By PATRICK BUCHNOWSKI
JOHNSTOWN — For Debbie Barkman and her family, Thursday was truly a day to give thanks.
They were among more than
200 people who crowded the tables from noon to 4 p.m. at Nunzio’s Pizzeria at College Park Plaza in Richland Township.
It’s wasn’t pizza they came for. It was turkey and companionship.
Nunzio’s hosted its fourth annual free Thanksgiving meal. The dinner included turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, ham and pie.
Barkman, of Johnstown, arrived with four grandchildren, her daughter and son-in-law.
“Without this we wouldn’t have had anything this year,” she said. “It’s been a difficult year for my family. Thank God for places like this.”
Steve and Sam Johncola co-own the business. They learned long ago what Thanksgiving is about.
“A lot of people are alone and don’t have the atmosphere of a family,” Steve Johncola said. “That’s what we’re trying to do here.
“Our parents always taught us to give back when you have the opportunity,” he said.
Johncola said he arrived at 5 a.m. to prepare the food.
“We cooked 18 turkeys today and six hams,” Johncola said. “You’ve got to get the turkey ready early.”
This Thanksgiving came with additional anxiety, he said.
“I was a little anxious this year because of the economy,” Johncola said. “It’s been a little busier this year. We didn’t have enough seats at one point.”
Russell Oaks, of Salix, has been gobbling up turkey at Nunzio’s for four years. He, too, was glad Nunzio’s rolled out the red carpet for total strangers.
“There aren’t a lot of places open where you can get a Thanksgiving meal,” he said.
There also were pony rides for the children. Ponies not more than 30 inches tall pulled them around the parking lot in a cart.
More then 30 volunteers and employees pull together each year make the dinner possible.
Steven Anslinger, his wife, Valerie, and son, Mitch, 14, have been serving hungry eaters for four years.
“We looked around to volunteer to teach our son about helping the community,”
Steven Anslinger said.
Valerie spotted an article in the newspaper about the dinner.
“I’m like, ‘let’s do this,’ ” she recalled. She telephoned Nunzio’s and volunteered her family.
The volunteers and employees on Thursday also brought turkey dinners to Richland police, East Hills Ambulance crews and Marines at the Johns-town-Cambria County Airport.
The Johncola’s provided transportation for those without cars.
Those like Barkman and her family left knowing they are part of an extended family.
“We’re blessed to be able to come here,” she said.
