W and N Thanksgiving dinner 111818

Photos by Mary Alice Murphy

It's a great big community family affair put on every year on a Sunday afternoon, a week or so prior to Thanksgiving, by Jim and Debbie Nennich..

The Nennichs, owners of W&N Enterprises, which owns the Food Baskets, the Snappy Marts, Wranglers and The Beverage Company and several other businesses in town, puts on a massive Thanksgiving feast for the community. This year, according to Debbie Nennich, they prepared 30 turkeys, 25 hams, 30 pans of stuffing, eight full sheet cakes, 30 plus pans of mashed potatoes, and that doesn't include the salads, the pans of corn, the rolls and cranberry sauce. Doors opened at noon, and people streamed in. According to one estimate, by 1:30 p.m., more than 1,500 people had been served.

The Nennichs could not do this without community help. This year, members of the Interfaith Alliance could be seen on the serving line. The Gaffney-Oglesby Marine Corps League Detachment 1328 deboned the turkeys prior to the banquet. Other groups and individuals came out to do their part for the effort. The musical group Jericho, kept feet tapping to their gospel music. Santa Claus was also on hand to offer gifts to the kids who came to eat.