* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Heroes Among Us Weekly - November 23, 2004 Read About Everyday Heroes And Be Inspired! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
----------------------------SPONSOR----------------------------- FREE Wendy's(r) Frosty(r) Jrs. for you and a friend! Hurry...supplies are limited! Click now! <A href=" http://ed.myfree.com/r/r.php?src=myf974 ">Click Here</a> ---------------------------------------------------------------- SHARE YOUR HERO STORY! <A href=" http://ed.myfree.com/r/r.php?src=myf458 ">Click Here</a> One of the other editors here passes along this story that she found in the Chicago Tribune. While the story is from last year�s issue (Nov. 25, 2003, to be exact), the story is still very touching and worth sharing with each of you. I wish all of you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving � together! Today's Hero: Rex W. Huppke, a Tribune staff reporter, covered the story of Bob Vogelbaugh, a guy with lots of pep and vigor � but an average man just the same. Bob has been organizing a Thanksgiving dinner open to everyone and anyone in the town of Moline, Illinois. What started with just a handful of people in the back apartment of his grocery store has turned into a full-on banquet for 2,000 people. While Bob is the driving force behind the dinner, many people don�t even know his name � they just call him Mr. Thanksgiving. He has been heading up the Thanksgiving feasts for 34 years now. The people who attend are a mix from Moline and the surrounding towns. Elderly people chat with college kids who couldn�t make it home for the holiday. Whole families and confirmed bachelors share tables with truck drivers who are on their routes and away from home. The celebration has moved from Vogelbaugh's dining room to the spacious, circular food court at the Moline mall. For many who grew up in this cluster of Mississippi River towns, the dinner represents the true meaning of Thanksgiving, with Vogelbaugh as essential an ingredient as cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. A 62-year-old social worker with round wire-rimmed glasses and a Cheshire grin, he is Thanksgiving's version of Santa Claus. "He's one of the most unforgettable characters you'll meet," said Terry Masek, who has worked at Vogelbaugh's dinners along with hundreds of other volunteers. "He seems to feed off helping people." Vogelbaugh wouldn't disagree but is quick to note the dinner isn't a charity event. "Lonely people don't want to go to a charity dinner," he said. "This is for all people, anyone who just wants some fellowship. We try to get the feeling of the first Thanksgiving, just a gathering of all different folks." The idea for the dinner was hatched more than 30 years ago when Vogelbaugh ran a small grocery store in downtown Moline. Many of his customers were retirees living in apartments above stores or in nearby high-rises. Vogelbaugh started asking his regulars what they were doing for Thanksgiving. The common response was, "Oh, it's just another day to be alone." As word of the dinners spread, more people showed up, and somewhere along the line the peppy host was dubbed Mr. Thanksgiving. Now he has his hands full. Along with 1,000 pounds of turkey, Vogelbaugh will serve hundreds of bowls of dressing, mashed potatoes and green beans, 25 gallons of strawberry fluff salad and several grocery-cart loads of smooth cranberry sauce (the older diners don't care for seeds). Coffee, ice cream, soft drinks, donated homemade pies and about 400 volunteers will fill out the day. There�s even a band that plays dinner music and the annual favorite Hokey Pokey. Despite the dinner's amenities, volunteers say Vogelbaugh is clearly the reason the event succeeds. He's an enthusiasm-generator, Mr. Rogers with a caffeine buzz, a chronic optimist who loudly encourages everyone to "have a super-duper-dandy peachy-keen day." It now costs about $8,000 to run the community dinner, which is funded by donations ranging from $1,800 raised by a group of grade-school children to a couple of wrinkled dollar bills from an elderly woman who wrote that she wished she could give more. Last year, nine days before Thanksgiving, Vogelbaugh sat in a booth at the Quad Cities USA diner and dabbed a handkerchief to his eyes, hoping to keep tears out of his julienne salad. A crusty waitress had just handed him five $20 bills, her donation for the next dinner. "I ... I come from a big family, and I know what you do," the woman muttered, her gruff demeanor melting. "And I just ..." Her voice trailed off, tears welled in her eyes and she walked away. Vogelbaugh choked up too. Vicki Birdsell-Baker, a 4th-grade teacher in Moline, has helped Vogelbaugh with 32 dinners and still marvels at how much the community chips in. "There are people who come back every year just to do the potatoes," she said. "We have one family--a father, mother and two children--who come back every year and do the dishes. It's amazing. I think that is one of the most beautiful things about it." Copyright (c) 2003, Chicago Tribune The best thing we can be is the hero of another. Sincerely, Susan Derby Heroes Among Us Editor All heroes start as everyday people that do extraordinary feats. Tell us about your hero, whether they are 2 or 102. <A href=" http://ed.myfree.com/r/r.php?src=myf458 ">Click Here</a> Or share comment about today's story on our bulletin boards: <A href=" http://ed.myfree.com/r/r.php?src=mbb8 ">Click Here</a> ----------------------------SPONSOR----------------------------- You've Won! Click below to see what it is and claim your prize. <A href=" http://ed.myfree.com/r/r.php?src=myf1002 ">Click Here</a> ---------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : : : : : EDITOR'S NOTE : : : : : : : : : : The holidays are fully upon us! 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