contribute. Other desserts are purchased.
The Publows call people in on Christmas Eve to peel vegetables. The first year it took eight people four hours. “Last year 20 people came and we were out of here in an hour and a half,” Maureen said. People work in the Kitchen. They have about 20 or 30 servers. People even stay to clean up.
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
“The community spirit is very important to me. We’re all different. We all have different backgrounds,” said Lake. “But we all live in this place and Christmas is a great common ground.”
That spirit also includes the Jolly Old Elf. “We have the skinniest Santa you’ve ever seen,” Maureen Publow said. But he has a gift for everyone.
And there’s music. John Montgomerie was one of the original volunteers years ago when the meal was started by the United Church. He’s a musician and always provides season-appropriate piano music in the background.
Doors open at 12:30 p.m. for Christmas Dinner at 1 p.m. at the fire hall at 31 Bay Road. You can call Maureen and Jerry Publow at 902-665-4431 to get your name on the list.
