A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Wearing his best Santa hat, Larry Weber waits to serve a helping of B&B meatballs to Mae Line while Julie Beal serves green beans to Line and Lil Abrahamson during the community Christmas meal at Zion Lutheran Church Tuesday. Line said they celebrated at home the night before and decided to attend the community meal with family for the first time on Christmas Day. Photos by Jana Peterson/ Pine Knot News
Dave Johnson and his children have made serving others one of their family traditions at Christmas. Pictured (from left) are Dave, Deborah, Vivi and Raffy Johnson, in front of two giant gingerbread men donated by Mark Edwards of The Exchange.
Vivi Johnson plans a delivery route with volunteer driver Ted Lammi.
Most families have traditions at Christmas, whether it's oyster stew on Christmas Eve or goofy Christmas pajamas for Christmas morning.
Cloquet's Dave Johnson and his kids have made a tradition of serving others, by organizing an enormous free community meal at Zion Lutheran Church.
It all started 25 years ago, when Dave - along with other members of Zion - decided to host a community meal on Christmas Day. Eventually it got so big the meal became its own organization, although the church still plays a major role. Many individuals and businesses donate money, food and time to help make it happen, but Johnson is always there, pulling the strings, asking for donations, making a list and checking it twice.
Vivi said her dad started the meal in memory of his mother, Agnes Reed Johnson, who was a longtime cook at Zion. His kids have been involved for a long time, but ramped up their efforts a few years ago when Dad, now 78, had a "close call with heaven."
As a result, the Christmas Day Dinner had to be canceled that year.
They swore it would never happen again.
Last year, Dave got a bad cold and Vivi and Raffy sent him home.
"He finally knew we'd be able to keep it going in the future," she said.
This year they fed nearly 600 people, plus 50-some volunteers. More than 100 meals were delivered to people who were unable to leave their homes.
It was controlled chaos when folks started lining up for food, as volunteer drivers kept taking boxed meals out the back door.
"This is the best part," said Vivi with a smile, before turning to tell Father Justin Fish, Ted Lammi and others where they would be making their next deliveries.
