Great Lakes soldiers find Thanksgiving home in Palatine
Some 34 Great Lakes sailors will find a home away from home Thursday at American Legion Post 690 in Palatine, thanks to the organizing efforts of program chair Cindy Altenbach.
“Boot camp is tough,” Altenbach said of the new recruits, who are given only limited access to phones and social media while in basic training. “For many of them, this is their first holiday away from home.”
The recruits are picked up at the base near North Chicago at 8 a.m. and transported in two 17-seat buses provided by the Palatine Park District. They get packages of candy, which Altenbach said they aren't allowed to have on base, then stop at Brunswick Zone bowling alley in Lake Zurich.
“That's their first taste of freedom,” Altenbach said.
They arrive at the Palatine post about 11:30 a.m. for a group picture. Then they're greeted by a buffet table of appetizers, and 10 new cellphones provided by AT&T that they can use free to call friends and loved ones.
“The day revolves around allowing the recruits to call home,” Altenbach said.
In addition, members of the American Legion, Sons of the American Legion and Legion Auxiliary bring in eight laptops hooked into the post's Wi-Fi network.
“They can Skype with their girlfriends, so they love that.”
About 2 p.m., they have turkey, dressing, potatoes, ham, yams, cranberries and other dishes, eating with guests and volunteers, about 80 people in all. After dinner, they can make more phone calls, play pool and cards, and watch sports on television.
“This is a day for them where it's unstructured, so this is a real treat,” Altenbach said.
They head back to base about 5:30 p.m.
“I love the program,” said Altenbach, a member of the auxiliary who had worked on the event at the Arlington Heights post for five years before switching to the Palatine post because of where she lived at the time.
The post hadn't done a dinner for a few years before she arrived in Palatine.
“I was very determined to bring it (back) to the Palatine post,” she said. This is her fourth year heading the event in Palatine.
Her committee of a dozen volunteers meets several times to plan the event and solicit donations. The committee sent out 989 letters seeking donations from the post's 600 to 700 members (not all active) and businesses that belong to the Palatine Chamber of Commerce.
Volunteers cook and carve eight turkeys and three hams. They pick up 50 pounds of donated potatoes, peel, cook and mash them. They cook side dishes (Altenbach is making the dressing). And they serve the meal.
Altenbach downplayed her efforts, saying fellow volunteers make the work light. But she's the one who pulls it all together.
Altenbach, who joined the auxiliary because her father and several relatives were in the military, said she likes doing the event because it's a chance to serve those who are serving their country, and because “they appreciate it so much. It gives them hope they can get through boot camp.”