A Thanksgiving tradition at Seton Hill University

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11/23/04

By Anne Stadler,
Editor-in-Chief

Turkey, stuffing, corn, gravy, ravioli, yams, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie all come together on the buffet table in the middle of Lowe Dining Hall at Seton Hill University (SHU) for one very special occasion: Thanksgiving dinner. "This tradition has been going on since the university was in existence," said Darren Achtzehn, the food service director.

The dinner on November 22, 2004 was specially put together from the dining service and took about two days to prepare. Achtzehn said that some of the food is "prepped (not cooked) the day before" and it is a "good eight hour shift" on the day of the dinner. There were at least 10 to 12 members of the dining service setting up Lowe Dining Hall, which took them about six hours to do so. "It also takes about half a day or so to develop the menus," said Achtzehn.

Sister Lois Sculco, vice president of SHU, said that when they served Thanksgiving dinner in the 1980s, they used to have little turkeys on all the tables. Sculco believes that "to have a Thanksgiving dinner served as a family style makes it an event...It’s like our way to serve the students."

To the students, faculty and staff at SHU, the dinner turned out to be a success. "It is very appetizing and nicely decorated. [The dinner is] the best meal of the year," said Bonnie Peperak, junior. "It makes you give thanks for all the blessings you have."

"The food is excellent! I love the feeling of community when they have the staff, faculty and students come together for dinner," said Josie Funari, administrative assistant in the IA department.

The tables in Lowe Dining Hall were not only decorated with place-mats, candles, and silverware, but also had a prayer placed in the center called "Thank You, Most Loving God." Sculco said, "It’s one of those times where we eat together and pray together."

Achtzehn said that this dinner "gives us [the dining service] a chance to be thankful, because without the students, we wouldn’t be here." He was excited to put the meal together. "You guys [the students] are all family to us, and keeping that family is a very cool thing," said Achtzehn.

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