Christmas Dinner preparations an annual labor of love

By William T. Clew
The Catholic Free Press

It’s a Christmas tradition in the Worcester Diocese, and a Thanksgiving tradition, too.
For many years, and again this year, the Bishop of Worcester and Catholic Charities Worcester County will host Christmas dinners for those who may be homebound or otherwise might be alone.
A short notice to that effect appears on this page. The announcement is simple. Getting it done is another story.
It starts one and a half to two weeks before the holiday. Jerry Beddes, Catholic Charities information technology manager, begins with lists of names from Elder Services of Worcester, Fallon Health Care, Millbury Council on Aging and other organizations.
They include people who live in neighborhoods in the city and some surrounding towns, many of whom are in the Meals on Wheels program, according to Robert Cronin, Catholic Charities dinner coordinator.
Mr. Beddes then checks the names on his list to be sure that someone’s name doesn’t appear twice on the final listing. He said he then makes sure the names are matched with the right addresses.
He said he usually ends up with 1,300 to 1,400 names. Some of those people get more than one meal because there are others in that household, he said. So those 1,300 to 1,400 names can translate into 1,700 to 1,800 meals delivered.
Next he makes up batches of names from the same neighborhood or high rise or apartment complex. If the people receiving the meals live in separate buildings from one another, a volunteer may deliver as few as 10 or 12 meals. If the meal recipients live close to one another in an apartment complex or high rise, the volunteer may deliver 30 or more meals.
Mr. Beddes said the number of volunteers who deliver meals can vary from holiday to holiday and also depends on the weather. There usually are more volunteers for Thanksgiving deliveries than for Christmas deliveries. And bad weather can cut their number. The fewer the volunteers, the more meals each one delivers, he said.
Many volunteers have been doing this for many years. But each year new people also volunteer, he said. The meals they deliver contain turkey, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, stuffing, cranberry sauce, rolls, butter and a small Table Talk pie.
Where all that stuff comes from is another part of the story.
Bill Isildakli is owner of the Broadway Restaurant at 100 Water St. He and his crew have been preparing the meals for the bishop’s Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners for so many years he has lost count. He guesses it’s 38 to 40 years. He said he devotes his full attention to those meals during the holiday season and his wife handles the restaurant.
The procedure for each meal is about the same, but every year he and his crew try to find ways to make the job more efficient. He said he has a good crew.
For Monday’s Christmas dinners, the crew at the Broadway began preparing and cooking Wednesday night, Mr.  Isildakli said. The turkeys are washed, sprayed and baked, the potatoes, mixed vegetables and stuffing are cooked, and the gravy is made. The stuffing takes a long time to prepare, he said.
When everything is done, the Broadway team, eight to 10 workers, begin to package the meals. They pack 27 boxes in each of up to 75 containers, Mr. Isildakli said, and will deliver them to Catholic Charities at 10 Hammond St. on Christmas morning.
There the meals will be removed from the packages and put in bags, along with a roll and butter and a small pie. The volunteers will pick up the number of bags they need to deliver, check their lists and head out to complete their rounds. All those who get the meals delivered at home have to do is heat them and then sit down to a turkey dinner with all the fixings.
Those people who will sit down with Bishop McManus in the Cenacle at St. Paul Cathedral will be served a hot dinner with all the fixings. Mr. Isildakli and his crew will deliver freshly cooked meals to be kept warm in chafing dishes until the volunteers fill a plate and serve it to each guest.
Attendance at the Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners has ranged from about 150 to nearly 200.
Mr. Beddes has been with Catholic Charities for 34 years and has been coordinator for the last 25 or so, he said. Mr. Cronin has been with Catholic Charities for close to 40 years.