White Christmas adds special touch to holiday deliveries

Christmas Day added a special touch to this year’s delivery of meals to Churchill County’s senior citizens.

Residents woke up to snow in the Lahontan Valley that had fallen during the morning’s early hours.

For Paul “Pip” Valentin, a member of the Fred Anderson American Legion Post 16 and an organizer of the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals preparation and delivery, the day’s events fell into place like a Hallmark moment.

“We’ll be delivering 124 meals and are expecting to serve about 80 in the hall,” said Valentin, who served in the Marine Corps before coming to Fallon.

“I didn’t expect to see a white Christmas,” he added, grinning.

What surprised the 41-year-old Valentin were the number of community and military volunteers who arrived shortly after 8:30 a.m. He was surprised to see more than 60 volunteers who gave up part of their Christmas morning to help package and then deliver meals over a wide swath of western Churchill County.

“We’re seeing more locals,” Valentin said. “We’re getting out the information in the different media, and that’s bringing them out.”

By having more volunteers, Valentin said they can package the meals quicker and deliver the dinners before 11 a.m. Valentin shows his enthusiasm for the volunteers and always insists they pose for a group photo.

For almost 30 years — give or take — the American Legion has stepped in on Thanksgiving and Christmas to help the William N. Pennington Life Center deliver meals so the regular drivers and cooks with the Meals on Wheels program may stay home with their families. Post 16 also receives donations to help with the purchasing of food.

Valentin runs the program with a certain amount of precision, and timing is key for him not only with the volunteers but also from the support of the Post 16 members. He said all services except Space Command are represented among the ranks of veterans in Post 16, many who have served during wars and others who kept watch during the Cold War.

Retired Navy Capt. Coy Byington served for 30 years and enjoys volunteering.

“We do Thanksgiving and this … we do a lot,” said Byington, who is also secretary of the Legion Riders. “So many people want to give back and drive out to the people who need this. It’s humbling.”

While Valentin ensures the overall program is set for the holidays, Alex Riddle and his assistants are up early in the morning cooking the turkeys and hams and also preparing the side dishes.

“Actually, we started Friday by smoking the hams,” said Riddle, who has been a volunteer for 11 years. “Then I spent two-and-a-half hours making the dressing.”

Riddle is a U.S. Air Force veteran who moved to Fallon because his parents lived here. Soon, he became involved with the Legion’s holiday meals program.

“I was introduced to Lance (McNeill) and Linda (Rupert),” Riddle recalled, adding they were organizing the meals for both holidays.

Riddle signed up to become a volunteer and when McNeil and Rupert stepped away after decades of organizing and planning the delivery of meals, he and Valentin took over. McNeil, also an Air Force veteran and longtime member of Post 16, organized the holiday meals for many years with fellow veterans until he retired after almost three decades.

Although cooking 22 turkeys for Meals on Wheels and the dining room patrons can be an intensive task, Riddle said it’s a labor of love with his family.

“I enjoy giving back,” Riddle said. “It’s important for myself and son (August). He enjoys what he’s doing, and I enjoy what I’m doing.”