Time Machine: Turkey and roses

George Gebran came to the United States from Lebanon in 1969.

He opened George’s Steak House in Oelwein in 1974. In 1976, he became a co-owner of the Butterfly Café in Cedar Rapids and its sole owner a year later.

With his business well established in November 1980, Gebran, then 31, decided he wanted to serve a free Thanksgiving turkey dinner to older city residents at his restaurant.

“Someday I’ll be old myself,” he reasoned.

He contacted Kathy Drummond, who coordinated volunteers at the Linn County Council on Aging, and told her he needed to have 200 to 250 people come for the dinner to make the effort worthwhile.

Drummond, however, told him he would run into problems because many older people used the city buses, and there was no bus service on Thanksgiving.

By Nov. 15, only 40 people had signed up. The Gazette ran a story Nov. 18 about the free dinner, noting that two things were needed: older people to attend and volunteers to get them there.

By the end of the next day, more than 100 had signed up. And by Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, 340 people were on hand to enjoy a free turkey dinner at the Butterfly Cafe.

Volunteers brought people to the cafe in cars and on two buses, one from the city and one from the county.

The cafe only held 75 people, so diners were seated in 45-minute intervals throughout the day. The final guest left at 4:30 p.m.

When asked why he had hosted the meal, Gebran said, “God has been good to me. I came to this country 10 years ago, and I feel it’s the best country. Not enough people in the world want to help each other.”

Gebran won the Cedar Rapids Area Convention & Visitors Bureau’s first Hospitality Award the following April.

Dinner grows

With the first Thanksgiving at the restaurant behind him, Gebran began planning for the next.

He had acquired the former Bishop Cafeteria on First Avenue, renaming it the Cedar House. He planned to serve 400 to 600 diners in 1981 and also have 25 meals delivered to people who couldn’t leave their homes.

He also ordered roses to give his guests on Thanksgiving Day.

Inspired by Gebran’s generosity, Cedar Rapids dentist Dr. Duane Schmidt called Gebran and asked what he could do to help.

“Bus tables,” Gebran told him.

Gebran served 650 people that Thanksgiving and announced the big dinner was going to become his annual hobby.

But a sagging economy and a drop in business got in the way of those plans, and Gebran closed the Cedar House. (He ended up in Arizona, where the Gebran family now owns six successful U.S. Egg restaurants.)

Schmidt steps in

Schmidt, concerned that the free dinner would not happen in 1982, told the Council on Aging he would pay for the meal if the council would do the organizing.

“It was such a thrilling experience, I wanted to continue the grand tradition,” he said. “It’s one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done.”

Dick Osing, then-executive director of the Council on Aging, estimated it would cost $3,000 to $4,000 to prepare and serve the dinner. He rented the Washington High School cafeteria, where the kitchen staff volunteered to work.

On Thanksgiving Day, more than 75 volunteers served more than 500 meals and delivered 40 meals to homes.

Schmidt made sure every guest received a long-stemmed red rose. A band assembled for the dinner played a variety of music that inspired clapping, singing and dancing.

Life Investors, AEGON

After the festivities were over, Live Investors Insurance, at 4333 Edgewood Rd. NE, offered its facilities for the 1983 dinner.

Schmidt again picked up the tab for the meal, while Osing rounded up volunteers, including former Iowa Gov. Robert Ray, president of Life Investors, and his wife, Billie. The Rays greeted guests and served dinners.

The Life Investors dining hall seated 275 people, so meals were served at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m., at tables covered with linen tablecloths and linen napkins.

By 1986, the number of diners had increased to 830. In 1990, more than 1,300 people were served at the AEGON cafeteria, with another 290 meals delivered to people in their homes.

When Schmidt retired from his dental practice in 2004, he said the Thanksgiving meals would continue.

The meals continued to be free, with one exception. A homeless man always insisted on giving Schmidt a dollar, saying he wanted to help “the unfortunate.”

The annual dinners at AEGON continued through 2010. After that, meals were packed and delivered by Aging Services and volunteers.

Schmidt died at his home in Vinton on June 1, 2013, at age 83. And this year, the AEGON building, where thousands of free Thanksgiving meals had been served over the years, was demolished after being damaged in the August 2020 derecho.

Comments: D.fannonlangton@gmail.com