Cooking 14 turkeys is a bit odd for Joan Smith.
See, she’s a vegetarian, and the Thanksgiving Day birds are not destined for her table.
“But I don’t mind cooking turkeys,” Smith said.
The day before Thanksgiving, Smith woke up extra early from her Clinton home and began basting and cooking the 24-pound fowls at 5 a.m.
Smith sees her labor for the Mobile Turkey Unit that delivers Thanksgiving meals of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, yams, green beans, cranberry sauce, gravy and pumpkin pies to residents across Whidbey Island as an extension of someone else’s work — that of Tom Arhontas.
“This was Tommy’s way of giving back to the community,” Smith said. “Tommy touched each of our lives in many ways.”
“I would nominate him for sainthood,” she added.
Arhontas began the Mobile Turkey Unit, cooking about 30 Thanksgiving meals. He was known for his roadside gyros in Bayview, so much so he was called “Tommy the Greek.” Several strokes and a heart attack claimed his life in 2008. His legacy of delivering meals to people on Whidbey continues, thanks largely to volunteers like Smith.
Smith quickly listed a dozen other volunteers who help with the big feast.
First, she credited the community for raising almost $900 to cover the $1,400 in food costs.
She also thanked the Knights of Columbus for picking and donating 200 pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes, Art Taylor for routing drivers and Patty and Brian Maddux for coordinating the volunteers and Jaime, Jimmy and Laura Canby for their hospitality help on Thanksgiving Day.
The St. Hubert’s youth group helps, too, by peeling and dicing potatoes, and preparing, portioning and delivering the meals. They have a sweet incentive to help, though. Any pumpkin pies that Smith deems as ruined (with flaws as small as a piece falling apart on the plate or a slice being too tiny) are eaten by the young volunteers.
“The kids really enjoy it,” Smith said.
Arhontas craved pumpkin pies, or rather the whipped cream that he slathered on top of them.
“Tommy loved whipped cream,” Smith said. “He didn’t care if he made the pies the night before, there was going to be whipped cream. His philosophy was, ‘It tastes good.’”
But on Wednesday, she was alone at the Eagles Aerie in Freeland. The size of the kitchen limits how many people can realistically be helpful at a time, Smith said, especially while waiting for the turkeys to cook. She cooked seven turkeys at a time — four in ovens and three in slow cookers. With the birds baking, Smith worked on 80 pounds of stuffing, and poured a broth made of gizzards, celery and onion over the crunchy bits of bread.
“It’s really old-fashioned cooked turkey,” Smith said.
Smith was busy in the Eagles kitchen, which she was grateful for using, because she had 300 meals to prepare.
“I’m sorry that we need that many, but I’m happy that we can do it,” Smith said.
