Related Blog Post on The Kitchen Table: Thanksgiving Day
By Larry Hannan
The Times-Union (Jacksonville)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For one day, Anthony Douglas was in charge of feeding about 80 people, many more than the handful of firefighters he shares meals with at Station 1 downtown.
Douglas is not a chef or a cook. But the Jacksonville firefighter led his station in preparing Thanksgiving meals for 50 people at Community Connections and 30 more at the fire station on Liberty Street.
Community Connections, on Duval Street in downtown Jacksonville, offers transitional housing to people who are homeless or struggling and helps them get back on their feet.
“We decided we really wanted to do something for the community this year,” said Douglas. “We asked around and found out that the people at Community Connections would welcome a Thanksgiving dinner.”
When he began exploring ideas for contributing to the community, the original plan was on a smaller scale. But when the opportunity to serve at Community Connections presented itself, the fire station decided to go big.
All the firefighters on duty helped out with the cooking, and their spouses, siblings and children also pitched in.
Jeanne Gregg came to the fire station to help her brother, Art Frazier, who’s an engineer.
Food for thought from  | |
| “I do have an idea for this year though....when we gather at the big kitchen table, let’s leave an empty plate, place setting and chair for those who have left us this year” — Pete Lamb in Thanksgiving Day | |
Gregg helped get the food together and bring it out to the cars.
It’s nice to give back to the community while spending time with family, Gregg said.
Frazier, who also brought his 4-year-old daughter Grace to the fire station, said having family around for Thanksgiving was a plus. Helping others also was a good lesson for his daughter, he said, and he wanted her to see the firefighters giving something back to the community.
Douglas was the person who spearheaded the effort, and deserves the credit for getting everyone together to do this, Frazier said.
About 45 to 50 people worked on preparing the food, Douglas said. The department also solicited about $500 in donations from Publix, Cracker Barrel and a few individuals.
The challenge was making sure they had all the food that was needed. Firefighters delivered the Thanksgiving meal to Community Connections around noon, and the firefighters and their families ate back at the fire station around 1 p.m.
Copyright 2008 The Florida Times-Union