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Optimist Club of Coralville serves up Christmas meals
IOWA CITY - A nearly four-decade-old holiday tradition for the Optimist Club of Coralville carried on again Friday as members of the group served warm meals to residents at the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center.
Several dozen Iowa Citians - many of them residents of the Ecumenical Towers senior housing complex - attended the Christmas dinner at the center, located at 28 S. Linn St., for a meal of ham, sweet potato casserole, spinach salad, corn casserole and fruit pie with whipped topping.
Bob McLachlan, president of the Optimist Club of Coralville, said the group has been serving meals on Christmas Day for quite some time.
'I think it's getting close to 40 years,” he said.
McLachlan said serving the meal has become a tradition of sorts for the group's members.
It's a day of great public service, but it's also fun for the Optimist Club to get together for Christmas. It's fellowship of the holidays,” he said.
Having finished helping serve some meals, Janet Suchomel, 81, an event volunteer and Ecumenical Towers resident, sat down to enjoy a meal herself.
Suchomel also noted the feeling of holidays at the annual meal.
'I enjoy doing it and I like helping out,” said Suchomel, who has volunteered at the center several days a week since the 1980s. 'You see some familiar faces, but there are also newcomers.”
Meals for the dinner were cooked at the Elder Services North Liberty kitchen and transported to Iowa City for the meal. The program's Meals on Wheels service also operated Friday to take holiday meals to those unable to leave their homes.
Volunteer John Lundell hands a plate to a guest at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Ted Klopp of Iowa City gets some milk poured by volunteer, Laura Lundell, at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Volunteers John Saehler of Iowa City (left to right) Katy Saehler of Denver, Colorado and John Lundell of Iowa City serve a guest at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Betty and Wendell Barnes of Iowa City receive plates from volunteers behind the counter at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Jan McCauchlan of Coralville washes dishes at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Mary Potorff (left to right), Mary Dusterhoft, Liz Schwaigert, Helen McClean, and Elise Vega gather around a table to enjoy a meal together at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Elsie Vega of Iowa City eats her meal with friends at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Volunteer Monk Leonard of Iowa City pours milk into a server at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Pie is set out offered as a desert as a part of the meal at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Volunteer John Lundell loads creamed corn onto a plate at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Janet Suchomel of Iowa City at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
Elsie Vega of Iowa City talks with friends while eating at the Senior Center in Iowa City on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. Elder Services works with over a dozen volunteers to serve around Christmas meals at the Center as well as helping a number of volunteers to deliver nearly 100 meals to homes in the area. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)
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