It was the first Thanksgiving to which Gayle “Mac” McCray had looked forward in many years.
Once a softball star at Catawba College, then a coach and a homeowner, she lost it all when her adoptive parents died.
“I lost all the family I knew in three months,” said McCray, now a 55-year-old resident of The Shepherd’s House.
Things changed after that. Her reasons for living, the softball dreams and her family, were gone.
“The road looked good. Money, drugs, all of it,” she said. “It did not show the end of the road. It didn’t show you sleeping under a bridge in a plastic bag.”
Holidays came and went. They were for other people.
McCray recalled spending Thanksgivings sitting on steps, looking at cars driving by, or one year eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich someone was giving away at a bus station.
Though she had been in and out of homeless shelters and treatment facilities, when she started The Shepherd’s House program less than a month ago, something shifted.
“The love people have been giving me, it’s been overwhelming,” she said. “It made me realize I am somebody. I can leave here today and know, ‘I can.’”
McCray entered the program at a time when the crisis prevention center was busy helping the Friends of a Brighter Community prepare for the 19th-Annual Free Community Thanksgiving Day Dinner at the First Baptist Church in Mount Airy.
Cooking and getting ready reminded McCray of how the holiday used to feel in the past, she said.
Her attitude has helped enrich the holiday for Mary Boyles, director of the center.
“I’m so humbled for her overwhelming thankfulness for what’s happening tomorrow,” Boyles said on Wednesday.
“I want to be like her because I’ve had all those Thanksgivings and all that. I want to be more humble and not take things for granted.”
At the dinner, which was held Thursday from noon to 3 p.m., McCray helped serve and ate with her Shepherd’s House roommate, Kimberly Duncan, and Duncan’s 11-month-old daughter.
“I’m here having fun,” McCray said. “My Thanksgiving is blessed.”
Sharing blessings
This year’s event started off with a prayer led by William Monk, a volunteer, who encouraged folks to “get your eyes off the world for a while.”
Daris Wilkins Roemer took over this year as director of the event, which has grown to provide Thanksgiving dinner for about 350 to 400 people annually.
Roemer said she’s been a part of it since the beginning.
“The year before, I had my first Thanksgiving by myself,” she said, and wanted to make sure the tradition continued.
“There’s always a place if you’re by yourself, lonely or don’t have the money,” she said. “You can get a good meal, fellowship and some good laughs.”
Feeding that many people is a lot of work.
“I’ve had so many wonderful people helping this year,” Roemer said.
Walmart and Olympia Restaurant made donations, local chef Chris Wishart provided the green beans.
The volunteers are too many to name.
Local Brownie troop 02656 made the community dinner one of their service projects, and the nine girls worked for weeks gathering donations.
“Each girl at their church set up boxes for food to bring in,” said Summer Ward, troop leader. They canvassed businesses and churches, raising $200 to buy rolls and getting Biscuitville to donate tea.
“They worked their little butts off getting donations for this,” said Candace Ward, also a troop leader. “They did an amazing job.
Summer Ward said it’s been a valuable experience for the troop, which also help serve on Thursday.
“It’s been amazing to be able to show them there’s less fortunate people, that we might be in their position and we might need help too,” she said.
Candace Ward said, “It was a good lesson for the girls to know the meaning of giving and what the day is all about.”
Up to their elbows
The church kitchen was bustling as volunteers cooked, filled take-out boxes full of food and everybody’s favorite – washing dishes, a task assigned to Jaimi Scott and his son Tré Scott.
“We’ve done this every year since he was six,” Jaimi Scott said. “I wanted to show him we’re blessed with what we have, and to learn to share our blessings with others. We love it. We love coming here.”
Cindy Adams stirred gravy while her husband, Rick Adams, worked in the take-out line. The couple had just moved to Mount Airy from Vermont two weeks ago.
“We wanted to give back to the community that we’re coming to know,” Cindy Adams said.
The volunteers’ collective hard work paid off.
“We enjoyed it,” said Ray Chappell, laughing after a Brownie “waitress” refilled his coffee.
Nearby, Kenneth Robertson also said he enjoyed the dinner.
Eating at the same table, Teddy Wolfe said “the best part of being here is being able to jump in,” getting up to clear his plate and bring his table mates dessert.
“I served in the Army,” he said. “I can’t just sit by and watch.”
And neither could any of the plentiful volunteers there that day.
