Restaurants and volunteers see that seniors in McHenry County get Thanksgiving meals, visits

While others were sitting down to a warm Thanksgiving meal, Rod and Dawn Gerlach spent part of Thursday delivering one.

Rod Gerlach, a Spring Grove resident, volunteers with Senior Services, giving rides about once a week to older people in the area who need to get to appointments. None of his family was coming to town for the holiday, so he signed up to deliver Thanksgiving dinner.

He provided a holiday meal to McHenry resident Helga Kramm and then spent some time visiting with her, which he said made his day.

Kramm, now in her 90s, emigrated from Germany in 1953 and has spent most of her adult life in the Chicago area. Gerlach met Kramm a couple years ago when he drove her to a dental appointment. At the time, she was about to turn 90 and was worried nobody would remember her birthday, Gerlach said. He promised he would remember, so he mailed her a card and gave her a call on her birthday.

Gerlach gave Kramm another ride a few weeks ago. He said Senior Services had asked volunteers to check if those they were driving had Thanksgiving plans or were going to be alone on the holiday.

Gerlach and other volunteers picked up dinners for delivery Thursday morning from The Metalwood Grille at the McHenry Country Club, one of the restaurants that provided the Thanksgiving meals for seniors. The restaurant was closed for the day to give the staff a break, and only the chef and owners were in.

Metalwood made more than 60 Thanksgiving meals for Senior Services this year, the fourth year that it has done so, co-owner Monica Kornfeind said.

Kornfeind said they give recipients a little bit of all of the traditional Thanksgiving dishes. But she and co-owner Andy Akyol gave credit for the effort to the volunteers who pick up the food and spend time with the seniors who receive them.

“It’s a community thing,” Akyol said, with those who make the food, deliver it and make donations all contributing to the effort.

She sometimes calls for a driver, but Gerlach’s delivery of a Thanksgiving dinner marked the first time she got a free meal, Kramm said, and she was delighted. The dinner included the traditional turkey, mashed potatoes and some pumpkin pie, among other goodies.

Kramm said she was thankful to be alive this Thanksgiving. She said she is the only one in her entire family who’s lived as long as she has. When asked about her secrets to longevity, Kramm said she is a “health nut” and doesn’t smoke or drink. She said she never really ate many sweets either. Lately, Kramm hasn’t been cooking or eating much meat, preferring to eat vegetables.

Gerlach said he said he enjoys meeting new senior friends through the program – and will make a point to remember Kramm’s birthday again next month.