North Area Meals On Wheels


	Our History

It sounds so pretentious for me to write a document entitled North Area Meals on Wheels History. I was not even living in North Syracuse when North Area Meals on Wheels started. Several years ago I attempted to jog the memory of Barbara Neevel, who was one of the founders, as to the actual starting date of the organization and she had difficulty tracing the roots back, although she and her husband Jim moved to this area to pastor the Pitcher Hill Community Church in 1965. North Area Meals on Wheels grew out of the concerns of the North Area Pastors' Association, for members of their congregations who could continue to live at home if they had meals delivered. My husband Bob and I moved to North Syracuse in September of 1972, and our first son was born in August, 1973. He has several roles in this story.

Sometime in June of 1974, Barb Neevel approached me with a pressing concern. She needed someone to cook meals for a few people for three days in July because the summer cook, Arlene Becker of Mattydale, needed time off for the Fourth of July. I had no clue what she was talking about. I had not heard of Meals on Wheels, didn't know who these customers were, and did not know that several ladies of Pitcher Hill Church had been cooking meals for the homebound for several years. But, I did know Arlene Becker, and Barb Neevel, I loved to cook, and I was a Home Economics teacher. I agreed to cook for the three days. The coolers, customer lists, and maybe even the food were brought to my house, and the drivers--both of them--came and picked up the three or four meals. That was the end of it, and I didn't think of Meals on Wheels again until that fall, when Barbara approached me again.

This time around, I learned more about this organization. For some number of years, each church in the North Area Pastor's Association had contributed one member of its Outreach, or Mission, or Social Action Committee to serve on the Meals on Wheels committee. June Cooper from St. Thomas was the transportation coordinator because she did not drive; Lucille Clemons from Luther Memorial was the treasurer and paid the bills; Barb Neevel from Pitcher Hill was the coordinator who lined up the volunteer cooks, planned menus and generally kept things going; Andrews Memorial provided at least one driver, Jean Voorhees, who still drives today; Ginny Fosdick was on the board; Northminster Presbyterian, Calvary Methodist, Malden Road UCC all helped out, and probably others I did not know. The meals had been cooked in homes, notably by Mary Carey of Pitcher Hill, for years. Mary's husband Karl remembers Mary's involvement. At some point, the decision was made to have the meals prepared at Pitcher Hill School, and Joan Taylor Pierce of the school district helped with nutrition planning. That arrangement had several drawbacks, notably the school calendar with so many days off, and the incompatibility of school lunches with senior citizens' dietary preferences. Therefore, Barb asked me if I would consider becoming the full time cook when the contract with the school district expired on November 1, 1974. After giving the matter quite a bit of thought and prayer, I agreed. I looked at my calendar and noted that November 1 was a Friday, and thought "Phew, that will give me until Monday to get my shopping done and plans made." Wrong. November 1 is November 1, no matter which day of the week it is. Thursday evening, Jim Neevel called to make sure I was all ready to get the meals out the next day. No time for panic--just get cooking.

We had three or four customers at that time, and two routes. There were lists and papers and menu plans and instructions that I wish I had kept. Barb had the plans for the 7 items in the lunch bags, the main meal and the milk. The milk was the hardest to arrange.

The local dairies had just stopped home delivery of milk. It took considerable talking on Barb's part to convince a dairy (Marble Farms?) that my house was not a home! Then there were the paper deliveries, and the need for a refrigerator for the garage. That came from the Church House at Pitcher Hill, and I used that 1948 GE for years after Meals on Wheels moved on. In 1975, the Neevels moved on also. Margaret Hosmer became the coordinator, who made the initial contacts with the customers, found out their dietary needs and passed the information on to me. Another coordinator was Bernadine Kelley of St. Margaret's Human Development Committee.

Lucille Clemons, the treasurer, worked at the Lawrence Road School, which stood where the present Denny's parking lot is, and I used to go there to pick up my paycheck and the allotment for the food. There was some formula used for the food allowance, which I used at local grocery stores, pushing the family cart, with Eric in it, and pulling the Meals on Wheels cart. Eric always helped with the meals. The Health Department Home Economist, Janet Harvey, knew I cooked meals at home, as I had to file a report every year. I was never inspected. Eric, age 14 months when I started, learned to use an egg beater while mixing up the puddings, learned to recognize the drivers, learned to climb the ladder in the garage while I was busy cooking, and learned to appreciate the service that Meals on Wheels provided. Many years later, he was the first paid dishwasher in the Riordan kitchen.

Late in 1975, I notified the board that I would have to stop preparing the meals at home. Our customer list had grown to 16 people, and my pots and pans were at their limit. Also, I planned to become pregnant again, and based on past experience knew that from Day One, I would not be able to look at food, much less cook it. I honestly do not remember who, but someone, maybe Gerry Berkheimer of Calvary Methodist organized a big meeting in the kitchen there, to discuss the future of Meals on Wheels. There were people there I had not met before, and one of them, Pat Bender, offered to become the new cook. She was from Mattydale, and she did cook for some time. In that same timeframe, 1975-76, Rev. Norman Morris of Calvary organized the North Area Council of Churches, which took Meals on Wheels under its wing and organized a board of directors for us. Doug Anderson of Church World Service arrived in town and the same Council organized the first CROP Walk in the area, for 1977. Meals on Wheels became a direct recipient of CROP Walk money, and has been a beneficiary ever since. Eventually, Meals on Wheels withdrew from the Council to become formally incorporated, but that time with the Council kept the organization going and gave it more credence in the community.

One very significant event happened while we were still cooking at Calvary Methodist (later United Methodist) in Mattydale. North Area Meals on Wheels had an active and significant role in the formation of the Liverpool Meals on Wheels. Mr. and Mrs. Richard Lee were the founding members in Liverpool, and they often came to the Mattydale kitchen to observe and take notes. North Area Meals on Wheels donated our entire CROP walk check one year to help Liverpool make initial purchases.

Our son David was born in October, 1976, and I returned to active duty, as coordinator. Two weeks after his birth I attended the weekly luncheon of the Kiwanis Club and presented the service that Meals on Wheels provided and the need for volunteers. Kiwanis responded with a driver for every Friday, and generous support for our Christmas and volunteer luncheons. By 1978, Kiwanis also provided us with a business advisor, Dr. Albert Wooding, who insisted that we had long outgrown the "do good church lady volunteer" stage, and that we must incorporate.

In my 1976 absence, several changes had occurred. Faith Petrie and David Saccia were cooking on alternate days, Carol Keach was driver coordinator, and a very special lady named Peg Dembowski had joined us. Faith, Carol and I had kindergartners who had to get on the afternoon bus, so things moved fast in the mornings. Very soon, Peg was coordinating drivers. Then she decided that she would like my job as coordinator, and Meals on Wheels really took off. She recruited Gladys Schwartz to handle driver training, and started looking around for a larger, more modern kitchen. Involved in Mattydale activities, Peg had her finger on the pulse, and knew when the old GE surplus equipment building was going to be converted to the Salina Civic Center. Peg designed the kitchen in the Salina Civic Center specifically for Meals on Wheels needs. She got us installed in the kitchen and found Laura Lawrence to be the cook. That building was a busy, busy place with several senior citizens groups, Catholic Charities delivering meals, a gracious secretary named Anne, and a custodian named Bob Thompson. Peg Dembowski became Mrs. Meals on Wheels and for many years she volunteered 20 hours a week to keeping it running, marketing the service to the community, and interviewing new customers. Peg saw that there was publicity and she talked about Meals on Wheels everywhere she went. When Laura started cooking, there were about 40 customers. The heavy traffic and lack of storage space at the Civic Center had Peg looking again. This time she knew that the kitchen at Riordan School was available and made all the arrangements to move the program over there. I think she even moved the food and furniture herself. Under Doctor Albert Wooding's urging, we were fully incorporated in 1978, signing the paperwork in my dining room. Attorney Eugene Young had been recommended by volunteer Audrey Black to do the legal work. We had a board of directors, a President, Dr. Al Wooding, and a new treasurer, Betty Wallace. Lucille Clemons had unfortunately died of cancer, and Betty had the task of setting up the first official set of books. Betty managed the finances of North Area Meals on Wheels for about 20 years.

During the time that we were at Riordan, the North Syracuse School District was our landlord, and I like to think that this service to the elderly and homebound in the community helped with their votes in favor of school budgets. Our customer base rose to over 100, although we didn't cook for that many every day. Peg applied for grants from the Rosamond Gifford Foundation several times, to purchase larger, more commercial equipment, helping Meals on Wheels move into a full scale operation. Dr. Warren Grund of the school district gave us extensive advice on writing the first grant. Betty Wallace tackled the paperwork involved when we decided to sign up for the Senior Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) with the Metropolitan Commission on Aging, to get subsidies for our qualifying customers. At that time, Peg moved from volunteer to paid coordinator, and continued doing all she had been doing before. When Laura Lawrence became ill, we had to find a new cook, and Esther Hickock was hired.

Before we left Riordan, I happened to read an article in the paper about the retirement from Syracuse University Athletics Department of a wonderful lady named Doris Soloday. Doris had been my Senior Lifesaving Instructor at SU, so I called her to follow up on her expressed interest from the article, in volunteering for Meals on Wheels. Doris and her friend Sally became true jewels. Doris chaired the committee to rewrite the constitution of Meals on Wheels, she and Sally helped everywhere they could, and Doris' death left all of us bereft of a friend. Doris was still with us when we moved to our location on Kreischer Road, and she organized the grand opening.

There are so many memories associated with the wonderful organization that I could fill a book. Barb Dickinson has been secretary time after time, Doc Wooding did two or three terms as President, and his wife Evelyn spelled him at that. I can't seem to stay away and everyone's spouses seem to get involved too. Gladys Schwartz' husband did computer labels for the lunch bags, Polly Cadwell's husband Blaine inherited that task, then my husband Bob took it over. Delivering the labels to Peg every Sunday night after the kids were in bed was my night out, and we loved our visits. New volunteers and board members quickly get hooked and stay. Gladys Weston stayed for well over 20 years, and Jean Voorhees is still driving. I first met Nancy Savage in my kitchen when she came to pick up meals. She later featured North Area Meals on Wheels as often as possible in her feature articles for the Star News. Meals on Wheels is a natural fit for Home Economists, and Polly Cadwell joined when she retired from teaching. Polly recruited Anita Aiston who became a driver coordinator and volunteer extraordinaire. Mike Jones came and couldn't leave. We now have Carol Jennings as operations manager, with her warm and personal style of involving volunteers in the meal preparation.

I have some winter stories, then I will stop. Once, a young mother came to my house to pick up meals. She had recently moved to Syracuse, and had insisted she would never drive in the winter. While I was dishing up the meals it started to snow and she panicked. We worked out a solution. She stayed at my house and looked after my son, while I delivered the meals on her route. Then one winter, when it was my job to make that early morning call about canceling service due to the weather, we had a winter and a half. I had a list of radio and TV stations to notify as soon as Dr. Melvin decided whether or not to close school. Problem was, during February break we had the worst weather of the winter. Finally, one morning in desperation I called the district transportation office and asked "If there were school today, would there be school today?" The nice man said, "All I can tell you is we didn't send our bus to Fairmount Children's Center." That was good enough for me. We have blizzard bags now, distributed by the county, but the concept was started by Carol Keach many years ago at Calvary Church. She arranged for the Lionettes to donate food and help prepare an extra meal for each customer, which we delivered for them to freeze as a hedge against a snow day.

It has been a tremendous privilege to work with so many dedicated people for so many years, providing meals, and a short visit to the homebound in our community. With the firm base that we have established over the last thirty-five or so years, I am convinced that this organization of volunteers will continue for a long time.

The original history ended there, but so much has happened since it was written. A concerted and devoted effort by a knowledgeable and hardworking community has led to a building dedicated solely to preparing and distributing North Area Meals on Wheels. For several years, the Board of Directors under successive Presidents Albert and Evelyn Wooding, Linda Jackson, Mike Jones, Shirley Singer, and Jim Baker sought capital funding sources, searched for either a building or land on which to build, consulted architect David Johnson and formed development committees. Time and again, we would find ourselves back at square one, but that did not stop the process.

Persistence paid off as the entire community became more aware of the need for a North Area Meals on Wheels facility. The Lion's Club offered to donate a portion of their park to be used for the building. That generous offer led to months of paperwork, including obtaining a clear boundary line with adjacent Interstate Route 81, and many, many hours of volunteer time. Jim Baker was President of North Area Meals on Wheels when a modern, well designed kitchen facility was opened in late 2004. Funding from the Community Foundation, the Richard Gere Foundation, private donations and many other sources allowed the dream of our very own facility to come to fruition. The formal dedication was held on September 25th, 2005 with long time members and volunteers welcoming the funding representatives, politicians and the community to the efficient, warm and welcoming building.

The Liverpool Meals on Wheels, which was started with help from North Area Meals on Wheels in the 1970s eventually needed to disband. With our new facility, we were able to incorporate about two thirds of the Liverpool customers, with Baldwinsville Meals on Wheels serving the rest. From two routes in 1974, there are now nineteen routes, planned and organized by Bob Jackson. From a simple checkbook system of bill paying there are now computerized accounting procedures. From a dozen customers served by Mary Carey in the late 1960s there are now over 200 customers receiving the delicious meals. So much has changed, but the important things have not. North Area Meals on Wheels still fulfills its mission to provide nutritious meals to the homebound of Northern Onondaga County, in a caring and compassionate manner. Volunteers are still the heart and backbone of the organization, and we still move forward in the faith of the original founding pastors. The twenty-first century has already seen many changes and there will be more to come, but those founding principles have not changed.

Linda Jackson
Updated August 9, 2006

You may e-mail Linda at: LJJackson1@msn.com for any updates or corrections that may be needed.