Mt. Hope/Nanjemoy Elementary School held its 35^th Senior Citizen Thanksgiving Community Dinner Friday, Nov. 22. The event — shelved twice in recent years due to COVID restrictions — brings together senior citizens in the community and beyond to meet, eat and get treated to a student performance.

The annual dinner was started by the late Elvira Barnes, a Mt. Hope teacher who later became a school counselor. She held a small Thanksgiving meal in her classroom for her students and their parents that grew into a community-wide event.

Mason Proctor, a member of the Mt. Hope community, has been visiting the Thanksgiving celebration when Barnes was still in charge of it. “For the fellowship,” is the reason he keeps coming back, he said. Connie Bannister, a former secretary at the school, took the reins from Barnes to keep the event going.  Bannister has been retired for six years but returns each November to volunteer. Once Bannister retired, school staff continued the tradition with many signing up to cook and serve the meal. 

Staff members have come to look forward to the event and welcoming senior citizens into the school’s cafeteria. “There is a sense of community here,” Kara Safford, learning resource teacher, said.

Students from Henry E. Lackey High School — many of whom are Mt. Hope alumni — volunteer to take drink and serve drink orders. It’s an unofficial kick off to the holiday season and a way to give back. “I think it’s important to reach out in the community,” Eliza Freundel, a Lackey junior, said.

Dinner and a show

This year, fifth graders performed “The Turkeys Go on Strike,” a three-part skit that they largely choreographed and scripted, save for the songs, music teacher Tiffany Gump said. The opening number sees turkeys going on strike after noticing their numbers dwindling around this time of year. “I haven’t seen my wife in weeks,” one “turkey” lamented.

The second skit depicts pilgrims landing on American soil after 66 days and 66 nights of a turbulent boat voyage and in need of a bath. A football team looks to their coach in the beginning of the third scene before realizing the meaning of Thanksgiving is not football and food, it is being thankful for the good things in their lives.

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides 27,765 students in grades prekindergarten through 12 with an academically challenging education. Located in Southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that offer a technologically advanced, progressive and high quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, careers and higher education.

The Charles County public school system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries, please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (students) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (employees/ adults), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, P.O. Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.  CCPS provides nondiscriminatory equal access to school facilities in accordance with its Use of Facilities rules to designated youth groups (including, but not limited to, the Boy Scouts).