The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 9, Ed. 1, Friday, September 26, 1986 Page: 3 of 8
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Vacter Burson receives her lunch from Ko Jo Kal members Leo Ann Brown and Susan Samslll.
.Meats roceplent Ruby Mobloy
Kitchen supervisor Maxlne Northrup.
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.tC firm f
Wheels
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A table In the Meals offlcos.
. XStory by Dawn-Elizabeth Treat ' .
Photography
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by J. Mark Kegans. ;
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Program benefit
extend to others
besides recipients
It is 7 In the morning and Maxine
Northrop has been at work for half
an hour. Maxine is the kitchen
supervisor for Meals on Wheels
and today like every other day she
and her small staff arc busy prepar-
ing more than 350 meals for the
homebound elderly and disabled in
Abilene.
By noon the cooking is com-
pleted and Maxine ana her crew
are packaging meals into the
styrofoam containers volunteers
begin placing in their cars.
This was a very good project
and I needed a job. It was a good
combination" she says as she tucks'
a rebellious strand of graying hair
back into her hair net. Maxine has
been working at Meals on Wheels
for the last three years.
Maxine plans the menu for
Meals on Wheels on a hree-wcek
schedule she said. Today the
center is serving a ravioli dish with
salad brocolli and gelatin. The
center's meals always contain meat
vegetables salad dessert bread
and milk.
Recipients who are on special
diets for health reasons are served
meals that fit their requirements.
In the past these meals were
bought from Hendrick Medical
Center but now 156 special meals
a day are prepared in the Universi-
ty Baptist Church kitchen. Kitchen
staff mark the boxes these meals go
in with the name and address of the
recipient and they are given to the
volunteer drivers.
Maxine stops from her explain-'
ing and with the hem of her apron
mops away the tiny sweat beads
that have begun to form on her
forehead.
"The kitchen's awfully hot" she
says "but I can't complain. The
University Church has been so
good to let us use their kitchen. We
just have the one stove though
and sometimes not all the burners
work."
Meals on Wheels is involved in a
campaign to raise the $247000
they need to build a new facility
that would allow Maxine and her
staff to prepare up to 600 meals a
day. The campaign is $45000
dollars short of the money they
need to build the new center
which will be located on a lot at
North 10th and Mesquite Streets
on land leased by the University
Church of Christ at the rate of $1
for the next 99 years
Lee Ann Brown and Susan Sam-
sill both of Ko Jo Kai arrive at the
center shortly before noon to
deliver meals to the she houses on
their route. The women of Ko Jo
Kai are responsible for covering
this mini-route every day a pro-
gram they began this semester.
Lee Ann and Susan load the con-
tainers of food into a box and grab
sue boxes of milk to put in an ice
chest. They load them into Lee
Ann's car laughing as they try to
position the boxes so that people
on their route won't be served a
goulash of ravioli and gelatin.
The car is a new one and their
conversation is animated as Lee
Ann and Susan drive around look-
ing for houses on streets that seem
' to have moved since the last time
they did the route.
Lee Ann a senior marketing ma-
jor from Bedford explains over her
shoulder how the Kojies organize
the route with one girl being in
charge each day. Her explanation is
punctuated by exclamations of
''turn herd" and "I think that's the
house!" from Susan a senior
advertising major from Forth
Worth.
"It's only our second time doing
the rouic she explains "and last
time a staff member came vith us
and told us where to turn."
While the Kojies are trying to
And other houses on their route
3
Ruby Mobley waits in the Indian
summer sun on a forgotten streelin
North Abilene. 'f
She waits on a porch with paint
lined and weathered by 'the
elements. Her house is surrounded
by a wire fence enclosing a Va?d
that once may have been kept
manicured and green. Now it looks
tired with only a few defiant pat-
ches of green dotting its surface-
Susan and Lee Aim pull upto
the house their collegiate perfec-
tion a sharp contrast to the faded
world they step into. They fake
Mrs. Mobley her meal and she
smiles as she asks them to put it'&v
side as if the meal was not what
she has been waiting for.
"My house used to be full of col-
lege kids" she says. "Now there's
no one but me." t
Mrs. Mobley raised five children
in this house. Some of them .she
says went to Hardin-Simmoiis.
One of her sons lives with her now
"He's not the baby though" She
says with what sounds like a tfSfcc
of pride. "The baby's 37 nttW.
Th one's 46." :-.
We ask if we can takeover picture
for a story we're writing jipd
blushing with an almosf adolescent
modesty of one who knows better
she says "Sure but I'll probably
break the camera."
Pictures taken we start back
toward the car and on the wayto
the next house.
"Hey is this going to be in the
paper?' she calls. Wc nod and she
smiles pushing back a stray lockpf
once-blonde hair. "You'll havqjto
bring me one then." We promise
to.
Back in the car the girb are
quieter "They tell us not to talk
too long to just leave the meals and
go" says Lee Ann. "But they
always want to talk. They seem so
lonely."
The last meal on the route -is
delivered and they head backto
the Meals on Wheels headquarters.
JBetty Blazier executive director of
the program steps out of her office
as we return to see if there is
anything else we need. 1
Later this afternoon she Will
make home visits to potential red-
gients of the free meals. Both
lazier and a social worker from
the Texas Department of Human
Services will visit the person being
considered for the service.
The Texas -Department Jbf
Human Services funds 30 percent
of the cost on meals for individuals
that meet their criteria for n&d.
The 20 percent of the people inlhe
Meals on Wheels program who
do not qualify for free meals maks a
small donation to cover part of .the
cost of the meals. Donations from
the community make up the .dif-
ference Blazier says.
Fifty percent of the Mealsbn
Wheels budget relies on contribu-
tions and the 25 member boardfcf
directors works on a volunteer
basis. When Blazier began her. job
as director in 1975 -it was also a
volunteer position. Now she
works with a core group of pajd
staff to coordinate the growirjg
program.
"I didn't have family here whcn
I moved from Colorado" Blazier
explains when asked about her in-
volvement in Meals on Wheels. 'l
grew up with grandparents arjd
great aunts and when I came down
here there were no elderly people
to be involved with. I had a need o
have contact with older people and
this filled it."
Meals on Wheels not only effects
the lives of those it serves meals to
The workers the volunteer drivers
and the community are all affected
by the program Students wHo
want to be a part of this service are
encouraged to call the Meals on
Wheels office at 672-5050. .v '
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 74, No. 9, Ed. 1, Friday, September 26, 1986, newspaper, September 26, 1986; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth92070/m1/3/?q=%22%22~1&rotate=180: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.