Many people in the area chose to spend their Easter Sunday sharing in good food and fellowship with their community.
The annual Easter Dinner returned to the Veteran’s Memorial Civic Center and with it came people looking to share in the spirit of the holiday with others they might not normally get to meet.
“It’s really neat to see people intermingle from all types of walks of life be able to come together in one place and enjoy each other’s company,” said Tom Ahl, who is in his third year of hosting the 27-year-old tradition.
William Hittle, 65, made this his first year to attend the dinner, saying he was most looking forward to seeing new faces, as well as some old ones.
“This is wonderful,” said Dustin’s uncle, William Hittle, 64. “I mean I’m glad to get to see different people and I’ve seen some of my friends that I know, too. They come here too, to enjoy themselves for Easter dinner.”
His nephew, Dustin Hittle, 28, decided to come after hearing about it on the news last year. He says it provides a great service to those who have nowhere else to go.
“It’s just a great place to meet folks and hang out and chat,” said Dustin Hittle. “It’s a safe place to go, especially for people that are on the streets that don’t have any dinners to go to and don’t have family around."
The Ahl family expected to serve around 500 meals by the end of their two-hour serving window.
