A Community Well Served
Welcome to the Tec-We-Gwill Hall in Newton Robinson. While The Marmaladies could have gone further afield to discover other halls, we felt it was important to recognize our hall, in this our 75th Anniversary Year.
What our hall means to us in one word is “Community”: a meeting place for members, a central hub for activities, lectures, authors’ nights, talent shows and its most recognized feature, community lunches.
Ten times a year TecWe-Gwill WI invites the local community to lunch. There is a varied menu, always starting with a welcome cup of coffee or tea, followed by hot mains with vegetables, roll and homemade desserts. There is a fabulous kitchen where one can easily create a meal made from scratch. Lunch for 60 guests at $10 each is the cap. Since the program can produce lunch for under $4 per person this results in a surplus of funds which goes to support local initiatives and charities.
The connections these lunches create are far reaching as we get to know area residents who we wouldn’t have met otherwise. For example, we get to know Dorothy, the local egg lady, Bill, the hall caretaker who comes and brings his friend Ted, and the local author who came well into his 90’s. Some groups come early to select a table together. We love the fact that people arrive 45 minutes early to socialize and then stay well after lunch service, lingering over their last cup of coffee. It is always happy chatter which is indicative of the benefit of sharing a meal with others.
Announcements regarding the WI are always the first order of business, further engaging the community in our endeavours. This is followed by grace delivered by a guest. This guest is appreciated by their tablemates who are then first to be served! The service of food comes with a personal greeting to neighbors and a quick check in on families. A few volunteers circulate while serving tea and coffee and take another opportunity to interact and make sure everybody is enjoying their lunch.
It takes about eight WI members to prepare, serve and clean up: some coming for the whole day and some for part. When lunch is over and the last guest has left, it’s their turn to eat. While service is on the dot of 12p.m. lunch for the volunteers usually happens about 1:30 p.m., eating what’s left over. There are some wonderful husbands who are also involved as needed for prep and clean up. A perfect meal is when everything is gone and there are smiles all around for another successful community lunch!
At the end of the day these lunches serve not just a meal but a sense of community to all who attend. During the pandemic the most frequent question has been … when do lunches start again? We hope that we can now answer, very soon!
