Volunteer Penny Seidl serves a Thanksgiving meal to Charles Fox of Lake Linden as Mary Chandonais of Lake Linden watches during Little Brothers Friends of the Elderly’s Thanksgiving dinner in Calumet. (Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette)

CALUMET — For people looking to serve and those looking for companionship on the holidays, the Little Brothers Thanksgiving dinners have become a holiday staple.

The Calumet site was one of seven across the Copper Country and Marquette where Little Brothers hosted sitdown meals. 

Edythe Juve of Calumet had come to one of the dinners last year when her husband was alive. She came back again this year to “honor the tradition.”

The dinners give her a chance to meet people.

“Supportive, socializing, keep my mind going — all of those good things,” she said. 

She was chatting with Rudy Schmitt of Calumet, who she’d never met until they wound up sitting next to each other. He also enjoys coming to the dinners for socializing. 

Schmitt has lost track of how many years he’s been coming to them. It’s at least 15, possibly 20. 

“It’s very appreciated by all of the people that get here,” he said. “Otherwise, a lot of us would be home alone. This way, we’ve got people to talk with. You feel better.”

Mary Chandonais began coming to the dinners several years ago after her friend Charles Fox, also of Lake Linden, told her about them. 

“Everybody’s friendly and happy, that’s the best part,” she said. 

The meal came together under the supervision of lead volunteer David Crowley, who also serves on the LBFE board. He’s following in the footsteps of his mother, who had helped with the meals. When she died in 1995, he stepped in to fill her place. 

Crowley started in the kitchen under the leadership of Barb and Dave King, eventually co-running the kitchen with Barb. After she died, he took over leading the meals. 

While he doesn’t want to stop, this might have to be his last Thanksgiving taking on that much, he said. 

What’s kept him involved all these years is what the meals do for people. The crowds have been smaller since COVID, as people got used to doing things at home, he said. But those who still come will get a good meal — and a collection of old (or new) friends.

“It’s just seeing the people get a chance to come up and do this and meet with each other and have some place to go,” he said. “I’ve just always believed that we’re put on the earth to help people. So I keep doing it as much as I can… if everybody in the world was like that, think of how different things would be. I just love seeing people get something that makes their day better.”