Thirty years ago, an important program was started to provide nutritionally balanced meals for people 60 and older. Senior dining also provides a social outlet for diners to visit and participate in planned activities. In order to keep costs to a minimum, the program was set up to utilize volunteers with only a few paid employees. Kimball was one of the first sites, opening March 19, 1974. At that time, Kimball was a cooking site. Theresa Zahler was hired as head cook, assisted by Evelyn Donnay with Delores Nystrom as substitute cook. Director of Nutrition was Rozella Borman, who was assisted by her husband Bill, who worked alongside the cooks and ran the dining room for seven years. Other directors of nutrition, now called Site Coordinators, were Vivian Gunnerson Vadner and Ken Bates. When it was decided to move the cooking site to Maple Lake, Vivian was employed there and Theresa moved into the coordinator position. Theresa retired in August 1999, after 25 years of service and I, Rosalea Hoeft, gladly accepted the job, which I happen to love. Tidbits of history As previously mentioned, volunteers are a vital part of this program. In 1978, Martin and Viola Ashfeld began volunteering. They chauffeured participants who needed transportation, delivered Meals on Wheels, and worked in the kitchen and dining room. Today, 26 years later, you will find Martin still volunteering one day a week. Walter and Marjorie Stalkamp volunteered in the kitchen and dining room for many years. Archie Tanberg also served as a chauffeur for diners, and helps in other areas. Maymie Ecker continues to volunteer as the bulletin board lady. Bob Jeppesen delivered Meals on Wheels for many years, up until the fall of 2002. The suggested contribution for the meal began at 50 cents. It increased to $2.50 in 1999, and today it is $3. Tell me, where else can you get a balanced meal, plus dessert and coffee, for $3? Because it is only a suggested contribution, diners can pay more or less. If a diner is not able to pay, that is not a problem. The program was designed to see that seniors got one balanced meal a day. For our anniversary celebration we reverted to a $2 suggested contribution, with the balance being paid from our activity fund. One of the things suggested in my directive was to figure out who had dined at the site the longest, but that turned out to be difficult to determine. Martin comes once a week; Theresa Z. dines once a month; and Delores dines with us occasionally as well. Senior dining today The present kitchen and dining room staff includes Maymie Ecker, Sally Hilary, Martin Ashfeld, Jerry Hoeft and Earl Weisel, with Alice Stelten as a substitute. The current Meals on Wheels drivers are Art Runde, Neil Hilary, Fred Jacobs, Vi Gillman and Anita Hoefer. Sally Hilary subs as needed. Other volunteers on the roster not previously mentioned include Betsy Stelton, Alvina Berscheid, Dorothy Jensen, Katherine Becker and Anna Boese. Maymie did a special bulletin board for the occasion. Sally was in charge of the decorations. Vi Gillman and Katherine were greeters for the day. Special music was provided by Richard Eckman and his friends, Dick Kisch, and Ken and Betty Lou Hoeft. It was delightful and I even saw some toe-tapping. As one observer put it, there were many hearts dancing to the music, even if the bodies weren’t quite up to it. I thought it would have been nice to serve an identical menu as the first meal served in 1974, but I couldn’t’ find any record of it. This year, diners enjoyed turkey roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, country blend vegetables, applesauce Jell-o, dinner bun, and apple cake and ice cream. Thank you to Knaus Sausage House for donating a meat-and-cheese platter to serve with the coffee and punch before dinner. The KEYS (Kimball Elementary Youth Service) members and their advisor Kris O’Brien attended the meal. Once again, they served the diners and assisted with table clearing. Jean Doran Matua from the Tri-County News was present to take pictures and dine with us. Thanks a lot, Jean. Thank you to all my volunteers. I doubt I could express the deep appreciation I have for each of you. Maymie, Sally, Anita and Martin, your efficiency made everything go smoothly. Paul Berg, who delivers the food to Kimball from Maple Lake, thanks; I appreciate how you help with serving and anything else I ask you to do. To the cook, Pat, and her assistant cook, Luann: the two of you are marvelous! You both are great, and your food is wonderful. Theresa attended as a guest, but she ended up cleaning in the kitchen. All in all, I think it was a good celebration. A number of the diners expressed their appreciation for the good meal. Some commented on how well organized things were. Thank you. Thank the volunteers. One of my first impressions when I was hired was how hot the food is when it arrives. To this day I am still impressed by that. Senior dining continues to offer a variety of activities including Euchre two times a week, Bingo twice a month, blood pressures once a month, and foot clinics every-other month.
