Journal file photo by Fritz Busch Digging into the New Ulm Community Friends Thanksgiving Dinner several years ago are from left, Finley, Ezra, and Jessie Sobania all of New Ulm. The dinner begins at 11 a.m. Thanksgiving Day in the lower level of St. Mary’s Church.

NEW ULM — Thanks to the benevolence of local farmers and lots of volunteers, New Ulm Community Friends Thanksgiving Dinner Co-Chairman Les Schultz said he feels as good as ever about the event this year.

“It’s wonderful. This is the first year my volunteer list is almost full several days before Thanksgiving. It takes more than 150 volunteers to make this go,” Schultz said. “I only need a few turkey carvers at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and some potato peelers at 1 or 3 p.m. Wednesday. Even my dishwasher list is full now.”

He plans to serve more than 1,500 meals this year.

“I think we’ll be very busy. Last year we had no food left after dinner, which is good. We planned to have a bit more food this year,” said Schultz.

A wet spring this year got the best of most of the butternut squash harvested by the Sentence to Service (STS) crew near the Minnesota River.

Farmers came to the rescue.

“Gulden Family Farm said they had bumper crops of everything this year. They donated 100 pounds of squash, 65 pounds of onions and 500 pounds of potatoes,” said Schultz. “Another farmer donated 150 pounds of squash.”

He said retired Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) folks will begin cooking squash on Monday, like they have for decades for the 37th annual dinner.

Schultz said the Turner Ladies are making 130 pies this year, most of them from pumpkins.

He said people can begin dining buffet-style or receive take-outs at 11 a.m. Thursday. Home delivery is available within the New Ulm city limits. Call Mary Ellen at 354-3045 before Nov. 25 for delivery.

The event is funded by free-will donations. Everything is made from scratch.

Thirty-seven years ago, Jim Thomas of New Ulm and his family planned to leave town for Thanksgiving. A snowstorm kept them from leaving. Thomas and his family stayed in New Ulm and celebrated Thanksgiving with other families in town including the Bill Koeckeritz family. They continued to organize the dinner for years as it continued to expand in size.

Many volunteers have been involved with the dinner for a long time. John Luepke of Courtland has been volunteering with the dinner for about three decades, helping prepare squash and serving vegetables in the take-out line. He said he enjoys seeing old friends and visiting with people each year.

For more information, visit Community Friends Thanksgiving Dinner on Facebook.