Annual Sonoma County Thanksgiving banquet provides more solace, comforting food this year than ever

The annual Redwood Gospel Mission’s Great Thanksgiving Banquet, now in its 24th year, has its process for delivering every plateful of love and comfort to attendees down to a science with each ladle of gravy.

The human conveyor belt with a rotating cast starts with a pinch of salad, moves to a tongful of turkey, ice cream scoop of dressing - don’t forget the green beans - of course the gravy, and all topped off by a dollop of cranberry sauce before being sent off with a dinner roll and butter. The 30-second operation displays so much teamwork and efficiency, Henry Ford would be proud.

And, with the line out the door of people awaiting a warm meal, it seemed more important than ever to be dialed in at the event Wednesday at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Following the devastating fires that directly affected so many area families - and, indirectly, innumerable others - the chance at a full stomach on the house was, for some, the first solace in what seems a storm of continued suffering.

That’s why people such as Santa Rosa resident Pam Wailes showed up for the first time. She didn’t lose her home to flames, but felt her own personal devastation when she was finally allowed to return after nine days of evacuation to find her house was flooded once the utilities were restored.

Her windows were also left open during the blaze, bringing enormous amounts of soot and smoke inside and mandating a full paint job. A month later, her floor has been replaced, but it’s keeping her son and daughter from traveling to town to cook a meal there, as is their holiday tradition. Having a Thanksgiving meal at the fairgrounds was critical in order for her to feel a sense of normalcy with her favorite turkey and gravy.

“It’s still a mess in the backyard, and it’s really still in disarray,” said Wailes, acknowledging she recognizes she’s one of the lucky ones. “So I’ve just found something else to do, and I’ll talk to them on the phone.”

The experience isn’t uncommon, according to Jeff Gilman, longtime executive director of Redwood Gospel Mission. Curious about how much of a rise in turnout to the banquet they might see due to the fires, he assisted with the preregistration for to-go food boxes and saw about a?15 percent increase in the number of orders.

The amount of donations, thankfully, met the added demand. But it was the number of people he spoke to somehow being collaterally affected that blew him away, including one woman who was evicted from her rental when her landlord lost his home and needed a place to live.

“You don’t think of her as a fire victim, but man, she’s every bit as much,” said Gilman. “She said, ‘I was a donor to you a year ago, and now I’m a recipient.’ So what do you do? You just grab her hand, and pray for her, and love her and care for her.”

As in past years, the gathering remains as much intended for the affluent as the destitute. But this year more poured in - early estimates suggested as many as 6,000 may join - with the shared circumstance of owning little more than what they carried in with them.

Joanne, 70, and Byron Bartlett, whose Coffey Park home of 27 years and all of its contents were destroyed, walked away with new jackets as part of the event’s coat giveaway. In fact, the older couple left with so much that he had to take her walker and she his cane so they could handle the goods they were ferrying out the door.

“I’m just really impressed,” said Byron, 75, as he got choked up. “It all just keeps coming - the turkey, the canned goods, the gift cards. This week is all about ‘Thank you for everything.’”

With so many in need, the Mission mobilized some 550 volunteers to fill to-go “Blessing Bags” full of fresh vegetables, turkeys and nonperishables; paint faces and run a jumping castle for children. The outpouring of support had much to do with recognizing the heightened need given the unique circumstances.

“What a great feeling, really,” said Kalen Roloff Geck, of Rohnert Park, who helped direct visitors to the right places. “It’s definitely that idea that you fill your cup by filling someone else’s cup.”

The students at Lytle’s Beauty College in Larkfield-Wikiup settled in for seven-hour shifts of cutting hair and doing nails at no charge. For fellow Rohnert Park resident Randy Huling, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and needs a wheelchair on some days, the fresh trim and shave before a bite to eat left him with a renewed sense that he could face the day.

“That weighs on me all the time,” he said of his MS, “so to have something like this where I can take my mind off of it … it just feels good. It kind of makes me forget about everything else going on. It just makes it better.”