After 25 years, Hilton Head’s community Thanksgiving dinner has a new organizer
It was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 1998.
The Island Packet was selling for 25 cents a copy. The news of the day ranged from the merger between International Paper and Union Camp to a proposal for earlier school start times. But one headline on the front page would forever change the trajectory of the holiday on the island.
“Lonely locals may find few options on Turkey Day,” a story written by then-staff writer Brad Kovach, said that while those who were seeking a hot meal on Thanksgiving would most likely find one, thanks to the well of generosity on Hilton Head, companionship while eating it was harder to come by.
Back then, most restaurants were closed on Thanksgiving, and most hotels used the holiday break to shut down operations to do the deep cleaning.
For the loneliest of those on the island, it was the loneliest of days.
“Who wants to sit alone on Thanksgiving?” the then Deep Well Director Betsy Doughtie asked Kovach in an interview. She called for a community dinner to stretch “across all social and economic levels.” And with that, the community found a way to make it happen.
Brian Carmines, then-owner of Hudson’s Seafood House on the Docks, offered up his restaurant as the event space. Leaders at St. Andrew By-the-Sea United Methodist Church volunteered to pay for the food.
And two residents, Allan and Gloria LaCoe, raised their hands to lead the charge. In just a years’ time, they would be organizing the first-ever annual Thanksgiving community dinner at Hudson’s that drew hundreds of people to eat among strangers turned friends.
Handing the Thanksgiving event to a new organizer
The couple reflected on their many years as organizers in the very dining room where it all started in 1999.
They’ve dedicated countless hours to the event ever since, with the backing of many sponsors, donors and of course, hundreds of volunteers they have watched grow along the way.
Coordinating the volunteers is not just about filling slots, but matching people to the best role, from serving platters of food to dishwashing to welcoming people at the front door. It’s no small task.
Now, 26 years later, the LaCoe’s are passing the baton to the events’ next organizer, Lesley Kyle, who moved to the island three years ago and has 30 years of experience in event planning.
She arrived in September 2022 without knowing anyone except for her realtor. It was during the community meal where she found her sense of belonging on the island. She hopes to continue on the tradition of the meal being “a great unifier” where all are welcome.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Kyle said. She believes God led her to Hilton Head and opened a door for her to contribute to the meal that has been so formative to her time on the island.
This year, Andrew Carmines, Hudson’s current owner, anticipates that more than 1,400 people will show up to eat at the restaurant on Thanksgiving Day. The family-style meal will be served this year from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 27.
The kitchen, normally filled with fish and oysters, will churn out 100 turkeys, fixings, sides and dessert, all for free. Although it is not a requirement, the restaurant does collect donations that are divvied out among three area non-profits that fight hunger. Last year, attendees donated more than $16,000.
‘People needed to be here’
The vision for the event has been the same since 1999. The meal is free for all who come, but where you sit and who you sit next to is up to fate.
“You’re sitting between someone who might be homeless and someone who might be a multi-millionaire,” Allan said.
“Every year, it seems like there’s something different that’s been going on in the world that draws people here,” Allan said. This year he anticipates there might be more people who need something warm to eat, given the lingering effects of the government shutdown.
Through the hardest times facing the community, the event has continued on.
Hurricane Matthew tore through the island in October 2016, just weeks before Thanksgiving Day. Hudson’s was hit hard, taking on significant wind damage and three feet of water in certain parts of the restaurant. The Category 2 storm left the community reeling. But even still, the meal went on.
Carmines, Hudson’s current owner, told the LaCoes that no matter the damage, the restaurant would open its doors for anyone who needed it.
“People needed to be here,” Allan said.
For some, the community dinner is the only Thanksgiving they’ve ever known. Eight-year-olds who were once rolling silverware are now carrying trays from the kitchen, Allan said. Some have grown up coming to Hudson’s Thanksgiving and now bring children of their own.
“They just need community, to know everything is going to be okay, at least for Thanksgiving,” Gloria said.
